Does Science Strengthen Faith?

Our blog deals with the relationship of science and faith. In our modern society many observers believe science and faith are separate domains of truth. Dr. Hugh Ross of the “Reasons to Believe” ministry is an eminent scientist/theologian who believes science affirms the truth of the Christian faith and belief in God as the Creator of All Things. Dr. John Ankerberg has interviewed Dr. Hugh Ross several times. Both men have vigorously supported the concept that science and Christian faith affirm one another. Dr. Ross states, “Science and Christianity intersect rather than contradict each other.” Dr. Ankerberg agrees: “It’s often said that faith and science are incompatible, but as an atheist detective, my investigation of the scientific evidence actually led me to faith.” 

What if some so-called “scientific” discoveries could actually be detrimental to faith? Science is not immune to erroneous interpretation. Examples are scientific errors proposed by geneticists to explain transgenderism and sexual preference. This blog has frequently questioned whether natural selection and mutation are able to drive the process of naturalistic evolution. For many years natural selection and mutation have been stalwarts supporting evolutionary theory. 

Personal theology could also be erroneous. In the field of science we cope with pseudoscience. In our faith experience, we may encounter heresy—sometimes described as false teaching. In both science and faith/theology, we may experience various shades of truth. We sometimes describe “gray” areas where interpretations are variable. Our task is to present the topics of science and faith as unambiguously and accurately as possible. 

When we make a scientific claim, we must justify our claim. Do we base our claim on unsound presuppositions or unsound evidence? If so, our claim must be rejected. Historically there have been scientific claims which later proved false. To illustrate, we cite four scientific claims ultimately proved untrue. (1) In 1992 some scientists claimed they had discovered cold fusion. If true, our world had an almost unlimited supply of cheap energy. (2) In the 19th century phrenologists proposed that shape of the human head and regions of the brain determined human characteristics. (3) In the early 20th century some famous scientists pronounced the universe to be unchanging in size. Later the universe was found to be expanding. (4) In the 19th century scientists believed in spontaneous generation: Living matter was generated spontaneously from inanimate matter. This belief has been refuted. Life is generated from previous life or by a supernatural act of divine fiat creation.

Theological (faith) claims may also be erroneous. These mistaken claims may fall under the category of heresy. Several inaccurate theological belief systems are Docetism, Arianism, and Gnosticism—heresies Christian scholars have battled for centuries. There are many more false theological beliefs.

We have made every effort to cite TRUE scientific and theological principles in our articles. Our Science/Faith blog has been misunderstood by some readers who feel science and faith are separate domains of truth. Properly interpreted, science and sound principles of faith and theology affirm the truth of each other if scientific and theological errors are eliminated from the discussion. This goal is sometimes difficult, but not impossible to achieve.

Our blog posts since 2007 have often dealt with public misunderstanding of the science/faith relationship. We link several past posts on this topic:

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-sciencefaith-link.html

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2013/01/sciencefaith-conferences.html

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2014/09/science-and-faith-interdigitation.html

James 1:5 is a passage to guide us in a search for truth in the science/faith relationship: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (ESV)