Ft. Interview with Jonathan Witt
Does science conflict with the Bible? In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, Jonathan Witt, Executive Editor of Discovery Institute Press, notes that many scientists throughout history and today profess faith in God, even arguing that scientific study points to his existence.
Famous Scientists Who Were Also Religious
“The Christian worldview actually gave birth to science,” Jonathan told Know Why Podcast. The Judeo-Christian worldview prevalent in renaissance Europe “fired the imaginations and it ordered the reasoning of those that gave birth to the scientific revolution.”
In the 16th Century, Anglican thinker Sir Francis Bacon developed the scientific method, which uses experimentation and inductive reasoning to learn more about the natural world.
In the 17th Century, Galileo, a Christian, advanced groundbreaking discoveries, including that the earth revolved around the sun, and argued that science does not contradict the Bible.
“There are scientists in our age who see nature, see even recent discoveries pointing to God intelligent design, pointing to evidence of a God,” Jonathan said, mentioning Nobel Prize winning physicists Arno Penzias, 90, and Charles Townes (1915-2015) as examples.
Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health and a leading scientist in DNA research, is a current example of a prominent scientist vocal about his Christian faith.
There are plenty more examples of men and women combining faith and science throughout history and today. Modern scientists aren’t as hostile to religion as people may think. Many scientists around the world acknowledge the possibility of a spiritual realm. And the majority of people working in science-related fields are religious.
Understanding the Bible
Still, sometimes scientific discoveries seem to go against something the Bible says. That’s why it’s important to understand what the Bible is.
The Bible claims to be the true, authoritative word of God, given to human authors to write down throughout multiple centuries and locations. It contains poetry, prophecies, parables, genealogical records and historical accounts. Combined, these writings tell the story of God and his love for humanity.
The Bible never claims to be a comprehensive textbook of science or history. So when reading books within the Bible, it’s important to consider their historical, literary, and cultural context in order to interpret them correctly — something theologians have been doing (and sometimes disagreeing about) for centuries. For instance, the Bible claims that God created the universe, but even Christians often disagree about how he created it.
Where Christians will land in this debate depends on their interpretation of Genesis. Genesis is the first book in the Bible, and its first two chapters focus on creation. According to the biblical creation account, God created the universe in six days, with man being his final creation.
Theistic evolutionists argue the story of creation is meant to be symbolic or allegorical — that the six days of creation actually represent ages of time during which evolution took place under God’s guidance. Others, called creationists, hold that the story of creation is literal. They believe the six days of creation were actually six 24-hour days, and that God created all living things by speaking them into existence.
As Jonathan acknowledged on Know Why, “Whereas God is infallible and his Word is infallible, our understanding of Scripture is not necessarily infallible.”
And yet, he argues in favor of intelligent design. Many accomplished scientists view intelligent design as the superior explanation for the universe’s existence, as evidenced by dozens of peer-reviewed articles and burgeoning research.
Find links and resources mentioned in this episode below:
- Heretic: One Scientist’s Journey From Darwin to Design
- Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution is Wrong
- Zombie Science: More Icons of Evolution
- How Did the Universe Begin?
- Discovery Institute: Intelligent Design
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