God and Science A study of the compatibility between the bible and science “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible:” The Nicene Creed

Outline What is science? Is science fallible? Where do science and Christianity appear to conflict? What’s the real problem? How do we deal with non-believers who quote science as fact?

What is science?

A definition of science “the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.” Key phrases: Systematic study of structure (how it is built) Behavior of physical and natural world (how it works) Observation (passive) Experiment (active) Note how this covers all fields of study: physics, chemistry, biology, geology, …

What does that mean to us? Since all these disciplines study essentially the same overall thing (our universe) they must agree at some level Since we believe God created the universe, then any real scientific study can only observe and experiment with what God provided So if the science is pursued properly, then it should reveal the nature of God “A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it.” Timothy Keller in The Reason for God

How should science be pursued properly? The simple answer is the “Scientific Method”

Steps of the Scientific Method Observation/Research Hypothesis Prediction Experimentation Conclusion

Occam’s razor “Among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected.” William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347) William of Ockham

Branches of Science Natural Sciences Physical (Physics, Chemistry, Geology) Life (Biology, Zoology, Botany) Social Sciences (Anthropology, Psychology, Political Science) Formal Sciences (Mathematics, Statistics, Systems Theory) Applied Sciences (Engineering, Medicine, Computer Science) Each of these are ways we attempt to discover the truth about our universe

What is Science?

Is science fallible? - Science doesn't tell us anything, scientists do. - Like all human endeavors (including theology), people sometimes get it wrong - Good science will be self-correcting over time, but sometimes scientists have biases that perpetuate poor scientific ideas.

Philosophical Naturalism (Materialism) “The natural world is all there is” -Principle underlying modern scientific inquiry - Any attempt to invoke God is automatically excluded as outside the bounds of science - All scientific questions require natural explanations, regardless of the absurdity.

Philosophical Naturalism ‘Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door. Richard Lewontin Evolutionary Biologist, Harvard University

Where do science and Christianity appear to conflict? - Biblical creation account vs. Evolution - Noah's Ark and the Flood - Miracles (Parting Red Sea, Virgin Birth, Jesus Resurrection)

What’s the real problem?

How do we deal with non-believers who think science disproves God and is incompatible with Christianity? cQ cQ