Can I Have Peace with Science As a Follower of Christ?

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When I was in school in the 1980s, teachers were always careful to say that evolution was a theory – and they would say that creation was another theory.

It breaks my heart so much that students are taught that evolution is “fact” now – in our public schools, in museums, and on TV shows. And the implications are staggering.

– Life is an accident.
– There is no God.
– There are no moral absolutes.
– There is no purpose to life.
– There is nothing after this life.
– Life is not sacred.
– Life has no worth.
– We are accountable to no one.

We can see the fruit of this belief system every day in the news, in our schools, and in every part of our society, sadly. Darkness.

Students are taught to believe all that the “expert scientists” say. This is indoctrination, unfortunately. We act as if someone who is called a “scientist” is somehow infallible.

How dangerous to assume that humans, any humans (even scientists or doctors), are infallible!

When we do this, we promote human beings to a godlike status. I know a lot of people who know a lot of science, but none of them are perfect or omniscient – not even in their particular field.

Darwin did his best to figure things out based on the scientific knowledge available at the time. But he didn’t even know about genetics or DNA. There are a lot of holes in his theory because there was so much information he was missing. We actually can see those holes pretty clearly now with genetics. It is also important to keep in mind that he had a significant bias. He was an atheist and he was looking for a way to take God out of the picture of the origins of the universe and the origins of life.

We are all prone to “confirmation bias” – including researchers and scientists. The assumptions we make going into our research can greatly skew our results.

There is plenty of good scientific, observable proof for natural selection within a particular species. But not much concrete evidence at all for evolution between species. Or for life starting randomly from nothing.In fact, there are many famous experiments that prove that spontaneous generation of life does not happen. Not even in ideal lab conditions when a brilliant scientist is trying to give spontaneous generation a huge boost. (Louis Pasteur helped to prove this as he helped to enact the beginnings of the scientific method.)

As a pharmacist who has taken a lot of science in college and who continues to see the dramatic shifts in our understanding in many areas of science, I realize that our current understanding of many areas of science is not complete. We know a lot more than we ever did about many things. But…

There are constantly new discoveries in almost every field that completely change and update our old thinking.

There will never be a day when our knowledge base is complete and we know everything there is to know scientifically about every subject. We are very, very far from being omniscient.

Also, it is important to note that some fields of science cannot be scrutinized by the scientific method and proven in a lab. Especially areas like the origin of the universe and the beginning of life. No human scientist was there to make observations, take pictures, do experiments, and to collect data. In those areas of study, scientists make assumptions and propose theories, by necessity.

Assumptions and guesses are not scientific facts. If we teach theories as ironclad facts, we are misleading people in dangerous ways. We may easily embrace convenient, popular myths as truth.

Only the Word of God is the source of absolute truth and is infallible. God is the only one who was the eye witness to what happened when the universe and life were created. Observable science can answer some questions, but it can’t answer everything. Why not turn to Him for the historical account?

Science can show us many things about the universe. It is one way to know the world. It is not the only way. But it is very helpful. When we approach it humbly, honestly, science shows us that there is a much higher intelligence at work than our own at work. But we must remember that our current snapshot of limited understanding in science is not the entire picture – particularly in areas of study where direct observations and repeatable lab experiments are impossible.

Man’s word is fallible. God’s Word is infallible.

If there is a contradiction between man’s word and God’s Word, I choose to trust God’s Word. God’s Word is another way to know the world.

It is entirely possible to make man’s word, or “science” an idol. Our culture does that today. We make evolution, and our current understanding of science, a false religion– to our own detriment. I believe it is part of the powerful delusion that is part of the Great Apostasy that happens before the rapture of the church and the Great Tribulation.  (It is painfully clear that our culture is following the destructive path of Romans 1. This is why we are open to delusions, because we have rejected God and His Word.)

In the end, real science always supports God’s Word once we have the full picture, because God created science. Science is part of God’s handiwork. There are many creationist scientists today who use solid scientific principles to show real scientific evidence for the existence of God, for the truth of the Bible, and for creation.

Obviously, I can’t possibly share all of the details of the answers to these important questions in one blog post. It would take books to delve into the details. But maybe this will get us thinking and praying about these critical issues.

