Give a reason · 1 Peter 3:15
Hasn't science disproved God?
The objection
Science explains thunder, disease and the origin of species without God. Every gap God once filled has closed. A creator looks like a leftover from before we understood the world.
What the evidence shows
- 01The U.S. National Academy of Sciences says science and faith are compatible.
It calls the idea that evolution and religion are incompatible “not true” and notes many scientists accept both.
- 02Many scientists believe in God.
In a 2009 Pew survey of AAAS members, 33% believed in God and 18% in a higher power, about half the rate of the general public.
The Christian case
- 01Mechanism is not the same as maker.ArgumentJohn Lennox
Lennox, an Oxford mathematician, argues that understanding how an engine works doesn't disprove Henry Ford, and science can't rule out a Creator.
- 02The origin of life is unexplained.ArgumentJames Tour
Tour, a synthetic chemist at Rice University, writes of prebiotic chemistry: “Nobody understands them.”
- 03The evidence points to a mind.ArgumentStephen Meyer
Meyer argues that God best explains the universe's fine-tuning and the information in living cells.
What Scripture says
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”Psalm 19:1 (KJV)MeaningNature is presented as pointing beyond itself.
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”Romans 1:20 (KJV)MeaningPaul says creation reveals something of God.
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”Hebrews 11:3 (KJV)MeaningFaith and creation are linked, not opposed.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1769 Authorized Version), public domain.
Where Christians differ
Young-earth creationists read Genesis as six 24-hour days, 6,000–10,000 years ago. Old-earth creationists accept an ancient universe. Evolutionary creationists hold that God works through evolution.
What skeptics say
Richard Dawkins argues natural selection explains life better than a designer. Meyer's intelligent design view opposes the near-unanimous scientific consensus on evolution.
Did you know?
The first person to argue that the universe is expanding from the motion of galaxies was Georges Lemaître, a Belgian Catholic priest.
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“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)
Sources
- Science and Religion, U.S. National Academy of Sciences
- Scientists and Belief (2009), Pew Research Center
- John Lennox, “Why God Is Like Henry Ford” (from Beyond Opinion), Monergism (excerpt)
- John Lennox, Wikipedia
- James Tour, “Animadversions of a Synthetic Chemist”, Inference Review
- James Tour, Wikipedia
- Stephen C. Meyer, Return of the God Hypothesis (2021), stephencmeyer.org (HarperOne)
- Young Earth creationism, Wikipedia
- Old Earth creationism, Wikipedia
- Theistic evolution, Wikipedia
- The God Delusion, Wikipedia
- Stephen C. Meyer, Wikipedia
- Georges Lemaître, Wikipedia