8/12/2019 Science v. Faith
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Science v. Faith Reflection
Since the beginning of time, science and faith have argued on
virtually everything. In the
past, the possibility of a Christian scientist in the eyes of
the public seemed like an oxymoron.
How can one appreciate the beauty of this world controlled by a
Creator when science teaches
seemingly contradictory ideas? Although it may seem that science
and faith are contradictory,
the moment we understand that science and faith cohesively work
together is when we gain true
knowledge. One cant appreciate science without God and God
without science.To begin with, the predominant worldviews of
scientists arent generally in accordance
with the Christian worldviews. The two most popular worldviews
of scientists are relativism and
agnosticism. These worldviews argue that when it comes to
morality and religion, one can
believe whatever he or she wants because there are no real
answers to these questions. In other
words, science cant answer with absolute certainty so therefore,
there isno real answer. Each
person has to deduce their own values on morality and religion
for themselves. Wouldnt these
predominant worldviews suggest that science and faith gain
knowledge in contradictory ways?Although it may seem that a
scientist and a person of faith may gain knowledge in
contradictory ways, there is a connection between these two
different thought processes.
Generally, scientists gain knowledge through observations of
nature as well as events in nature.
Scientists try to understand the physical cause-and-effect
behavior of nature. They try to explain
past observations as well as predict future outcomes of nature.
On the other hand, a person of
faith gains knowledge through the Bible which says that God is
in complete control of the whole
universe. Although there is no theory of the existence of God
because it cant be tested by
observation or experiment, it doesnt mean that these two ways of
gaining knowledge are
contradictory. One of Gods most beautiful ways of revealing
himself is through nature and
science gears toward understanding nature. In that sense,
science doesnt disclaim God but
through the understanding of natural processes, people get to
appreciate Gods work more thanthey could by just faith alone.
Finally, scientific knowledge has its own limits as does faith
knowledge. Scientific
knowledge cant answer certain questions like what is the purpose
of life or what is love. Also
science cant answer supernatural events or miracles in the Bible
because they break natural
laws. Knowledge that one acquires through faith cant describe
how God governs the natural
world. No one will ever completely understand that. I dont think
there is room for supernatural
explanations in science because science cant explain miracles in
nature. We shouldnt attribute
these miracles to a god of the gaps mentality but instead marvel
at what God does through
science. What it can explain and what it cant. Down the road,
when science discovers concepts
that it couldnt explain, it will only add to the power of God
and the control that He has for every
minuscule detail in the whole universe.
