How can we defend our faith in the light of modern science?
Science and apologetics
For a lot of people, apologetics means being “apologetic” about being a Christian. However, the word comes from the Greek apologia, which means to give a defense. In the New Testament, it is used for the defense of the Gospel. 1 Peter 3:15 encourages Christians to “Always be prepared to give an answer (apologia) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”.
Science as an enemy?
During the 20th century, some Christians saw science as the enemy of faith. This “conflict” model suggested that science and religion were in a battle for the truth. For some, science was seen as leading to atheism, while for others, the Bible was seen as a scientific textbook that contradicted modern science.
In this environment, science was often used in a “negative” way in apologetics. Christians would look for “gaps” in scientific understanding—things that science could not explain—and claim that these were the places where God was at work. The problem with this “God of the gaps” approach is that as science advances and the gaps get smaller, God seems to get smaller too.
Science as a friend?
Other Christians have seen science as a friend to faith. They argue that the very fact that the universe is ordered and can be understood by science is a pointer to a Creator. This is sometimes called “natural theology”.
In the 18th century, William Paley used the example of a watch found on a heath. Just as the complexity of the watch implies a watchmaker, so the complexity of the natural world implies a Designer. While this argument has been criticized, many modern scientists who are Christians find that their scientific work deepens their faith and wonder at God’s creation.
Building bridges
In the light of this, it seems better to see science in apologetics as building bridges or points of contact. Alister McGrath helpfully writes, “The chief goal of Christian apologetics is to create an intellectual and imaginative climate conducive to the birth and nurture of faith”.
Such points of contact may simply need to be recognized as already being there. For example, within modern cosmology there are a number of questions which may not be proofs of God but for some may be pointers to a deeper story of the universe, and an invitation to talk some more. These include:
- Why the Universe? This is not to resurrect the first cause argument; it is to recognize that the purpose and meaning of the Universe lie beyond science.
- Where do the scientific laws themselves come from? If the Universe emerges as a quantum fluctuation, we need to ask where quantum theory itself comes from. Where does the pattern of the world come from and how is it maintained? This is not a “god of the gaps” argument as science itself assumes these laws in order to work.
- Why is the Universe intelligible? Does it suggest that there exists a Creator God who is the basis of the order in the Universe, and the ability of our minds to understand it?
- What is our significance in the Universe? Does the fact that the universe is extraordinarily “just right” in its laws and circumstances for intelligent life mean that there is a purpose behind our existence?
These kind of questions may not prove God but may help in the search for God. In conversation with scientists who are Christians, and with Christian artists, poets and musicians who imaginatively engage with the excitement of science, they can lead to a climate conducive to the birth and nurture of faith and in that, an openness to encounter the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
Further information
- Berry, R.J. The Lion Handbook of Science and Christianity. Lion Hudson, 2012.
About the author
Rev Prof David Wilkinson
David Wilkinson is Principal of St John’s College and Professor in the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University. He has PhDs in theoretical astrophysics and systematic theology and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day.