INTRODUCTION
• OPENING VIDEO
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8XmXSMxXHQ
• Our Hot Topic for today is science; specifically, are science and faith incompatible?
• Can you believe in science and also believe in the Christian faith?
• Are the two strictly opposed to one another, one an antiquated view of the world and the other the current and educated view of how things are?
• For some Christians, this can be difficult.
• Over the last hundred years, the fight over religion and science has brought about tremendous contention in our classrooms, pulpits, and workplaces.
• Yet many intelligent and scientific Christians believe in the compatibility of science and the Christian faith.
• One of the earliest conflicts between science and religion occurred in 1500 A.D. when Nicolaus Copernicus, a scientist, and religious leader, concluded that the sun was the center of the universe.
• This went against the church’s position at the time.
• The church believed that the Bible declared that the earth was stationary and that the sun moved around it.
• This belief came from a poor interpretation of Psalm 104:5 which states:
Psalm 104:5 (NET 2nd ed.)
5 He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be moved.
• Copernicus was forced to keep his views secret for 30 years for fear of persecution by church authorities.
• Galileo began where Copernicus left off and claimed that the earth was not the center of the universe but revolved around the sun.
• Because Galileo held this belief, he came under intense criticism and persecution from the church.
• Pope Urban VIII gave the order in 1633 that Galileo, then an old man of 70, should be threatened with torture if he did not renounce the heresy that the earth revolved around the sun. (Do Science and Faith Conflict? David Owens sermon from Sermoncentral.com)
• In the face of mounting evidence, the church held to this one verse falsely interpreted, which led the Catholic church to have the view that science proved incorrect.
• Today we accept that the earth revolves around the sun without sacrificing our faith.
• An example of bad science is when science says that evolution is not a theory but in fact, even when there is little actual evidence that supports the theory of evolution.
• As Christians, we must understand the part science plays in our faith.
• We cannot make statements like the earth is flat or dinosaurs never existed when the evidence does not show those things to be true.
• Both seek answers, and both are equipped to answer different questions.
• When we ignore actual science, or when science ignores faith, both get into trouble.
• Today let’s see if science and faith can coexist.
• We will look at three passages in the book of Job to help us springboard into our subject today.
Job 28:12–13 (NET 2nd ed.)
12 “But wisdom—where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding?
13 Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living.
SERMON
I. What is science?
• In the passage in Job, wisdom cannot be found in the land of the living.
• The previous paragraph has eloquently affirmed that wisdom cannot be discovered by searching; it cannot be purchased with gold or precious stones, and man cannot even ascertain the place where it might be found.
• It is no ordinary kind of wisdom that is spoken of here.
• “It is not the practical kind of ‘wisdom’ spoken of in the Book of Proverbs, but the full and complete understanding of the world and its order … There is a great gulf between human and divine wisdom.
• According to dictionary.com, science is defined as:
A branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws: systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.
• Science looks at the physical world seeking knowledge to questions like how something works and can the results be reproduced in a lab.
• Science is limited to the physical, to what can be done in a lab.
• Science is not equipped to prove history like George Washington was the Commander and Chief of the Continental Army and later the first President of the United States.
• Science cannot prove miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, the Virgin Birth, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, or Jesus turning water into wine.
• Science will tell you that miracles cannot be done since you cannot reproduce them and get consistent results.
• Science works through observation and experimentation.
• Science cannot give one all of the answers and wisdom in life because you cannot reproduce everything in a lab.
• I think most of us are familiar with what is known as the scientific method.
• Simply stated, the scientific method is defined as a method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.
• The key to the scientific method is to form a hypothesis, gather the relevant data, test the hypothesis, and then let the data prove or disprove the hypothesis.
• Today, some in the scientific realm develop a hypothesis and then look for ways to make the data fit.
• If you came into my home and did not know me and had race tracks, hot wheels, G.I. Joe ACTION figures, and toy weapons, you might think I have boys.
• That is one hypothesis.
• But maybe I just like toys?
• Or I have daughters who like toys!
• There is more than one possible hypothesis to test.
• Science gets in trouble when preconceived ideas lead scientists to wrong conclusions instead of letting all the data speak for itself.
• Some in the scientific community would thumb their nose at the Bible because of the miracles.
• The Bible tells us WHY we exist and how we got here, but the concept of something out of nothing cannot be tested; therefore, it is invalid.
• I do not want to discuss what they now call climate change, but here is something that should raise eyebrows.
• It is called by some settled science, and anyone who disagrees is a climate denier and is written off in the community as a crackpot.
• Without believing or not believing in HUMAN-caused climate change, isn’t science always about asking questions?
• If climate change is real, then all scientists who let the evidence speak instead of the desired outcome speak, shouldn’t they, by definition of the scientific method, all pretty much come out with the same basic conclusions?
• There have been many things throughout history that science said were fact (like smoking is good for a pregnant woman) that their initial conclusions were proven wrong when more data was available.
