Science and Christian Belief - Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Science and Christian Belief

We often encounter the proponent of atheism touting “science” generally as some kind of point on their side of the argument. “Religious adherents held back progress while secularists gave us science and rationality,” or so the argument typically goes. It is a great tragedy of our historically illiterate generation that this claim even passes the smell test.

Fundamental to the advancement of modern science were several philosophical presuppositions. The expectation of order, uniformity, and a robust epistemology are all inherent to successful scientific work.

So what worldviews might provide grounding for these beliefs? To answer this, we need only look at the beliefs that were held and cited by the greatest scientific minds.

If the claims of the New Atheists were true, the theistic mindset of Europe in the 16th and 17th century should have precluded advancement.

Also, the scientific figures that did produce the advancement should be successful with an inverse proportion to their religiosity or belief in God. Yet, this is not what we find. Below is a list of such men who were not encumbered by monotheism, if their prodigious accomplishments are to count as helping advance science.

  • Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
  • Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1627)
  • Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
  • Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
  • Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
  • Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
  • Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
  • Robert Boyle (1791-1867)
  • Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
  • Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
  • William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907)
  • Max Planck (1858-1947)
  • Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

This small selection of theists, deists, and overtly Christian men who led the way into our modern age belies the notions of “superstitious” beliefs in God and religion preventing advancement. If that were true, we would have to believe that these men were able to produce scientific advancement in spite of their religious views which sought to hold them back.

However, this claim is wholly without evidence. They repeatedly stated how their belief in a rational God who ordered nature to be discoverable by the minds of mankind actually aided their discoveries rather than preventing them. Now, I do not state this evidence for theism’s consonance with science without a concern for the sincere beliefs of my atheist friends.

The dogma that “Christian’s kept us in the Dark Ages while bold secularists sought to free us” runs so deep in the atheist subconscious that it must be very painful to hear it gainsaid. However, the truth remains the truth. If the historical record is to mean anything, it must disabuse us of the notion that belief in God precludes scientific advancement.

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