Science and Faith

It never ceases to amaze me that people put their faith in science when science continually recants laws and theorems of their own making. Yet, few if any question their faith in science.

I have books I inherited from my dad that explain in great detail how there is an “ether” through which electromagnetic waves travel. Of course, we now know there is no such thing, The troubling problem is that these scientific laws and hypotheses filter into K-12 textbooks and are taught as “gospel” for decades.

Since Stephan Hawking has gone on to his reward, more and more physicists are coming out to refute his claims. Here is one example:

An international research team, including two scientists from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, has ruled out the possibility of primordial black holes being a major constituent of dark matter. The finding also disproves a claim Stephen Hawking had made.

Study Says Tiny Black Holes May Not Account for Dark Matter – The finding disproves a claim Stephen Hawking had made in the 1970s.

Using science as the foundation upon which all human decisions are made is a Western cultural idea first solidified by the Greeks. This idea is very old and very wrong.

Ask a leading scientist what they know and most will say they know nothing but suppose a great deal. They are continually surprised by results of their exploration of space (e.g., Pluto), by their research of quantum studies (e.g., no exact measurements are possible), and by their study of of particles (e.g., graphite is no longer the strongest substance). Nevertheless, most of the people in our culture would rather trust science than trust God’s Word which hasn’t changed in thousands of years and is foundational in the lives of two billion people living today that identify themselves as Christian.

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, the impact of Western (i.e., Greek) culture was in full bloom. Here is what the Holy Spirit had Paul write: Ephesians 4:17-18. “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

Our Western culture has continued to harden their hearts for millennia, compelling people to choose what they can see and measure over the One who made the very things they see and measure.

It is foolhardy to set true science against God for science is the discovery of God’s creation. It is science and faith not science or faith. Do I love science? Yes. Do I enjoy the many “creature comforts” from science. Yes. Do I trust doctors and medications? Mostly. Do I leave room in my beliefs and actions for God’s supernatural interventions? Yes!

Reverends R.B and Mary Ann Cassidy taught me a song that still plays in my mind when I go to a doctor’s appointment. The first verse goes something like this:
I anticipate the inevitable, supernatural, intervention of God. I believe in miracles, I believe in miracles, I believe in mir-a-cles.

I know God does the miraculous because every person that receives Jesus as their Savior is reborn. That not a subjective hypothesis but an objective fact. Being a Christian means that every Christian begins their life in Jesus with a miracle.

I know God is still active and still at work in our lives and in this world. That’s exciting, and that’s Good News.

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash