Speaking in Defense of Science Faith

The Bible and Science

The problem I see in the debate between "Science" and "Faith" is that, while pundits and talking-heads yell back and forth across the TV screen, and men with phD's behind their name out-reference their opponents, the bottom-line issue that should help clarify the whole discussion, becomes obscured. 

As a result, whenever I read opinion pieces, like this recent blog post at NPR, the "bottom-line issue" that I'm speaking of is not even addressed, as far as I can tell, and those with legitimate concerns with the current state of scientific discovery are labeled as "intellectually blind" and grouped together with the likes of media personality Bill O'Reilly.

The "bottom-line issue" I'm attempting to underscore is the idea of presuppositions. That's right: presuppositions. As I am exposed to more Presuppositional Apologetics by sources such as the Team Apoloian bloggers at AOMIN.org, or my internet acquaintance and brother in Christ, Pastor Dustin Segers of  Shepherd's Fellowship Baptist Church (of Greensboro, NC), I am appreciating all the more the impact presuppositions have in someone's argumentation.

Back to the NPR: the title of that opinion piece is "Speaking in Defense of Science". The author, Marcelo Gleiser (a theoretical physicist, apparently), suggests that "science remains under attack in many parts of the country. This 'anti-scientifism' is costing the United States dearly." What is this "anti-scientifism"? It is someone who "distrusts science" and is thus responsible for helping move this country "straight back to medieval obscurantism".

In fact, those who teach the Biblical account of creation are part of this "anti-scientifism" movement. Of course, this would include every Bible- and gospel-loving parent, pastor, and Sunday School teacher in the United States.

As both a Christian and a science-fiction nerd, I love and appreciate both the gospel and science. And yet, this is not a contradiction: the God of the Christian faith is also the God of science. Science is the study of nature; an attempt to figure out the mysteries of the physical world. And who created this physical world for us to investigate? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, of course (cf John 1:3).

See: this is where presuppositions come into play: are we going to presume God doesn't exist as we pursue scientific discovery, or are we going to presume God does exist? As Pastor Segers suggests:

What are you thinking?

"No, I’m saying that...materialism cannot account for [reason and logic]. Only Christian theism can account for immaterial, abstract, universal entities such as the laws of logic, conceptual schemes, etc. and our obligation to be rational and implement critical thinking." (Source)

For the scientist to presume that God doesn't exist - indeed, for the scientist who says that only the material (what can be experienced by our five senses) exists - is to undermine the entire scientific method! Even the use of reason and logic becomes illegitimate because the system of beliefs that under-gird any way of thinking (in other words: our worldview) that leaves out the Christian God cannot adequately account for reason and logic. This isn't a matter of trying to prove that God exists from whatever evidence can be conjured up in nature; this is a matter of how can we even use logic and reasoning in the first place. What gives logic and reason meaning? The answer is, of course, God. Ironically: to even answer the question of whether or not reason and logic have meaning, we need to use reason and logic! A vicious circle indeed, unless one has the triune, Biblical, Christian God as their starting point for all things, including the existence of knowledge itself.

What our theoretical physicist friend Mr. Gleiser is doing in this article is pointing to the antics of pseudo-Christian TV personalities, and the quirks of the creation-science movement, and saying God isn't involved in the creation of nature because science has a more rational and legitimate (being peer-reviewed, accredited, and all that) explanation for the creation of nature. Well, until he acknowledges that God is the source and meaning-giver to the reason and logic he so dearly holds onto in defending his godless science, then I submit what the Scriptures say about those who deny God:

"Fools say to themselves, 'There is no God.'" - Psalm 14:1

"Fools say to themselves, 'There is no God.'" - Psalm 51:1

"For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools...." - Romans 1:21, 22