God vs Science

In today’s world, we take a lot for granted. We have so much knowledge and technology within arm’s reach. To us, that is the norm and most of us have become accustomed to it. We seldom reflect on the fact that even just a 100 years ago, much of what seems commonplace to us was the subject of fantasy. To someone from Biblical times, our world would seem like a realm of unending marvels and wonders. 

No one can question the good that exists because of our intellectual progress, but some bad has also come along with it. Climate change and the rise of deadlier weapons of war are just a couple of examples. However, some spiritual problems exist too. Perhaps the most fundamental problem is the fact that as we learn more about how our world works, more people have a tendency to drift away from God. Many feel like if we can explain the nuts and bolts of how the universe works, there is no need for God to exist. In this way, they are relegating God to the same position as the old mythological gods. For example, if we know that lightning is an electrical discharge resulting from a build-up of electric potential between the sky and ground, there is no need to believe that Zeus is up in the sky tossing lightning bolts because he’s angry. However, this battle between those that seek knowledge about the physical world and those who seek God isn’t one-sided. For centuries, Christians resisted the progress of science and went as far as to label some scientists as heretics for explaining natural phenomena.

So given that this has been an issue for so long, what is the resolution? Well, to some extent, the disagreement is not real. Believing in science and believing in God are not mutually exclusive. In fact, even labelling this blog entry as God vs Science is a bit off the mark. The definition of science is:

the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment (dictionary.com).

The key point there is that science is the study of the physical world. As believers, we believe that God made the physical world, so there really is no contradiction there. We as limited beings are limited in how well we can understand things.  We use the data we have and propose theories, but those theories are also limited based on how much they can be validated by data.  When new data comes along, sometimes those theories have to be revised.  Again, that's not one-sided.  Often Believers misunderstand what God wants from them, and after getting new insight perhaps from the Bible or Holy Spirit also have to revise their thinking.   The fact is that atempting to figure out how the world works does not inherently take credit away from God for creating it,

The Bible describes the creation of the universe in the following way:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1

That’s pretty much it. Many know that the Big Bang Theory is the prevailing explanation of the universe’s origin. The BBT doesn’t explain why the universe came to be. It explains how it came to be. It gives us the mechanism for the universe’s creation. The more ardent Christians might suggest that God just spoke the universe into existence and no such mechanism is necessary, but does that really make sense? After all the Bible also says:

God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. - Genesis 1:4-5

The Bible doesn’t give us the mechanism for how we have cycles of day and night, but almost everyone accepts that we have day and night because the earth spins on its axis. That’s the mechanism. It doesn’t mean that the Genesis account is wrong.  The Biblical account simply does not go into the weeds of how such things work. That is the realm of science, and it can co-exist with religion. Again, the more spiritually inclined of us might say we don’t need science if we believe in God. We can just look to him for everything we need. Such close minded thinking misses the point. Studying the world around us doesn’t preclude us from looking to God to fulfill our needs. After all, God is in control of everything including our pursuits of knowledge. As God told Job in Job 38:36

“Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?”

The development of machinery such as the printing press has allowed the Bible to become accessible to people around the world. Our understanding of aerodynamics is what allowed us to create airplanes that take missionaries across the world to share the Gospel. Us learning how to use electric signals to transfer information of various types contributes to you being able to read this blog and millions of other people being able to have church services even under a lockdown situation. The fact is that Christianity is bigger and more widespread in the modern world than it was hundreds of years ago. We have science and other intellectual pursuits to thank for that. Doesn’t it make sense that God would be behind that?

Being a believer doesn’t mean you can’t be a scientist, mathematician, engineer, etc… In some ways, indulging in those disciplines and learning more about the world puts you in a position to be more appreciative of just how great and powerful God is. More importantly, it just might be the way God chooses to use you. If many in the scientific fields are athiests, what better career path could there be for God to put a believer to spread the Gospel? How much more glory would it bring to God for a Christian doctor to give thanks to Him after using his or her scientific knowledge to heal someone. Or maybe, your purpose is just to acknowledge God in a conversation about the modern world. 

Religion and science are two different things for sure. Christianity is based on faith. Science is based on empirical data, but they don’t have to be at odds, especially in the eyes of believers. After all, we believe God made everything in this world, and that means everything in this world can be used to glorify Him.

Chris Lawyer