CHRISTIANITY AND SCIENCE

Can Christianity and science coexist? 

Popular modern day scientist, Neil deGrasse Tyson says,‘There has been a happy coexistence of science and faith for centuries’(1)

While many scientists and many Christians do find the other compatible and are not threatened by it, some are and do become very vocal about it giving the impression that science and Christianity (or religion) cannot coexist. It is helpful to understand that both approach the universe we live in a very different way and answer very different questions. The former explores the questions, ‘how’, ‘when’ and ‘what’, whereas the latter gives us a perspective of ‘why’ and ‘so what’. It is impossible for most to go deep into the ‘how’ of things not to stop and wonder at the ‘why’ of those same things. 

Science helps man to delve deeper into the study of various subjects and unravels mysteries that were hitherto kept secret. And while these secrets come into view because of the investigative mindset that science bestows on man, science does not satisfy the yearnings within man to explore the reason behind the beauty he sees. Much like when you gaze on a masterpiece painting, you could get hold of an artist to explain to you how intricate the work is or how complex the imagery is, but you would still go away from the gallery deeply unsatisfied if you do not know who painted that picture or what inspired him to create that painting. No artist or technology could answer those questions. This is where the Christian finds satisfaction as in the declaration of the Psalmist who gazes at the sky and joyously proclaims,

‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.’Psalms 19:1

When we explore the scientific method further, we also find that science depends on and is grounded in the understanding that the universe we live is rational, logical and ordered, a fact that cannot be proven but which every scientist needs to assume in faith. Paul Davies, Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Adelaide says,

It was from the intellectual ferment brought about by the merging of Greek philosophy and Judeo-Islamic-Christian thought that modern science emerged, with its unidirectional linear time, its insistence on nature’s rationality, and its emphasis on mathematical principles. All the early scientists, like Newton, were religious in one way or another. They saw their science as a means of uncovering traces of God’s handiwork in the universe. ——In the ensuing three hundred years, the theological dimension of science has faded. People take it for granted that the physical world is both ordered and intelligible. The underlying order in nature-the laws of physics-are simply accepted as given, as brute facts. Nobody asks where they come from; at least they do not do so in polite company. However, even the most atheistic scientist accepts as an act of faith that the universe is not absurd, that there is a rational basis to physical existence manifested as a law-like order in nature that is at least in part comprehensible to us. So science can proceed only if the scientist adopts an essentially theological worldview. (2)

Perhaps, CS Lewis gives the best answer to this question in his own succinct style,

 ‘In science we see the notes to a poem, in Christianity, we see the poem itself’ CS Lewis.

Do check out this video if you are further interested in this topic.

References:

1. youtube.com/watch?v=JbvDYyoAv9k

• https://www.firstthings.com/article/1995/08/003-physics-and-the-mind-of-god-the-templeton-prize-address-24

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