Science

 

Our Approach to Science

Introduction

For many, science and theology might best be described as having “irreconcilable differences.” Discourse around the two topics often results in confusion, division, and even hurt. This reality has not always been the case, nor must it continue to be. Theology and science are both searching for truth and a better understanding of how humanity relates to the created world of which it is a part.

The MI Approach to Science

Why Christians Should Care About Science

Our modern world has been uniquely characterized by the preeminence of science and scientific approaches to the pursuit of truth. This is understandable, since the discipline of science has answered questions that would grind the gears of any other discipline to a stop. Science has undoubtedly impacted our lives; scientific products help us live longer, produce more, and undertake new endeavours. Scientific discovery also opens us up to beauties of the natural world that were previously unknown to us. From the ocean’s depths to distant galaxies we continue to find beauty and awe afresh in both the familiar and unexplored. Growing in our understanding of science  allows us to better appreciate its work, and see how it complements the Christian life.  

Why Scientists Should Care About Christianity

The Christian story expands the impact and significance of science and its endeavours by providing a setting within which science has deep and prevailing meaning. As an act of love, God both allows for the world to demonstrate his creativity and mystery and yet continually somehow upholds this order that sustains it. This broader story gives science the freedom to do what it does best: carefully investigate the way the world is, theorize how it came to be that way, and project the changes it will undergo. The Christian story provides a wider body of knowledge within which science and other complementary disciplines can be properly understood. While each academic discipline has its own set of limitations, they can together—when viewed in light of a biblical framework—provide a far more comprehensive response to a much broader range of questions.

The Compatibility Between the Bible and Science

Conversations between scientific and faith communities have not always been productive. Historic conflicts such as Galilean and Copernican defense of heliocentrism against the largely geocentric stance of the Catholic Church, and the Scopes Trial over the inclusion of evolutionary theory in education, are well known. Science and theology, however, share common ground in that they love truth and desire to seek it out.

Since our world is coherent, whatever is true is consistently true—whether that be the effects of gravity or God’s love for the world—and remains true across all of life, even if not always apparently relevant. Historical problems, then, have not been the result of conflicting facts, but of conflicting perspectives (e.g. Galileo’s reading of the sky and the Catholic Church’s reading of the Bible). Science and theology both serve Christianity when they seek to answer questions appropriate to their discipline. When reading the articles that follow, consider which discipline is being asked to address the issues articulated.

Science as a Response to God’s Call to Humankind

Genesis tells us that part of our human vocation is to “subdue” the earth and exercise “dominion” over that which lives in it (Genesis 1:26,28). Science, through its investigation of the natural world, is vital to our fulfillment of this call, because it provides informed knowledge about the world in which we live. When we take into account the complex nature of human impact on the earth, scientific contributions become especially important. For instance, knowing how to best manage a river that is shared by millions of creatures demands a level of insight into the cumulative impact of individual actions that scientific methods uniquely provide. Science reveals to us how creation works, and adds richness and depth to the work of God’s hands we have been commissioned to cultivate.

How Scientists Can Serve the Church

As a scientist, exploring a world created, ordered, and sustained by God allows you to make a unique contribution to the church. Within the church, you can help Christians fall further in love with creation by explaining how the natural world works, re-enchanting us with beauty, and revealing how we fit within its processes. Your methodological approach to our love and pursuit of truth can encourage the church to strive for more precise answers, not settling for “rough and ready” responses. As an ambassador for the church in specialized and technical fields, you can provide an exemplar of someone whose discipline highly values logical progression and someone who at the same time recognizes the space for mystery and the role of faith. You are also well placed to voice the limitations of science, modeling a respect for other disciplines as more appropriately equipped to answer certain questions. In response to the articles that follow, consider how the church could be served by what is being presented.

Featured Resources

Other Science Resources

Google Says the Internet of Things' Smarts Will Save Energy

Article: Cade Mertz
Source: Wired

Secrets of How a Chameleon Changes Its Colour

Article: Melissa Hogenboom
Source: BBC

Does Brain Equal Behavior?

