Science

In the 19th century atheist philosophers would argue that the universe had always existed, but the discovery of the ‘big bang’ by the Roman Catholic priest and scientist Georges Lemaitre in 1927 (popularised by Hubble in 1929) put an end to this way of arguing, and atheists were now forced to admit that there was a beginning to the universe, which brought in a new line of questioning. Argument from infinite regress One way that we can end up at this question is through what philosophers of science call the ‘argument from infinite regress’. What this means is that if we ask the question on the origins of our universe, we may well come to the conclusion that the big bang started it. ‘Very well’ you may say, ‘but where did all the energy come from which led to the big bang?’ You may then get into various topics of discussion about different types of positive and negative matter, which again leads us to the question ‘Where did that come from?’

It seems fashionable these days to assume that Science and Religion are enemies of one another, with rationality trying to fight off the irrational ‘virus’ of faith. However, this is very far removed from Biblical Christianity which celebrates science as a wonderful gift from God. Proverbs 25:2 celebrates the searching out and discovery of new information that Scientists are accomplishing. Good science is completely compatible with Christian belief, which is not blind faith, but following the evidence where it leads. This involves a number of disciplines such as history, philosophy and science. As preacher and author Andrew Wilson says, we have God’s word and God’s world to reveal details about the kind of God we worship. This week the UK’s most famous physicist Stephen Hawking releases his new book The Grand Design, co-authored with American colleague Leonard Mlodinow. Much interest has developed with extracts being leaked in the UK media over the past few days. In his latest offering, Hawking seems (at least on face value) to have radically departed from his closing paragraph in his best-selling A Brief History of Time where he wrote the following:

If you consider yourself a sceptic about Christianity or a Christian who is looking for honest answers to some of the toughest questions, then this book was quite simply written for you. Tim Keller is a pastor in New York, who has put into writing the kinds of questions that he is asked on a regular basis about Christianity such as ' How can a good God allow suffering?', 'Hasn't science disproved Christianity?' and 'How can a loving God send people to hell?'

It is important to note that the Bible is not a science text book, instead it teaches us about God, His personality, and how we are supposed to relate to Him. The Bible does not teach us every detail about the way the physical world works. For instance, the Bible talks of the sun 'rising'; we know that in fact the sun does not move, but that the Earth spins causing the sun to appear in a different place. Our knowledge of the science behind this phenomenon does not remove any truth from the description that the sun 'rises', as this is still the apparent result. The Bible clearly states that God created the Earth and Mankind, but exactly how this was done we are not told. A God of the gaps?