Is Christianity true? (Science versus faith in God - Part 4)

This blog is part of my series titled “Is Christianity true?” The series addresses four common objections to the truthfulness of the Christian worldview, namely concerns about: (1) the trustworthiness of the Bible; (2) the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection; (3) the compatibility of faith in God with modern science; and (4) the incompatibility of Christian truth claims with those of other worldviews.

ARE THERE LIMITATIONS TO SCIENCE? 

There is no doubt that the physical sciences have been amazingly successful in helping us understand how the material universe works. There are, however, natural limitations on the explanatory scope of science. For example, it cannot answer some of the most basic questions posed by my grandchildren! Sir Peter Medawar, biologist and Nobel laureate, puts it this way: “The existence of a limit to science is, however, made clear by its inability to answer childlike elementary questions having to do with first and last things, questions such as How did everything begin? What are we all here for? What is the point of living?” 

There are many things we all take for granted, even though we do not actually know what they are.

Of relevance to this question, there are many things we all take for granted, even though we do not actually know what they are. Christians are frequently attacked for believing in things they cannot see. However, there are a number of phenomena that science acknowledges as true yet does not know what they are! In other words, we cannot see them. These include gravity, electricity, and consciousness. While scientists admit these exist and have developed theories to explain how they work, they cannot define them other than in regularities or laws that describe how they act (for example, the law of gravity). 

This enormous and seemingly insurmountable knowledge gap does not lead them or us to throw out the entire realm of science, nor should it lead us to dismiss the possibility of God’s existence. Medawar’s perspective notwithstanding, the late Stephen Hawking promoted the view that physics rather than God was the source of ultimate truth. 

As I reflect on these matters, I am reminded once again that I did not become a follower of Jesus as a result of logic and intellectual reasoning. The question that launched my spiritual journey when I was in my thirties was along the lines of what my purpose in life was. As Medawar noted, this is a childlike, elementary question unexplainable by science. In fact, every person I know who, like me, has become a follower of Jesus later in life has done so as a result of a personal revelation of Jesus rather than intellectual reasoning. 

I do not mean to downplay the importance of applying our God-given intellect to life’s big questions. In fact, I have become a student of the immense intellectual foundation that undergirds the Christian faith. However, when I reflect on why I have put my trust in Jesus, the reason that dwarfs all others is quite simply that I know Him! His presence in my life is so real that I cannot imagine living without Him. Having said that, there are times when I lose sight of, or (dare I say it?) override His direction. It is humbling and wonderful to know that His ardent love for me is unaffected when my response to Him is unloving.

Next week, we will consider the following question: Do the latest findings of science lend credibility to the claim that God exists?

Photo by Hans Reniers on Unsplash