Article Feature: Kathy Sawyer
Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

The Word

Audio: John Lennox
Source: Regent Bookstore

Know Nothing: The true history of atheism

Article: Michael Robbins
Source: Slate

Modern Cosmology Versus God's Creation

Article: Gary Gutting
Source: The New York Times

Does Nature Point to a Creator?

Video: John Lennox
Source: Johnlennox.org

The truth about technology's greatest myth

Article: Tom Chatfield
Source: BBC

What My Daughter Wants You to Know About Prenatal Testing

Article: Amy Julia Becker
Source: Christianity Today

Medical practice: Reflections on the art of compassion

Article: Cameron Pierce
Source: Marketplace Institute

Why everyone must understand science

Video: A.C. Grayling
Source: BBC

Standing up for GMOs

Article: Bruce Alberts et al.
Source: Science Magazine

A Beautiful Christian Bioethics

Article: John V. Gerardi
Source: Ethika Politika

The Surprising Science of Happiness

Video: Dan Gilbert
Source: TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Part 6: The Metaphors We Use to Speak about God and Creation

Article: Paul Arnold
Source: Marketplace Institute

Part 5: The Opening of Natural Science: Including God in Creation

Article: Paul Arnold
Source: Marketplace Institute

Part 4: The Entrenchment of Natural Science: Ignoring God in Creation

Article: Paul Arnold
Source: Marketplace Institute

Part 3: The Closing of Natural Science: Removing God from Creation

Article: Paul Arnold
Source: Marketplace Institute

Part 2: The Nature of Scientific Knowledge

Article: Paul Arnold
Source: Marketplace Institute

Part 1: A Theology of Science and Divine Action

Article: Paul Arnold
Source: Marketplace Institute

The "Most Significant" Photo Recently Taken from Space

Article: Megan Garber
Source: The Atlantic

Good Science Vs. Bad Science

Article: Julia Belluz
Source: Macleans

Bait and Switch: A Review of Sam Harris's Free Will

Book: Alvin Plantinga
Source: Books & Culture

Did Scientists Really Discover the 'Gene That Makes Us Human'?

Article: Dave Unander
Source: Christianity Today

The Eugenic Impulse

Article: Nathaniel Comfort
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Does the Universe Have a Purpose?

Video: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Source: Minute Physics

Battle Ready? It May Be Possible to “Vaccinate” Soldiers Against the Trauma of War

Article: Unknown
Source: The Economist

Where the Conflict Really Lies

Book: David Talcott
Source: Cardus Comment Magazine

The Beautiful Nano Details of Our World

Video: Gary Greenberg
Source: TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Searching for a Cure to Violence

Article: Sharon Weinberger
Source: BBC

What Galileo's Telescope Can't See

Article: James K.A. Smith
Source: Christianity Today

Science and Faith in the Life of Michael Faraday

Article: Colin Russell
Source: The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

It Ain’t Necessarily So: How Much Do Evolutionary Stories Reveal About the Mind?

Article: Anthony Gottlieb
Source: The New Yorker

How Are the Ages of the Earth and Universe Calculated?

Article: BioLogos
Source: BioLogos

Science, Such a Sweet Mystery

Article: David P. Barash
Source: LA Times

U.S. Students Know What, But Not Why

Article: Cathy Tran
Source: Science Insider

The Case For Collaborative Consumption

Video: Rachel Botsman
Source: TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

"God Particle" Found? "Historic Milestone" From Higgs Boson Hunters

Article: Ker Than
Source: National Geographic

Reading Genesis One with the Ancient Eye

Audio: John Walton
Source: Regent Audio

Scientists and Belief

Article: David Masci
Source: The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

We Are All Cyborgs Now

Video: Amber Case
Source: TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

Are God and Science Compatible?

Audio: John Stackhouse
Source: UCM

Science, Art, and Worship

Audio: Loren Wilkinson
Source: Regent College

Humanity 2.0

Article: Steve Fuller
Source: RSA

Arguments from Design Don’t Prove; They Show

Article: John Stackhouse
Source: Stackblog

Book Review of "Darwin’s Pious Idea: Why the Ultra-Darwinists and Creationists Both Get It Wrong"

Book: Ross Hastings
Source: Marketplace Institute

A Faith Journey in a Medical Science Career

Article: John Pohl
Source: BioLogos

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