Modern Science
Despite misconceptions that plague the public in general as well as some in the scientific community, modern science not only had its experimental tap roots in the Judaeo-Christian worldview of a purposive, orderly, created world but “…virtually all scientists from the Middle Ages to the mid-eighteenth century—many of whom were seminal thinkers—not only were sincere Christians but were often inspired by biblical postulates and premises in their theories that sought to explain and predict natural phenomena.”
The names include Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) in human physiology; Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) in genetics; Nicolaus Copernicus (1475-1543), Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) in astronomy. In physics: Isaac Newton (1642-1727), Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716), Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Georg Simon Ohm (1787-1854), André Ampere (1775-1836) and Michael Faraday (1791-1867). In chemistry, Robert Boyle (1627-1691), Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794), George Washington Carver (c.1864-1943) and in medicine, Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) and Joseph Lister (1827-1912).
It should be noted as well that the 19th to 21st century anti-God arrogance of some scientists continues to be deflated by certain God-pointing discoveries in the fields of biology/microbiology and astronomy.
In the field of biology/microbiology the most significant mouth-stopper and God-pointer is the intricate design and information-rich nature of all life forms, even so-called ‘primitive’ life-forms and at the basic level of a cell. There is no more rational explanation for the origin of such intricate design and information than, at least, an Intelligent Designer.
The alternative is to argue that both the design and the information evolved over time and by chance via mutations. There is a fatal flaw here though. Mutations may lead to benefits for an organism but always or almost always involve a loss or a diffusion of information, never a gain of information. Rhere is a UTube clip which includes Richard Dawkins, Oxford’s vitriolic atheistic scientist and author of The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design.
For those of you in the scientific world, get a copy of Lee Spetner’s 1997 book Not By Chance: Shattering the Modern Theory of Evolution which thoroughly demolishes the central arguments in Dawkins’ book.
But that’s only the God-pointing evidence from biology. Astronomy’s God-pointing evidence is also fascinating. The most abiding alterative to the biblical doctrine of a universe created in time by God has been the scientific notion that the universe is eternal, has no beginning and therefore needs no beginner.
In 1913, astronomer Vesto Slipher discovered that a dozen galaxies in the vicinity of earth were moving away from the earth at very high speeds, ranging up to 2 million miles per hour. This discovery led to the realization that the Universe was expanding which also meant that the universe had a beginning.
The reaction to Slipher’s discovery and the implications of that discovery for the origin of the universe provoked some odd reactions from scientists.
Albert Einstein in a letter to one of his colleagues said, “This circumstance [of an expanding Universe] irritates me.”
Arthur Eddington, in 1931 said, “…the notion of a beginning is repugnant to me…the expanding Universe is preposterous…incredible…it leaves me cold.”
Allan Sandage, another astronomer, said concerning the evidence that the Universe had a beginning, “It is such a strange conclusion…it cannot really be true.”
The Cosmic Background Explorer satellite, in 1992, provided additional confirming information on the nature of the origin of the Universe. The findings of the satellite attracted the attention of major newspapers and TV programmes across the world.
George Smoot, project leader for the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite declared, “What we have found is evidence for the birth of the Universe…It’s like looking at God.”
Why don’t we listen to the Bible? “In the beginning God created the heavens…” “Thou, Lord, in the beginning laid the founda.tions of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.”
Astronomer George Greenstein in his book The Symbiotic Universe made this insightful comment, “As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency—or, rather, Agency—must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?” Cited in Ross, 114-115.
The cutest comment from an astronomer though is from the book God and the Astronomers written by the agnostic Robert Jastrow. He says,
A sound explanation may exist for the explosive birth of our Universe; but if it does, science cannot find out what the explanation is. The scientist’s pursuit of the past ends in the moment of creation…For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” , 2nd edition, 1992, 106-107.) Ibid, 259.