RESPONSE: Many of the best scientists in history were Christians, and this did not ruin their ability to be scientifically objective. In fact, historically speaking, science has not been hindered by believers in God; instead, it has been helped by them. Let’s consider a few examples below:
Famous Scientists who believed in Scripture[1] |
|
Copernicus |
Copernicus celebrated astronomy as “a science more divine than human.” He believed that his heliocentric theory revealed God’s divine mind. |
Boyle |
He was a devout Anglican, who believed scientists were divinely appointed “priests of the book of nature.” Boyle himself wrote scientific work and theological treatises. |
Newton |
Newton wrote about biblical prophecy, including long commentaries on the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation. He wrote, “This most beautiful system of sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being.” |
Kepler |
Kepler wrote, “For a long time, I wanted to become a theologian. Now, however, behold how through my effort God is being celebrated through astronomy.” |
Lemaitre |
This Belgian astronomer was one of the first to discover the big bang theory. He was a Catholic priest. |
Mendel |
His work on heredity helped Charles Darwin develop his theory of evolution. He was an Augustinian monk. |
Others |
We could also include Galileo, Brahe, Descartes, Leibniz, Gassendi, Pascal, Mersenne, Cuvier, Harvey, Dalton, Faraday, Herschel, Joule, Lyell, Lavoiser, Priestly, Kelvin, Ohm, Ampere, Steno, Pasteur, Maxwell, and Planck. |
If we fear theistic scientists, then we would need to be suspicious of the work of all of these men. In other words, theism isn’t a science stopper; historically, it has been a science starter. While some fundamentalist creationists have been guilty of distorting scientific discoveries, not all Christians have been this way. We shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.
[1] D’Souza, Dinesh. What’s So Great About Christianity? Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2007. 97-99.