There are answers to difficult questions.

God doesn’t ask us to have blind faith. You don’t have to take my word for it. I invite you to discover the answers for yourself!

He gives us all kinds of solid support, even solid scientific support, for His existence, for creation, and for His Word if we are willing to seek for truth.

Much love!

PRAYER

Lord,

Open our eyes to the truth of Your Word and to the truth of science. Help us to see the spiritual battle that is raging and seeking to destroy our culture, our children, and ourselves. Give us wisdom to tear out any strongholds and lies we may have embraced. Thank You that You invite us to use our brains when we come to You. That You don’t ask us to leave our intelligence at the door. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear by the power of Your Spirit so that we may turn to You and Your truth, that we may receive Your healing, hope, salvation, and Life!

Amen.

RESOURCES

If this issue is a stumbling block for your faith in Christ, here are some resources to help you discover the truth about science and about the infallibility of God’s Word:

www.josh.org(go to the resources “answering the skeptics”)
www.answersingenesis.org(click on the Answers tab)
www.creation.com
www.gotquestions.org(you can search for almost any question you can think of)

www.creationmuseum.org

www.arkencounter.com

11 comments

  1. Hi,

    I don’t normally comment on your blog, ‘cause as an atheist I’m more here to learn than anything else, but I wanted to pop in to try and allay your concerns somewhat.
    You said:
    – Life is an accident.
    – There is no God.
    – There are no moral absolutes.
    – There is no purpose to life.
    – There is nothing after this life.
    – Life is not sacred.
    – Life has no worth.
    – We are accountable to no one.

    As someone who definitely believes numbers one, two and five (and six depending on how we define sacred), I want to make it clear that there is still purpose and worth to life, and still morals and accountability, to people who don’t believe in god. Just as you get those things from your belief in god, I get them from my lack of belief in a god, and more specifically from my belief in people (of course not in the same way you believe in god, though! I’m not trying to suggest that we’re like gods). Just as you find peace and moral codes in religion, I find them in atheism, as do many others. I’m obviously not going to go into great detail about atheist belief systems on a Christian blog, as that would be kind of rude, but the implications that you see (and would be horrifying if they existed) aren’t really there from non-believers perspectives. There have been quite a few times when I’ve misinterpreted Christianity too by looking at it from my own perspective instead of through the eyes of Christians (which is why I now read blogs like yours), so I just wanted to help clear that up a little if I could.
    Wishing you a lovely day. ????

    1. Nona,

      It is so wonderful to hear from you. You are most welcome here.

      It’s really interesting to me to hear about your beliefs. If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear more about why you believe that there is purpose and worth to life and where those things, as well as morals and accountability originate.

      And, do you believe that all atheists believe as you do? Or do you believe it is possible for some to think differently? I know there are wide variations in beliefs among those who call themselves, Christians.

      I appreciate your sharing and also your respectful, kind approach.

      Much love to you! 🙂

      1. Thanks very much for the response.

        It’s (as I’m sure you’ll agree considering you have a whole blog on them) pretty difficult to condense your beliefs into just one post. I’d consider myself a humanist (basically a subset of atheism), if that helps. I suppose I see it as…there’s a quote from a TV show I’m not really a fan of anymore that goes: ‘If nothing you do matters, all that matters is what you do’. I identify with that quote a lot. If nothing I do matters in a metaphysical aspect (as I believe), what I do with my life is incredibly important – because it’s literally the only life I have. And it’s the only life anyone else has, too. If there is no god, and no salvation or heaven or hell or any sort of afterlife/reincarnation, then there’s nobody to help people but other people. So I’d say the point and meaning of life (and its beauty, in a way) comes from it being finite, and that the basic goal for everybody should be to try and ensure that everyone (including themselves!) has as happy and good a life as possible, because if someone doesn’t they’ll never get it back, or get an eternal reward for their suffering. Helping others is more important than helping yourself though, especially when the ‘making life better for myself’ option involves hurting other people. From my own perspective (and I do realise this is drastically different to what religious people actually think) a religious life would have less purpose and meaning, because if there’s a god to save people in the end, it doesn’t matter so much whether you help them, or what you do with yourself. If all life is is a test, the only person you can fail is yourself.

