A Closer Look at Science vs. Faith

From the way “SCIENCE VS. RELIGION” is headlined in our culture, you’d think that these two forces have been squared off against each other from Day 1.

As anyone who has studied the history of science knows, the tension between science and faith is nothing new. However, tension is not the same thing as open warfare.

Seeking knowledge for its own sake is, I believe, laudable… but in this fallen world, “knowledge” gets translated into “power” in many ways, some of them very good (like antibiotics) and others very bad (like weapons of biological warfare). (Sometimes we get a bit of both, like the proliferation of antibiotic products leading to dangerous strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.)

I don’t think it would do us any good to try to stop the search for knowledge in fear of what we’ll find (among other things, that just leaves knowledge in the hands of the less scrupulous) but I also think it’s naive (at best) to believe that searching for knowledge always has completely positive results.

Talking about a tension between science and faith (however necessary that tension may be) still leaves the wrong impression, though. It implies that Reason and Faith are mutually exclusive categories, leaving us to battle over which one is superior.

But, again, a look at the annals of science should be a wakeup call in that respect. Before we get to the current century and its dichotomy of reason and faith, we have a long and impressive lineup of Christian thinkers and scientists. The Venerable Bede (philosopher). Albertus Magnus (scientist). Copernicus (astronomer). Kepler (astronomer). Galileo (astronomer). Pascal (mathematician and philosopher). Newton (mathematician and philosopher). Linnaeus (biologist). Mendel (biology). Kelvin (physicist). That’s just a sampling. The fact that some of these scientists (but not all!) encountered opposition from the Church during their lifetime is beside the point: that’s a cultural conflict, not a theological one. The point is that they did their great work and were faithful, believing Christians as they did it.

Reason and faith are not incompatible. Why should they be? God gave us our ability to think and reason, and our curiosity about the world around us.

I’m not a scientist, but I’m a well-educated person with a deep interest in science and natural history. I’m convinced of the value of science and its ability to help us discover more about the way our world works. When I became a Christian, this conviction didn’t disappear.

One of the startling things I’ve discovered as a Christian is that theology is enormously more complex than most scientists (or anybody else) generally thinks. Scientists rightfully point out that slogans like “God is love” don’t seem to account for the complexities of a world that contains horrible pain, waste, and destruction as well as beauty. The truth is that God is complicated. Things like the Trinity, sacramental grace, and original sin are tough concepts that can’t be reduced to a sound bite, but they offer a remarkably insightful and accurate explanation of why the world is the way it is.

Why should religion be simple? In a world as wonderfully complicated as ours is – as science shows us it is – why shouldn’t the Creator and His plan also be complex and challenging to our minds?

If scientists simply assume that all religion is false and misleading, that assumption gets in the way of actually assessing the evidence in a rational, clear way.

To oversimplify religion (or to lump all religion in the same category) is to be intellectually dishonest.  The honest questioner looks for a real answer, not just fodder for a snappy comeback. I’m afraid that too many scientists are more interested in protecting their view than advancing the dialogue. I understand what that feels like, but it’s not helpful.

Why should the created world be simple?  Take a closer look at the word “omnipotent.” When we describe God as “Almighty,” we don’t (or shouldn’t) just mean “a lot more powerful than we are.” We mean all-powerful. Science shows us that the created world has unfolded in stunning complexity from the simplest of beginnings; that there have been countless varieties of living beings inhabiting the earth at different times. Acknowledging that complexity is not the same thing as proving that it occurred in a particular way.

This is God we’re talking about, not just “some guy who’s really a lot more powerful than we are.” I was always fascinated and impressed by the complexity of the natural world and the way that natural processes unfold over time. When I realized that there is a Creator behind all of this, it struck me with awe. The idea of God creating the world and all its living beings… that takes my breath away. It helped me to grasp something of the power of this God to whom I had given my allegiance; this God is not the God of the Deists, a distant watchmaker who doesn’t interfere (or can’t), but rather a hands-on God, who is not only active in my life but in all of creation. And it goes both ways: knowing that God is active in my life, it follows that He can certainly be active in the process of creating, sustaining, and shaping life.

For most Christians, the process probably goes in the other direction: first know God, then study science. But the same conclusion holds true: knowing Him, when you see just how complex and beautiful His work really is, that shouldn’t make you doubt Him. We may not be entirely sure of how He did all of what He did, but then again, we’re not God. Just because we don’t necessarily understand all the nuances of how the created order came to be, doesn’t mean we have to default to naturalism’s catch-all answer (chance plus time = order).

Praise Him, the Maker of all things, who didn’t just create the world, but created it in such depth and detail, such complexity in time as well as space, that entire lifetimes of the best and brightest minds of human beings have only just scratched the surface of His work. Every discovery of science about the way the world works is another opportunity to say, “Glory be to Thee, O Lord,” with a renewed sense of His might; to recall the words of Psalm 19:1: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”

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