The modern world, however, seems to see these forces as being diametrically opposed, and divisive arguments are brought up seemingly every day which purport to uphold one in defiance of the other. There are honestly very few things which annoy me more than these assertions. Who says that either science or religion has to be correct and the other must be totally incorrect?
Certainly science and religion are different entities, but that does not make them opposed to one another. Quite the contrary- these two studies actually compete each other. Science and religion are quite content to be separate, but while they occupy different niches, they are not necessarily ignorant of each other.
In this post, I intend to explore what religion (specifically Christianity) has to say about science. Based on some of the portrayals of Christians in the modern media, one might suppose that religion condemns science and denounces modern scientific thought. And this may be true of certain specific sects of the faith, but we are not here concerned with such minutia. Instead, our discussion focuses more on Christianity as a whole.
Transcendental Acquiescence
So what exactly does Christianity say about science? Well, to be honest, much less than many people, both proponents and adversaries of religion, assert. In truth, the most much of the Bible seems to say to the realm of science is "I agree."
The first place I see this as evident is in the accounts of the miracles. One of the modern atheist's favorite pastimes is deriding the Christian for his belief in these "unscientific" events. What he is unable to see, however, is that the Christian sees the miracles in the same way, for miracles are, by definition, "unscientific." That is, they operate outside the realm of science. Science, of course, describes the observed and expected behavior of nature. Miracles are momentary suspensions of this normally concrete natural order. The Bible does not assert that it is at all normal, or logical, or even scientifically theoretical for men to walk on water, rise from the dead, turn water to wine, part seas, or make the sun go in reverse across the sky. On the contrary, it is because these events were so strikingly peculiar that many of them made it into the book in the first place.
The men and women in the Bible were not ignorant of science. Thus we find Martha's hesitation at Jesus' request to open Lazarus' tomb, for a man dead four days naturally has a foul odor (John 11:38-44). Hence the ridicule of the men at the house of Jairus, and their astonishment when Jesus brought out the formerly dead girl alive and whole (Mark 5:35-43). Ezekiel knows that bones do not come back to life on their own (Ezekiel 37:1-14), but finds it wise not to answer God so certainly. Hezekiah knows that the sun moves in the same direction across the sky in any normal day (2 Kings 20:1-11), but this day is not normal.
In fact, it is almost frustrating how much God relies on the scientific knowledge of everyday man to make His miraculous actions stand out. And here we find the crux of the matter. Christians are not so onerous to modern scientists because they reject science, as the scientists would assert. Rather, Christians are bothersome because they claim to know the One who invented nature (and by extension, science) in the first place. Certainly, if God created the world, He created the rules that govern it. Of course it is perfectly reasonable therefore that the vast majority of history has seen nature follow a strict set of rules. It is not, however, unreasonable to say that it is impossible or even improbable for Him to suspend these rules on very rare occasions and play by His own rules.
Religion does not baldly contradict science, it agrees with it whole-heartedly. In fact, it is not going too far to say that religion even enhances science by giving it that which science alone cannot provide- a Reason.
The First Lab Manual
I close with a topic which seems to have escaped the notice of many modern Christians and atheists alike: there is science in the Bible. When Israel was first putting forth the structure of their society, one class of people was set aside to act in varying capacities in the worship of God at the tabernacle. This group was known as the Levites (the descendants of Israel's son Levi). In order to perform their priestly duties, a book was written containing many of the guidelines they were to follow. In our English Bibles, this book has been aptly titled "Leviticus." It is one of my favorite books of the Bible, though it has a (mostly) undeserved reputation for being pedantic and uninteresting. (Oddly enough, I sometimes receive this same criticism.) On top of many other uses, it served as a sort of rudimentary lab manual for the priests, who were at times called to perform medical and scientific duties.
Leviticus is full of practical scientific advice such as avoiding animal carcasses encountered in the wild (Lev. 11:24-25), how to see if a skin disease is serious or not (13:1-8), and how to deal with different kinds of mildew (13:47-58). Read these passages if you have not already (and then read the rest of Leviticus). These do not sound like the ravings of a science-denying madman. In fact, some of them resemble simple scientific experiments. There is science in the Bible! Okay, maybe I'm the only one that excited about this, but it is cool. Or at least interesting...