        I think that covers worth and perspective. I think people are accountable to themselves. Also to the law, of course, but any external accountability (including a higher power) is never going to be as important as an internal one, people have broken the law in the past for moral reasons and will hopefully continue to do so. Religious people aren’t held accountable to god, they choose to hold themselves accountable to him – it’s still a case of personal integrity, regardless of where their rules come from. Moral absolutes are tricky, because beliefs about what is and is not moral can be debated, and different cultures have vastly different beliefs. What’s moral in England is offensive in China, what’s moral in China is offensive in England. I’m not a huge fan of the idea of moral absolutism in general to be honest, because I think it can offer a view of the world that’s not nuanced enough for its actual reality, with potentially disastrous results. But when looking at the most basic parts of morality (don’t hurt people, treat others the way you want to be treated, look after your community), they’re found everywhere, in every culture and many species aside from humans. A common atheist interpretation of that is evolutionary psychology – but I’m not really a fan of that in general. Moral dissonance seems to either come from different interpretations of those core values, or different interpretations of the word ‘community’ (your family? Your country? Your race? Who’s excluded and who’s included?). Studies have shown that morality comes intuitively from emotions more than anything else, and I’m pretty confident that peoples’ emotional responses to things are partly from nature and partly from nurture, so that’s where I think the absolute moral rules come from, too. A lot of atheists have moral rules to help determine what’s right or wrong in more complicated situations too, which I suppose could be considered moral absolutes that come from themselves, but they’re generally pretty broad like ‘don’t do things that hurt other people’ or ‘your life isn’t worth more or less than anyone else’s – act accordingly’.

        And yeah, lots of people are going to think differently from me, despite being atheists too. I know there was a survey at some point in Britain (my homeland) where about 10% of people were found to identify as humanists, but a much higher percentage of people believed in the same values as them, and just either didn’t know what humanism was, or chose to call themselves something different. At the end of the day, we can all only speak for ourselves though, of course.

        1. Nona,

          This is really helpful. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I wonder, what is your background faith wise with your family when you were growing up? If you don’t mind sharing, of course.

          I have some things going on today. But look forward to talking with you some more.

          Thanks for everything!

          Much love,
          April

        2. Nona,

          I deeply appreciate your willingness to take the time to share a bit of your perspective on these incredibly important and timeless questions.

          It’s wonderful to hear that you have a sense of a moral compass. And that you believe in people helping other people. That is such an important thing. I think we actually share a lot of the same desires. We want people to have good lives, the best possible lives. We value the very limited time we have on this planet – both as individuals and corporately as a society. We both value purpose and meaning. We both value good morals and the desire for people not to harm one another. Everyone’s life is equally valuable and precious. That is awesome!

          And, I agree that some things do vary depending on culture. While most cultures agree on certain moral standards – do not murder, do not lie, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc… there are other areas where cultural traditions, religious differences, etc… cause people to have differing standards.

          I actually agree with you, as well, about that moral standards come from nature and nurture in many ways. Children learn what is moral based on what they are taught and the examples they witness as they grow up. But, yes, there is an innate “natural morality,” to some degree. The Bible actually talks about that. That God has given a conscience to all people. And that many times, they realize what is right and wrong and seek to do what is right even if they know nothing about the Bible or the God of the Bible.

          It’s interesting to me that there are some situations in societies where, as described in the Bible in Romans 1, people can choose to go so far away from God, that eventually, their collective consciences are seared and the become vulnerable to powerful delusions. 2 Tim. 3 talks about this, too. How people will be in the last days – and part of what will be so terrible is that people will lose their “natural affection” for their own family members and for others. I think that is part of what you are describing – that innate sense of what is right and wrong and how to treat others, especially family members. Most of the time, in all kinds of cultures around the world, parents love and try to protect their children. Children love and try to protect their parents. People are safest in their own homes. But there is a time described when people will lose that. I believe we are living in that time now. Where parents kill their own children. Spouses kill each other. Children kill their own parents. It is so very tragic.

