This post is a continuation of my series on Evidence for Christianity.
Science Vs Faith
Some Atheists paint a picture of belief in God is akin to belief in the Easter Bunny, a Fairy or a Flying Spaghetti Monster. But these are not parallel comparisons. If I was to claim Isaac Newton never existed and your belief in him was equivalent to the Easter Bunny, you could provide historic eyewitness evidence documenting his existence. Thus providing reasons to believe Isaac Newton existed. However if you looked for evidence for the Easter Bunny, Fairies of a Flying Spaghetti monster, you would find they are fallacious. If an atheist was to objectively look for evidence for God, he would find it, but perhaps many atheists actually do not want to find such evidence.
Due to naturalistic presuppositions, Atheists rule out God as a possible cause for anything, and seek a material cause for everything, even if the most logical explanation was God. It is faulty science, to rule out a possibility from the outset, especially when that’s where the evidence points. Despite however objective we claim to be, we all look at evidence with a set of presuppositions from our worldview. When the evidence does not line up with your worldview, would you be willing to consider the existence of God when that is the best explanation for the evidence?
“But test everything; hold fast what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21
References
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Flying-Spaghetti-Monster
What is Faith?
I am sitting on a chair right now. I had faith that the chair would not collapse when I sat on it. This is not a blind faith, my inductive reasoning led me to quickly assess the chair was safe to sit on. I sat on it earlier, it looks well built and there were no obvious cracks in the chair.
Christian faith is not a blind belief in something, nor is it just wishful thinking, but rather there is objective evidence which would give us good reasons to believe Christianity is true. Faith is preceded by knowledge. “Christian faith is not belief in the absence of evidence. It is the proper response to the evidence.”1 So like the example of the chair, we can examine the facts and assess that believing God is reasonable. In fact the bible encourages us to do this, it says “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15). Also in the bible, Peter commended a group of people who had carefully examined the evidence, rather than just accepting/rejecting it blindly (Acts 17:11).
“And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God.’” Mark 11:22
References
https://www.rzim.org/read/a-slice-of-infinity/faith-trust-and-evidence-3
What is Science?
In attempting to assert intellectual superiority and ward off Christian views, I have heard blanket objections stating something like “No I don’t believe in God, because I believe in science”1. The attempt is to assert science and Christianity are at odds, and that they are resting on what is intellectually sound, not some blind faith position. However this presumption is based on faulty logic and misconceptions on what science is and what Christianity teaches.
The founders of modern science were either Christians or Theists, who used scientific endeavours to find how God made things work. Today there are Christians in all forms of science, and they do not believe science is at odds with Christianity.
The word science comes from a latin word meaning “Knowledge”. The Science Council defines science as “the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence”2. It further goes on to define scientific methodology as: observation, evidence, experiment, inductive reasoning, repetition, critical analysis, verification and testing.
Science is a methodology, and scientists are people who hold certain worldviews, and then using the lens of their worldview, interpret evidence. There are atheist and theistic scientists who, given the exact same evidence, can come to vastly different interpretations of what the evidence means. It does not mean one is smarter than the other, just they have different presuppositions and biases which result in differing conclusions.
There are different branches of science, and a Christian and atheist scientist may come to the same conclusion on the results of experimental and observational science, such as in chemistry, maths, biology or physics. However in historical and origins science, the two may come to vastly different conclusions based on the same data. For instance, in biological homology they may conclude vastly different causation for the similarities in anatomical structures. So we need to be mindful that science provides us with some facts, and the scientist’s interpretation of these facts may be painted as fact, but the interpretation may be biased through their presupposed worldview.
It is not unscientific to believe in God. To believe in God is not to give up the brain. Here’s is partial list of scientists, and knowledgeable people, who also held a theistic worldview3 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology
The foundation of science also relies on certain assumed facts.
- It assumes there is such a thing as objective truth.
- Science assumes truth is knowable, that our minds have the capacity for determining something as being true.
- Science assumes order in the universe, and that what we observe now can be used to determine past and future events.
- Science also assumes morality, in that it assumes people are capable of, and should provide scientific evidence truthfully, and it would be wrong not to do so.
These assumed facts rely on the Christian worldview to exist. So when an atheist does science, he lives and behaves with the Christian worldview being correct. This is because these 4 foundations of science are not founded in his atheistic worldview. Keep these 4 scientific foundations in mind and I will explain what I mean in a moment.
“Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.” Psalm 111:2
References
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/05/150531-religion-science-faith-healing-atheism-people-ngbooktalk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZM751HreIQ
https://www.rzim.org/read/just-thinking-magazine/a-vital-skill - https://sciencecouncil.org/about-science/our-definition-of-science/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology
One Man Sharpens Another 