Are Science and Faith That Incompatible?
Having faith doesn’t mean closing our eyes to facts. In fact, Christianity is also based on evidence, though some can defy our experiences and senses. When Christ’s disciples asked for proof, He told them He had been with them for so long, they should at least believe based on the evidence of His works (John 14:8-12).
One piece of evidence for Christianity is the universe itself, which the Bible states is God’s creation. Evidence of such creation includes the Big Bang explosion, from a point of 1 billion degrees to the universe’s current temperature of 2.7 degrees. This supports the Bible’s assertions that the universe had a beginning and wasn’t created by anything within it (Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1).
Paul writes that Christ was seen by over five hundred people after his resurrection, with most of these witnesses still living during Paul’s writing and many of them willingly dying in Christ’s name (1 Corinthians 15:6). First-century, non-biblical accounts from Josephus and Tacitus tell of Christ’s crucifixion and Christians’ refusal to worship the emperor.
The Bible’s historical validity is bolstered by thousands of the New Testament’s manuscripts, ranging from 150 to 400AD, ensuring that the Old Testament was accurately copied. The two-thousand-year-old Dead-Sea scrolls represents 37 of the Old Testament’s 39 books.
Science also requires faith. Scientists have theorized about the Big Bang explosion, though no one has seen it. Scientists theorized about atoms for millennia before evidence of atoms was finally discovered last century via technology.
Science has its limitations. According to science, matter and energy can’t be created or destroyed. But according to the Big Bang Theory, they were created about 14 billion years ago. And it’s challenging for science to explain our sense of beauty and right and wrong.
Finally, science rose from Christian societies and, to a certain extent, exists because of Christian faith. The scientific method was created by Christians’ who believed in two key principles: (a) the God-created universe has immutable order and rules; and (b) nature and matter are real, not an illusion, so we don’t live to escape matter or transcend the corporeal. Also, Christianity’s belief that humans are fallen creatures has led to the creation and practice of rigorous scientific investigations, and the creation of laws and government for checks and balances.
Perhaps science and faith aren’t so incompatible after all.
Summary of different sections in Parts 2 and 3, “Does Science Point to God” of the book Is Atheism Dead? by Eric Metaxas.
One piece of evidence for Christianity is the universe itself, which the Bible states is God’s creation. Evidence of such creation includes the Big Bang explosion, from a point of 1 billion degrees to the universe’s current temperature of 2.7 degrees. This supports the Bible’s assertions that the universe had a beginning and wasn’t created by anything within it (Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1).
Paul writes that Christ was seen by over five hundred people after his resurrection, with most of these witnesses still living during Paul’s writing and many of them willingly dying in Christ’s name (1 Corinthians 15:6). First-century, non-biblical accounts from Josephus and Tacitus tell of Christ’s crucifixion and Christians’ refusal to worship the emperor.
The Bible’s historical validity is bolstered by thousands of the New Testament’s manuscripts, ranging from 150 to 400AD, ensuring that the Old Testament was accurately copied. The two-thousand-year-old Dead-Sea scrolls represents 37 of the Old Testament’s 39 books.
Science also requires faith. Scientists have theorized about the Big Bang explosion, though no one has seen it. Scientists theorized about atoms for millennia before evidence of atoms was finally discovered last century via technology.
Science has its limitations. According to science, matter and energy can’t be created or destroyed. But according to the Big Bang Theory, they were created about 14 billion years ago. And it’s challenging for science to explain our sense of beauty and right and wrong.
Finally, science rose from Christian societies and, to a certain extent, exists because of Christian faith. The scientific method was created by Christians’ who believed in two key principles: (a) the God-created universe has immutable order and rules; and (b) nature and matter are real, not an illusion, so we don’t live to escape matter or transcend the corporeal. Also, Christianity’s belief that humans are fallen creatures has led to the creation and practice of rigorous scientific investigations, and the creation of laws and government for checks and balances.
Perhaps science and faith aren’t so incompatible after all.
Summary of different sections in Parts 2 and 3, “Does Science Point to God” of the book Is Atheism Dead? by Eric Metaxas.