Science

You know, if I wasn't a Christian with a scientific mind, I would guess this was a four-letter word in the Christian community.

science (sī'əns) Pronunciation Key The investigation of natural phenomena through observation, theoretical explanation, and experimentation, or the knowledge produced by such investigation. ◇ Science makes use of the scientific method, which includes the careful observation of natural phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis, the conducting of one or more experiments to test the hypothesis, and the drawing of a conclusion that confirms or modifies the hypothesis. See Note at hypothesis.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

I am going on the record here to say that science and faith are not at odds with one another. I'll also go on record here to say I'll never be able to convince you of that. Ever. If you are scientifically oriented atheist, you will not believe me until you have your own meeting with God.

I've been thinking about this alot lately. Books have been published and reached the best-seller's list that supposedly present the best (i.e., most researched perhaps, or most convincing maybe) atheistic arguments against the existence of God. I purchased the most recently famous of these books - "god is not Great" by Christopher Hitchens. I wanted to read it because someone in my office was touting it and a pastoral friend of mine referenced it as well.

It was with great anticipation that I settled down one evening, book in hand, warm lamplight on, snuggled in a blanket, and began to read. I was sure I was going to unlock the secret of the atheistic mind with the reading of this book. I was even a bit anxious about reading what was considered such a strong book -- "how strong is my faith?" I wondered. I need not have been too concerned. Not because Mr. Hitchens is a poor writer (he's not), or because his arguments are weak (they aren't); but, simply because he and I think alot alike. In fact, he writes and communicates quite succinctly what I myself believed until recently.

After alot of thought, I can only suggest that the following is the difference between a scientifically oriented atheist and me in terms of believing in God:

A scientific atheist makes science his/her God. That is, the existence
of God has not been scientifically proven to him/her, so science wins
the argument. Science trumps God.

This scientific Christian (can't speak for all) attributes science to God.
That is, that God has given us curious minds that look for patterns,
formulae, cause & effect, etc., that reveal God's creation to us. So,
God and science do not conflict.

Science allows us to build good bridges. We develop engineering standards based on scientific study. Science allows us to observe when a medication helps a medical condition. We develope medicines based on scientific study and experimentation. Science in and of itself is not bad or good, it simply is. Science deals with predicability in my view. If something happens one way 2000 time is a row, it is like to happen that same way the 2001st time, right? That is science.

Science has some flaws, though. Engineering standards get revised because of anomalies or unexpected failures. I know a few people, one who I talked to today, who's medical condition so far is unexplained by science. He received a blood plate count of "3" recently (normal is 140 or so), but appears to be healthy in every way other than this count. They have retested and confirmed tests were not mixed up or anything. The doctor keeps taking his blood pressure and it is normal every time. The doctor says, "this doesn't make sense". So far, science has not explained this -- it is a new phenomena so to speak.

I'm not "dissing" science here -- I'm just pointing out that it is not something you can take to the bank. You can make predictions based on science, but if it was foolproof, we'd never have bridge failures and medicines would always work as predicted, etc.

Two days before becoming a believer in Jesus Christ, I told a friend that believing in God for me "would be like believing that the sky would be pink behind that cloud up in the sky when all around the cloud the sky is blue." It wouldn't make sense to believe that, right?

Then I met God.

And I've learned that the argument about the color of the sky behind the cloud is totally irrelevant to the issue.