On Following The Science and Following Jesus

 

From The Rectory

 

We have frequently heard over the last year about the government “following The Science” – or not. But this is somewhat confused. “The Science” hasn’t always spoken with one voice. And there is a step to be made between expert scientific advice and political policy. There are many scientific voices to which our beloved leaders ought to listen. And there are lots of other issues for them to consider too.

 

To change topic slightly, some people also assume that The Science has disproved biblical Christianity. But again, may I say, this is rather confused. Many scientists are committed Christians. (Professor John Lennox, an Oxford mathematician, for example, is well worth reading and listening to on the Christian faith. You can find more at: johnlennox.org). And it is a step from the claims of contemporary science (even if we can agree what they are and can agree with them) to conclusions about God.

 

One author has said that science and Christianity are “unnatural enemies.”[1] It is true that Darwinists have sometimes gone to war against Biblicists, but some Christians would claim that a kind of theistic evolutionary theory can be reconciled with the teaching of the Bible. Certainly it is true to say that the Bible is far more concerned to tell us that God made the world rather than to go in to details of how he did so. The Genesis account is clearly not a modern scientific description, but that does not mean that it is not true in more important ways.

 

Historically, Western scientists have seen their endeavour as thinking God’s thoughts after him. They have delighted both to read their bibles and to explore the natural world, which they called “the book of nature.” God’s creation reveals a wonderful and powerful creator. The book of Scripture directs us to the book of creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19v1). To study the natural world is to explore the ways of God and think his thoughts after him. The more we discover about the human body, for example, the more we might appreciate that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139v14). And this might move us to worship our Maker.

 

Although many of the Western elite today would call themselves atheists, the bible makes the bold claim that human beings are made in the image of God with a kind of intuitive knowledge of him. According to St Paul: God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1v20).

 

Not only are science and Christianity potentially compatible, it can be argued that modern science requires something like the God of the Bible. It’s hard to see why science would even work if there were no God. If the world is purposeless and chaotic, it is odd that scientific laws work so well. But if gravity and the laws of motion are God’s habits, it makes a lot of sense. An intelligently designed universe is most likely to be amenable to intelligent investigation.

 

So science and theology can be friends. But both are needed. Science is excellent at telling us how things work. But we also need to ask why questions. The Science can get us so far in some areas, but there are other considerations. In fact, we need not only rational exploration of God’s creation but for God to reveal himself to us. God not only shows us what he is like by what he has made but he speaks. The God who said “Let there be light” has entered his creation in his Word made flesh, Jesus, The Light of the World. May he cause the light of the knowledge (the science) of God to dawn in our hearts.  

 

---

[1] The title of a helpful book by Dr Kirsten Birkett, Unnatural Enemies: An Introduction to Science and Christianity (Matthias Media, 1997)