SomePrinciplesUnderlyingScienceandFaith.pptx

Some Principles Underlying
the Christian Faith and Science
Copyright by CC Molcar, Ph.D.

Historically, the relationship between science and religion has varied in the
Western world
Physicist and theologian, Ian
Barbour has studied this relationship and says we can relate science and religion in four ways:
Conflict (Galileo, Earth Creationism, etc.)
Independence (no overlap between religion and science).

Dialogue (Science raises questions that it can’t answer – questions that religions usually address).
Integration (There is enough overlap between science and religion’s quest for truth that a genuine search for truth in one can illuminate the other.)

“The Warfare Hypothesis”
The Warfare Hypothesis is the idea that Science and Religion have always been at war with each other throughout history.
“no serious historians of science or the science-religion issue today maintain the warfare hypothesis…
The pre-modern retroactively called scientists themselves believed that theology and religious texts were relevant to their work and visa versa.”
Professor Lawrence M. Principe, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University.

There are some Biblical principles that underlie the relationship between
Christian Faith and Science.

God is the Creator
The God of the Bible, who is the only True God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), is the Creator of the material universe.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
God’s creation was created good and the Creator loved His creation.

Human beings’ rebellion against God and His love and laws has affected (hurt) the Creation.
“The creation was subjected to frustration…its bondage to decay” Romans 8:20

The Bible and Science
The Bible gives us answers to why we’re here, what God expects of us, how to know Him and have eternal life.
The Bible does not attempt to be a science book but is true when it speaks about God’s creation.

Questions that Faith Asks Science
Is Science the only way to reliably know something?
Has Science Proven that the Universe has no purpose?
What does the Human Desire for Meaning Tell us about Existence?
Hasn’t Science and Religion always been at War?
Hasn’t Science Disproved the Book of Genesis?
Doesn’t Science Show that the Universe Did Not Need a Creator?
From: When God and Science Meet.

“Faith in God is not based on the gaps that science hasn’t yet filled in but based on observations of meaning and value and that actually underlie science itself.”

The Biblical basis for
modern Western Science
A Biblical, Christian world view is the basis for modern Western science.
This is because the Bible reveals that God created the world as having , not chaos, being governed by natural laws.
Therefore, there is the possibility of discovering what God has made and how it functions and operates through scientific study.

There have been many Christians working in the natural sciences in the past and today.
Examples:
Kathryn Hayhoe, Climate Scientist
Dr. Francis Collins, The Human Genome Project, mapping all of the Genes in the Human Body.

The material world has value because it is God’s creation.
He created and upholds it, keeping it going.
We are meant to respect and care for God’s world because He loves and values it.

God is the Creator-Redeemer GOD
The Earth is the Lord’s: “It is Very Good” (Gen 1)
An Abundant, Flourishing Creation
Yet Humans are Fallen Creatures

Christ’s Lordship: Cosmic dimensions of the gospel
Jesus the Christ is Lord of All Creation
Renewal of Creation- of “all things”
(Calvin DeWitt’s emphases on Stewardship)

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Conclusion
The Christian faith and Science are not at odds with each other but compliment and enhance each other. God wanted us to discover how His world works.
Science is a gift of God that can be used for good.

Discovery in the natural world should bring praise to the Creator.