Many great pioneers of science examined the evidence and concluded it proved the existence of God and that the Bible was His inspired Word. For many, their belief in an orderly universe established by the power and genius of an almighty Creator lay behind their scientific investigations.
There’s no conflict between real science and the Bible. In fact they support and complement each other. Scientific discoveries continually teach us about the astounding thinking, planning and perfection our Creator put into His handiwork we see all around us. The Bible gives us knowledge about certain things science has not been able to discover through observation or experimentation (such as the origin of life and the universe).
If we go back several centuries, students and teachers of science had no conflict with the Bible. In fact, scientists and others would state that the Creator revealed Himself in two books—the book of His words (the Bible) and the book of His works (the natural world around us). Examining the evidence led many giants and pioneers of science to affirm their belief in the God of the Bible. In fact, it was belief in an ordered universe by the hand of a Creator that propelled them to rational scientific investigation.
The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), whose idea that the earth revolves around the sun profoundly impacted science, wrote: “For who, after applying himself to things which he sees established in the best order and directed by divine ruling, would not …admire the Artificer of all things, in whom is all happiness and every good?”
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), an Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist whose astronomical observations revolutionized man’s view of the universe, noted: “When I reflect on so many profoundly marvelous things that persons have grasped, sought, and done I recognize even more clearly that human intelligence is a work of God, and one of the most excellent.”
William Harvey (1578-1657) was an English physician, anatomist and physiologist who discovered how the circulatory system functions. He was a pioneer of the scientific method, with his work affecting scientific research for centuries. His studies of human and animal anatomy led him to conclude: “We acknowledge God, the Supreme and Omnipotent Creator, to be present in the production of all animals… All things are indeed contrived and ordered with singular providence, divine wisdom, and most admirable and incomprehensible skill.”
Scientific pioneer Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1726) was an English mathematician, physicist and astronomer best known for formulating laws of motion and gravitation and, he was also a theologian of note. Reflecting on the intersection of science and theology, he commented: “This beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” He also stated: “There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history,” and “I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.”
Modern-day physicist Gerald Schroeder notes that “Newton himself, though he was among the first to discern the universality of the laws of nature, found no conflict with his firm belief in the God of creation” (The Hidden Face of God, 2001, p. 16). Many would be surprised to learn that Newton “wrote and published more works on interpretation of the Bible than on mathematics and physics” (Francis Collins, The Language of God, 2007, p. 162).
More recently, Wernher von Braun (1912-1977), rocket scientist and father of the U.S. space program, said, “In this age of space flight, when we use the modern tools of science to advance into new regions of human activity, the Bible…this grandiose, stirring history of the gradual revelation and unfolding of moral law… remains in every way an up-to-date book.” The fact of the matter is that true science and true religion as found in the Bible are entirely compatible.
The human body is a marvelous creation—the apex of God’s physical workmanship. An adult body comprises about 75 trillion cells, any one of which is complex almost beyond comprehension. Dr. Walter Bradley, longtime professor of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University states, “Each cell in the human body contains more information than in all thirty volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica…It’s certainly reasonable to make the inference that this isn’t the random product of unguided nature, but [that] it’s the unmistakable sign of an Intelligent Designer” (quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith, 2000, p. 110).
The complexity of the human cell changed the thinking of British philosophy professor Antony Flew, a well known atheist. In a symposium in New York in May 2004, he shocked everyone by stating that he had concluded God exists. He wrote, “To the surprise of all concerned, I announced at the start that I now accepted the existence of a God” (There Is a God, 2007, p. 74), adding “What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the…complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together.” He continued, “This statement represented a major change of course for me, but it was nevertheless consistent with the principle I have embraced since the beginning of my philosophical life—of following the argument no matter where it leads” (p. 75).
It’s ironic that as humanity has increased in complex knowledge of the creation, many have less faith today that God created us than did people in ages past who had comparatively little knowledge of the mysteries of the human body. Having a greater knowledge of the workings of God’s creation should actually increase our faith. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20, New International Version).