          We do all have free will. So we are accountable to ourselves, for sure. But knowing that we will also stand before God and give an account doesn’t make us not care for others. The two things that matter most to God when we stand before Him are 1. That we love Him with all our hearts, minds, and souls and 2. That we love others as ourselves. God cares very much about us helping others and doing good to them. He wants us to follow His example of how He provides all of the resources on earth for those who love Him, as well as those who turn against Him. He wants us to love others, even those who hate us. And He wants us to overcome evil with good.

          I hope to get to talk with you some more. You are such a delight.

          It’s interesting – you sound amazingly selfless. I’d love to hear more about where that philosophy comes from for you sometime.

          I know there is quite a bit of evidence for atheism. I’m sure you have studied that and examined a lot of it very carefully.

          I believe there is even more evidence for the existence of God, for creation, and for Jesus and the salvation He provided on the cross. I’d be glad to share that with you (or anyone else) if you are interested.

          But most of all, I just want to thank you for speaking up and for sharing your heart.

          I am praying for you. I long for you to have the very best life possible and to experience the greatest love possible.

          Much love!
          April

  2. Just a note – religion doesn’t change people or make them better. Sometimes, it can even make them worse. Religion is simply rituals, rules, and manmade stuff. But a relationship with the Living God of the universe through Jesus – now THAT is life changing.

    It sure changed me! I used to be so worried, controlling, disrespectful, afraid, bitter, frustrated, lonely, and miserable. As I began to yield to the Lordship of Jesus and invite Him to transform my thinking and my life, He has given me such peace, joy, patience, security, purpose, and fulfillment. I am completely in awe!

    It is definitely not a me thing. I couldn’t change myself. I had tried for many years.

    Check out my About page for more info.

    Much love to all!

  3. I have been meaning to comment on your topic for a few days now. Sorry for my tardiness.

    As a former believer in evolution ( I was taught this was fact in school, after all) and as a basically scientific type person I have come to realize that according to scientific methods, evolution does not stand up. For something to be considered fact, it MUST meet two criteria: 1. It must be observable. And:
    2. It must be repeatable.

    Evolution rather stands up to the first criteria. We have many fossils of species that were closely related to today’s species, but were also quite different.

    Things fall apart at criteria 2. Science has never managed to create life in any form, much less transformed one life form into another. Therefore it has never been repeatable.

    I could get into the whole “dinosaurs killed by asteroid” argument as well but suffice it to say if they were all killed, then how on earth did they evolve into birds, which is the current theory? Just my thoughts…

    1. Happily Gave Up,

      Thank you very much for sharing. 🙂

      Sometimes, I think that because there are similarities between species, evolutionary scientists assume they must be related genetically. But – I believe it is more likely to be evidence of the same Creator, instead, who used similar wisdom with the creation of various species. Especially with what we know about genetics today and how one kind of animal always produces offspring of the same kind.

      There are many things to observe as evidence from long ago. It is interesting how a scientists’ assumptions can change the conclusions he/she makes.

      For example, evolutionary scientists assume that there had to be billions of years for the fossil layers to be created. They need billions of years so they assume billions of years because it is obvious that evolution from microbes to humans couldn’t possibly have taken place in just the 6500 years or so that the Bible would indicate. And if they are correct, there should be many, many transitional fossils that reveal the transition of various species from the past to other species. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

      Many of us assume that the carbon dating methods that are used to determine the accuracy of these billions of years is infallible, but here is an interesting article that shows that carbon dating is based on certain assumptions.

      Creationist scientists look at those layers of sediment and fossils all over the earth and see the results of a global flood – the flood of Noah. The various fossil layers were laid down in a period of a year or so during a global catastrophe over 4000 years ago. Fossils can form very quickly. They don’t necessarily take billions of years.

      True – scientists have never been able to create life or observe one species evolving into another. We have many experiments to look at over the past several hundred years that disprove spontaneous generation.

      And it is pretty impossible for us to observe things that happened before any people were on earth. So, that causes a most of our scientific methods to be rather unhelpful for this field of study.

      There are so many fascinating areas of this issue to study. I think we could spend a lifetime just examining it all.

      I believe the scientific evidence we have clearly points to creation and a young earth with a global flood.

      Thanks again!

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