If there are any scientists here, please tell me your opinion of this article I saw online?
If there are any scientists here, please tell me your opinion of this article I saw online:
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"Do faith in God and science contradict?"
Science is defined as “the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.” Science is a method that mankind can use to gain a greater understanding of the natural universe. It is a search for knowledge through observation. Advances in science demonstrate the reach of human logic and imagination. However, a Christian’s belief in science should never be like our belief in God. A Christian can have faith in God and respect for science, as long as we remember which is perfect and which is not.
Our belief in God is a belief of faith. We have faith in His Son for salvation, faith in His Word for instruction, and faith in His Holy Spirit for guidance. Our faith in God should be absolute, since when we put our faith in God, we depend on a perfect, omnipotent, omniscient Creator. Our belief in science should be intellectual and nothing more. We can count on science to do many great things, but we can also count on science to make mistakes. If we put faith in science, we depend on imperfect, sinful, limited, mortal men. Science throughout history has been wrong about many things, such as the shape of the earth, powered flight, vaccines, blood transfusions, and even reproduction. God is never wrong.
Truth is nothing to fear, so there is no reason for a Christian to fear good science. Learning more about the way God constructed our universe helps all of mankind appreciate the wonder of creation. Expanding our knowledge helps us to combat disease, ignorance, and misunderstanding. However, there is danger when scientists hold their faith in human logic above faith in our Creator. These persons are no different from anyone devoted to a religion; they have chosen faith in man and will find facts to defend that faith.
Still, the most rational scientists, even those who refuse to believe in God, admit to a lack of completeness in our understanding of the universe. They will admit that neither God nor the Bible can be proved or disproved by science, just as many of their favorite theories ultimately cannot be proved or disproved. Science is meant to be a truly neutral discipline, seeking only the truth, not furtherance of an agenda.
Much of science supports the existence and work of God. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” As modern science discovers more about the universe, we find more evidence of creation. The amazing complexity and replication of DNA, the intricate and interlocking laws of physics, and the absolute harmony of conditions and chemistry here on earth all serve to support the message of the Bible. A Christian should embrace science that seeks the truth, but reject the “priests of science” who put human knowledge above God.
5 Responses
Claire
12 Feb 2010
CLF
12 Feb 2010
I would have to take exception to the basic question posed by the article:
"Do faith in God and science contradict?"
In God, faith is required. In science, faith is not required. God ‘works in mysterious ways’ because that is what God is. If we as humans can understand how God works – and design experiments that will predict their outcome – then we have science and not God anymore.
There is no faith in science – and it is a shame that so many do not understand that. Science is based on observation. Theoretical science is just that. Theories are hypotheses that remain to be proved or disproved by observation. Our scientific ‘truths’ are hypotheses that have not been disproved – despite years or perhaps centuries of experiments. Because only crazy people try the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, scientists will agree that a particular theory is a fact. Some years in the future, when science and engineers have created new instruments, any theory might be disproved and then a new ‘fact’ emerges. For me much of the point is how do we leverage what we know about science to make the world a better place for ourselves and our children.
As science discovers more and more about our world, we still have many mysteries to solve, and that may be where God will always be.
Will we ever solve the mystery of the human mind and soul? Only God knows!
fizixx
12 Feb 2010
I absolutely agree that science and God (Jesus) can mesh. In fact I don’t see how it can be any other way. We scientists discover, and uncover the mysteries of the world that God created. It follows rules and we, as scientists, can learn about those rules.
Believing in Jesus (God) has no bearing on science at all. Sciences is its own process when followed properly. Of course it can be wrong and misled at times, even by the best scientists, but imperfection is part of being human. Good scientists find out about the flaws and tries to fix them…and then move on from there. Following Christ is a way of living and being. The way to interact with each other. Trusting in Him and following His Word. It requires faith….the word that carries a lot of power, and it invokes reaction in a lot of people. People that don’t follow anything thru faith will spout off about it, and the ones that do contradict their intelligence and common sense (in my opinion) by debating an issue they don’t understand. To each his own.