Here is what I want you to get out of this discussion: Christianity, and religion in general, has no real quarrel with science. Christians, this means that we should be prepared to discuss science when it is called for, instead of just dismissing it with a self-righteous remark. And Scientists, it means that we must stop ridiculing Christians for being uneducated and backwards. They simply are not. Let's do our best to put science and religion back where they belong. Honestly, they are happier that way (and so are we).
In this post, I intend to explore what religion (specifically Christianity) has to say about science. Based on some of the portrayals of Christians in the modern media, one might suppose that religion condemns science and denounces modern scientific thought. And this may be true of certain specific sects of the faith, but we are not here concerned with such minutia. Instead, our discussion focuses more on Christianity as a whole.
Transcendental Acquiescence
So what exactly does Christianity say about science? Well, to be honest, much less than many people, both proponents and adversaries of religion, assert. In truth, the most much of the Bible seems to say to the realm of science is "I agree."
The first place I see this as evident is in the accounts of the miracles. One of the modern atheist's favorite pastimes is deriding the Christian for his belief in these "unscientific" events. What he is unable to see, however, is that the Christian sees the miracles in the same way, for miracles are, by definition, "unscientific." That is, they operate outside the realm of science. Science, of course, describes the observed and expected behavior of nature. Miracles are momentary suspensions of this normally concrete natural order. The Bible does not assert that it is at all normal, or logical, or even scientifically theoretical for men to walk on water, rise from the dead, turn water to wine, part seas, or make the sun go in reverse across the sky. On the contrary, it is because these events were so strikingly peculiar that many of them made it into the book in the first place.
The men and women in the Bible were not ignorant of science. Thus we find Martha's hesitation at Jesus' request to open Lazarus' tomb, for a man dead four days naturally has a foul odor (John 11:38-44). Hence the ridicule of the men at the house of Jairus, and their astonishment when Jesus brought out the formerly dead girl alive and whole (Mark 5:35-43). Ezekiel knows that bones do not come back to life on their own (Ezekiel 37:1-14), but finds it wise not to answer God so certainly. Hezekiah knows that the sun moves in the same direction across the sky in any normal day (2 Kings 20:1-11), but this day is not normal.
In fact, it is almost frustrating how much God relies on the scientific knowledge of everyday man to make His miraculous actions stand out. And here we find the crux of the matter. Christians are not so onerous to modern scientists because they reject science, as the scientists would assert. Rather, Christians are bothersome because they claim to know the One who invented nature (and by extension, science) in the first place. Certainly, if God created the world, He created the rules that govern it. Of course it is perfectly reasonable therefore that the vast majority of history has seen nature follow a strict set of rules. It is not, however, unreasonable to say that it is impossible or even improbable for Him to suspend these rules on very rare occasions and play by His own rules.
Religion does not baldly contradict science, it agrees with it whole-heartedly. In fact, it is not going too far to say that religion even enhances science by giving it that which science alone cannot provide- a Reason.
The First Lab Manual
I close with a topic which seems to have escaped the notice of many modern Christians and atheists alike: there is science in the Bible. When Israel was first putting forth the structure of their society, one class of people was set aside to act in varying capacities in the worship of God at the tabernacle. This group was known as the Levites (the descendants of Israel's son Levi). In order to perform their priestly duties, a book was written containing many of the guidelines they were to follow. In our English Bibles, this book has been aptly titled "Leviticus." It is one of my favorite books of the Bible, though it has a (mostly) undeserved reputation for being pedantic and uninteresting. (Oddly enough, I sometimes receive this same criticism.) On top of many other uses, it served as a sort of rudimentary lab manual for the priests, who were at times called to perform medical and scientific duties.
Leviticus is full of practical scientific advice such as avoiding animal carcasses encountered in the wild (Lev. 11:24-25), how to see if a skin disease is serious or not (13:1-8), and how to deal with different kinds of mildew (13:47-58). Read these passages if you have not already (and then read the rest of Leviticus). These do not sound like the ravings of a science-denying madman. In fact, some of them resemble simple scientific experiments. There is science in the Bible! Okay, maybe I'm the only one that excited about this, but it is cool. Or at least interesting...
Here is what I want you to get out of this discussion: Christianity, and religion in general, has no real quarrel with science. Christians, this means that we should be prepared to discuss science when it is called for, instead of just dismissing it with a self-righteous remark. And Scientists, it means that we must stop ridiculing Christians for being uneducated and backwards. They simply are not. Let's do our best to put science and religion back where they belong. Honestly, they are happier that way (and so are we).
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