More Light, Less Heat

Some say it's hard to believe in God in a scientific age. I disagree. I think scientific discoveries illustrate God's wisdom and power, and show why it's reasonable to believe that "the universe was formed at God's command" (Hebrews 11:3).

The biblical idea that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" makes good sense the more we know about the body's complex computer (the brain), powerful pump (the heart), intricately designed camera (the eye), finely tuned musical instrument (the ear), tough but sensitive outer covering (the skin), and strong but flexible frame (the skeleton). Microscopic marvels like the encyclopedic information encoded in DNA speak clearly of intelligent design.

Furthermore, "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). Do they ever! As telescopes and space probes explore the vast reaches of outer space, our awe increases for the Creator who said, "Let there be light."

According to Romans 1:20, "God's invisible qualities . . . have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." As someone put it, nature is "God's Braille for a blind world."

Christians don't need to fear science. He who created Adam certainly understands atoms. The same God who created the universe also inspired the Bible. His works harmonize with his Word.

Like others, Christians benefit from scientific advancements in everything from travel to medicine, from telecommunication to food preparation. But science has its limitations. It often tells us "what," but not "why." And without the Bible, where can we find an ethical framework to guide us when research raises questions with moral implications (for example, about genetic engineering and cloning)?

Science alone can't meet our deepest needs. We won't find salvation, fellowship, moral guidance, and hope in test tubes, but in Christ and his Word.

Phillip E. Johnson, who made waves with his book, Darwin on Trial (InterVarsity, 1991), recently wrote another volume called Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds (InterVarsity, 1997). This Harvard-educated professor, who teaches law at the University of California at Berkeley, is determined to unmask the misleading claims of evolutionary naturalism. Borrowing a phrase from the late Carl Sagan, Johnson says we need well-equipped "baloney detectors" so we can recognize baloney science when it's the religious or the scientific variety.

For example, we need to "distinguish between what scientists assume and what they investigate." (Someone who argues against biblical miracles may have presupposed that God doesn't exist and that natural laws are inviolable.) Also, Johnson urges, we need to "use terms precisely and consistently." (A term like evolution has a wide variety of definitions. Examples of micro or special evolution—such as dog breeding and finch-beak variations—do not prove macro or general evolution which clearly violates Scripture.)

In a scientific age, Christians can defend our faith confidently and insist on less name-calling and more careful examination of the facts; less mudslinging and more honest dialogue; less inflammatory rhetoric and more respectful debate.

More light, less heat—that sounds like a winning formula.