• When I was in school, concerning the origins of man, we were taught the theory of evolution; now, the word theory has been removed, and the theory is taught as fact.
• The late L. Harrison Matthews, an evolutionary biologist, said the following.
• The fact of evolution is the backbone of biology, and biology is thus in the peculiar position of being a science founded on an unproved theory—is it then a science or a faith?
• Belief in the theory of evolution is thus exactly parallel to belief in special creation—both are concepts that believers know to be true, but neither, up to the present, has been capable of proof. Matthews, L. H. 1971. Introduction. In Darwin, C. Origin of Species. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., ix.
• Interesting thought.
Job 38:31–32 (NET 2nd ed.)
31 Can you tie the bands of the Pleiades, or release the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead out the constellations in their seasons, or guide the Bear with its cubs?
II. What is faith?
• Dictionary.com defines faith as follows:
• Confidence or trust in a person or thing: belief that is not based on proof.
• I object to the NOT BASED ON PROOF aspect of the dictionary definition.
• Going back to Matthew’s statement concerning the roots of biology would make biology an issue of faith.
• Hebrews 11:1 states:
Hebrews 11:1 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.
• This verse is not a definition of faith but rather a description of what faith does.
• The Bible tells us that God created the heavens and earth.
• The Bible tells us why we were created.
• The Bible tells us how long it took to create.
• Now, since we cannot test these thoughts in a lab, we have to take these issues on faith, but there is evidence.
• In Job 38God begins a discourse with Job, and in this first one, God is telling Job that God is omnipotent or all-powerful.
• God asks Job if he (Job) can keep the constellations together.
• In others words, do you have the power I have?
• Science cannot prove or disprove this thought.
Romans 1:18–23 (NET 2nd ed.)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness,
19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
• God says that creation is evidence of Him.
• Creation cries out that there is a creator!
• In his 2003 book Soul Survivor, author Philip Yancey writes:
• “. . . religion, and not science, at least proposes an answer to two questions.
• (1) Why is there something rather than nothing? (Or, as Stephen Hawking put it, Why does the universe ‘bother to exist’?)
• (2) Why is that something so beautiful and orderly?”
• The burden of proof is on those who see order and try to explain how it came from chaos; they see intricacy and say there is no Artist; they see design but refuse to admit even the possibility of a Designer; they see beauty and intelligent life forms and say it all came from randomness; they see a world packed with pleasure, goodness and joy and say it was all an accident; they see the sky but do not see heaven; they see a tree but do not see the hand of God. As someone said, “Pity the poor atheist who sees a beautiful sunrise and has no one to thank.”
Job 42:1–6 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Then Job answered the LORD:
2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted;
3 you asked, ‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’ But I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know.
4 You said, ‘Pay attention, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes!”
III. Can science and faith coexist?
• The short answer is yes!
• Job tells God that God can give the answers to life.
• However, science can also help with some of the answers.
• Many of the earliest scientists were Christians, both laypeople, and clergy.
• They wanted to understand more about God’s universe and began to develop theories and a wealth of knowledge showing how God’s universe worked.
• Men like Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo were dedicated to their religious beliefs.
• Galileo is noted for saying that “God is known by nature in his works, and by doctrine in his revealed word” (“Galileo Galilei,” Christianity Today, from 131 Christians Everyone Should Know [Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2000], 355–57,
• As Christians, we know we live in God’s world—the world he lovingly, intentionally created.
• Science is the careful, thorough study of that world.
• Combining the disciplines of faith and science can inform the other.
• There is nothing that God’s created world can reveal to us that can damage God!
• As Christians, we have nothing to fear from learning the truth of what God made.
• Instead, discovering these details can inspire us to worship.
• These great men of faith paved the way for modern scientific thinking.
• They understood that at the center of the universe is a divine Intelligence.
• Life is not random and chaotic, as the world of that time believed; it is rational and ordered.
• The world is not subject to the whims of thousands of gods; there is One God who is good.
• To know Him is to know the truth.
• There is design and purpose built into the universe.
• Albert Einstein, who was pretty intelligent, was quoted as saying the following:
“Science without religion is lame, but religion without science is blind.” Albert Einstein https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2058-7058/14/4/40/meta
CONCLUSION
• Let’s consider how science and religion might complement each other by remaining in their realms.
• Science may solve the problem of how the universe began, but it cannot answer the question: why does the universe bother to exist?
• The Bible tells us God brought the world into being and why He did it, but the Bible does not give us much information about how God did it, other than the fact that He did it in an orderly way.
• Science can trace and explain the human biological process, but only the Bible can speak to our value, purpose, and future.
• As Christians, we know we live in God’s world—the world he lovingly, intentionally created.
• Science is the careful, thorough study of that world.
• Combining the disciplines of faith and science can inform the other.
• There is nothing that God’s created world can reveal to us that can damage God!
• As Christians, we have nothing to fear from learning the truth of what God made. Instead, discovering these details can inspire us to worship.
› Application Point: We should love God with all our minds, allowing faith and science to be in mutually beneficial conversation together.