God created our world….the curious among us…..the ones that like mysteries and puzzles…..those of us that enjoy learning, and finding things out know the beauty in ‘nature’ (God). The simple but spectacular creation that we learn and report about.
There is no reason why scientists have to defy, deny, or dismiss Christ in the work they do. One does not contradict the other in any way.
Vincent G
12 Feb 2010
This is not about science, it is more or less an appeal "please science do not disprove religion as it is textually in our holy book, because we have a very nice racket going on here, and we still like to ask people to send cash to us televangelists so we can spread the good word (but mostly live in abhorrent luxury)".
Look at the beginning of the last paragraph: "Much of science supports the existence and work of God" and it goes on to a quote, not of a scientist, not of a scientific demonstration; it quotes the bible!
"Science throughout history has been wrong about many things, such as the shape of the earth, powered flight, vaccines, blood transfusions, and even reproduction."??? Baloney. Science is not wrong. Bad conclusion could be drawn based on partial data, and in incomplete theories. Science is a work in progress, everyone agrees. Meanwhile, those "by the book" religions are *frozen*. That is, until god comes back. Personally, I will wait until the return is announced and tickets are sold.
If some views have changed over time, there has been open argument and debates, hypothesis that were tested, and validating a position over another. I have yet to see the religious fundamentalist type admit that the bible is NOT literaly 100% true and the word of god, that there were errors in the transcription, and passages lost; and that there were elements added just to promote some characters in it (Samson having his strength in his hair??? I mean, c’mon!) with totally fabricated stories.
There are many ways this "essay" is illogical. Take for instance the claim that putting "faith in human logic" makes us dependent on "imperfect, sinful, limited, mortal men" while god is never wrong. Well, if this is true, then this is the way god made us, right? And who wrote and translated the bible?
Fact is the bible was written by primitive people who were full of delusion, and the book contradicts itself many times. While god’s existence cannot be proved or disproved through science, the textual interpretation of the bible has long ago shown how bogus a literal reading of the bible is.
onewayJesus
12 Feb 2010
Just wanted to add that ‘gotquestions’.org is a nice website. Thank you! 
I’ve studied the bible in several translations, and I’ve taken a lot of astronomy & math courses as well as a few other science courses. I see no contradiction. The article is good, and probably much clearer than my answer below.
The description of science is good though not every science uses every part of scientific method.
Answer #3 confuses faith in God with fundamentalism. When reading anything, you need to know what kind of writing it is. If a girl is described as having "stars in her eyes" it’s a metaphor. It’s a mistake to say the description is wrong because the girl couldn’t have huge balls of gas undergoing nuclear fusion in her eyes.
Some of the bible, e.g. Song of Solomon, is poetry, a metaphorical description of God’s relationship to people & the universe. Some of it is history, and archeology confirms a lot of that. Some of the specifics were intended for everybody and some for only a few. (Minor example–Not every army was limited to those who drank from their hands.) Much of it is human attempt to describe a God-inspired insight. Both Genesis and current astronomy say the first creation was light.
It is essential to know really well the language of the time & place something was originally written in order to understand it, and fundamentalism often falls down there. For example, in Shakespeare’s play "Rome & Juliet" someone says they’ll put a sword through the first man "who lets me." "Let" in that phrase did not mean "allow." It meant "hinder" or "keep me from doing what I want to do." People differ about whether the 10 Commandments forbid "killing" or "murder."
It’s important not to confuse faith in God, which usually means you trust God in the same way you’d trust a friend but more so, with a belief that you perfectly understand both what was originally written and the translation.
We can count on science to come to mistaken conclusions occasionally, and expect them to be corrected eventually IF everyone is honest about all the details. "Priests of science" often forget this. But science has little to say about what came before the universe began or what might be outside the complete universe.
We can also count on ourselves and others to misunderstand what God say or does from time to time, just as we misunderstand other people’s words & actions.