by guest-blogger Liam McNeil For hundreds of years, it has been a common misconception that Christianity and science
are at odds. Many say that Christianity is anti-science. BioLogos, an organization that connects
the Bible to the real world says, “From Galileo to textbook battles, the hasty conclusion is that
science and Christianity are engaged in an endless debate, fundamentally opposed to each other.”
Are Christianity and science really at odds? Are there examples of Christians committed to
pursuing objective and scientific results? Are there logical ways to reconcile Christianity and
science? In this essay, I will discuss why Christianity is not anti-science; rather, it is the very lens
by which we must view science.
The debate between science and Christianity is very dangerous. It is one that has gone on
for hundreds of years. On the one hand, some completely disregard science, as they believe it
contradicts the Bible. Others toss Christianity because it seems irrational and disconnected from
science. This leads to two dangerous conclusions. (1) if we disregard science as a whole,
Christians must come to terms with what evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins says;
“everything that we use in [our] daily life is a product of science.” And (2) if we disregard
Christianity, then scientists must face the fact that as Ligonier Ministries quotes from John
Calvin, the French theologian and reformer, “All truth is from God.” Without a standard for
truth, science seems doomed. So we are left with a dilemma. We must find some way to
reconcile these two issues if we are to end this debate. We must find where the truth is to be
found. Since objective truth matters, we must combat these two misconceptions.
Science impacts every area of our lives. From healthcare to education and beyond, we see
these impacts. If Christianity were anti-science, then we wouldn’t see such learned men and
women making such amazing contributions to science today. Francis Collins is modern scientist
born in 1950 who discovered the gene for Cystic Fibrosis. According to BioLogos, Collins “led
an international collaboration that first mapped the entire human genome.” In 2009, Collins also
became the director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the NIH website,
they are “a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services… the nation’s medical
research agency. ” Collins credentials go on, but what is most fascinating about him is that he is a
Christian. Take one quick glimpse at his scientific accomplishments and see that he is not antiscience.
Collins, in an article by BioLogos, discusses that he sees science as pointing us to God.
As discussed earlier, our first dilemma deals with how some choose to toss science out the
window to make sense of their Christian faith. According to Collins, this is not an option. He is a
testament to how Christianity and science are not at odds. The views of Collins show us that God
created the world, and this very belief is what spurs him on to learn about creation.
Clearly, there is no basis to say that Christianity is anti-science. To do so is false and
creates stereotypes that all Christians are irrational and illogical people. This is severely
dangerous, as it can lead to discrimination and suppression of the truth. Christianity is not antiscience.
Collins displays how science and Christianity can be reconciled together. As quoted
earlier, Dawkins, goes on to ask “What has religion/God actually contributed in the last 15.000
years except division, slavery, prosecution, genocide, war and intolerance?” Collins’ life provides
an excellent answer to this question. Collins has clearly been a significant asset in the scientific
But practically, how can Christianity and science be reconciled? First, we must answer
the question, what is science? The word science comes from the Latin word scientia, which
means to know. Yet where does this knowledge come from? The C.S. Lewis Institute, in an issue
of a magazine entitled Faith in and Knowledge of God, it says, “Knowledge is understanding —
recognizing how things in the creation relate to one another and how we are to make the best use
of them.” It goes on then to say, “All knowledge is rooted in God’s knowledge, as He is the
Creator of all things and knows all things.” If all things are created by God and God is the author
of knowledge, then science is simply the pursuit of gathering more information on what God has
created. Science does not contradict Christianity, and likewise, Christianity does not contradict
science. Pope John Paul II, in a letter to the Vatican said, “Science can purify religion from error
and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.” Science and
Christianity must go hand in hand, as one cannot be seen without the other. Science allows us in
our faith to examine the very things created by God, and prevents us from delving into
“superstition”, as Paul II calls it. On the flip side, religion protects us from worshiping what we
study and coming to false conclusions. To a Christian, absolute and objective truth are vital
aspects of faith. Science shares this necessity for truth. Without truth, scientific claims are mere
suggestions, and Christianity simply becomes one way to God. This very necessity for truth
connects the two at a deep and foundational level. If objective truth exists, then it must come
from somewhere, something, or someone. The Christian pursuit of science simply acknowledges
that this truth comes from God.
The misconception that Christianity is anti-science reveals a false dichotomy; one that
claims we must either choose science or Christianity. This is dishonest, and damaging to the
truth. Rather than choose science or Christianity alone, we must understand that truth is an
interconnected matter. In order to see the world clearly and get a full picture, we must have both.
One does not contradict the other. They are both essential to an objective understanding of the
Many would object to these arguments by bringing forth the theory of evolution. The
Cambridge dictionary defines evolution as “the way in which living things change and develop
over millions of years.” Ever since Charles Darwin’s release of his book On the Origin of
Species, his ideas have continuously gained more traction. So much so that his theory of
evolution is now taught as though it were an objective truth and not simply a theory. The theory
of evolution believes one species can evolve into an entirely new species. This objection is
commonly raised because it clearly contradicts the biblical account of how human life began.
This objection makes people think that science and religion are incompatible. While this
objection is not a simple one, it is still one that can logically be refuted. Henry M. Morris, who
had a Ph. D in hydraulic engineering, discussed the matter in his article “The Scientific Case
Against Evolution”. Morris outlines how evolution is not currently happening and states that it
has never been proven to have occurred in the past. He gives evidence concerning genetics, as
well as discusses how evolution breaks a fundamental law of thermodynamics. Morris reminds
us that evolution—although taught as fact—is merely a theory. There is no solid evidence to
prove that one species in fact changed into another. Morris quotes Jeffrey H. Schwartz, an
anthropologist who is also an evolutionist, who says that, “with the exception of Dobzhansky's
claim about a new species of fruit fly, the formation of a new species, by any mechanism, has
never been observed.” Clearly even evolutionists recognize that the theory they hold so strongly
to does not have a leg to stand on. While micro evolution, change within a species, is compatible
with the Christian faith, macro evolution is not. Not only is there a lack of proof for macro
evolution, but it takes more faith to trust evolution than Christianity. Evolution requires one to
trust in the chance that something might have happened. Robert Charles Sproul, an ordained
pastor with a master of divinity from Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary, in a podcast, once
said, “The universe could not have come into existence "by chance" because chance does not
have the power to do anything.” Evolution trusts in chance, while Christianity trusts in a God
who has the very power of being within Himself. While evolution initially seems to show that
Christianity is anti-science, a closer look reveals that it is certainly not.
To conclude, many people say that Christianity and science are two very separate and
incompatible concepts. Through an analysis of the lives of Christian scientists and logical
reasoning, we can see that science and Christianity are actually two sides of the same coin.
Separating one from the other leaves us with an unclear view of reality. When we see
Christianity and science as cohesive methods of pursuing objective truth, we can begin to
understand the entirety of reality. Benjamin C. Clausen, who has a Ph.D in nuclear physics, says
that “They [Christian scientists] saw God's finger in nature and used theological arguments with
their science.” In other words, they understood that all truth is from God and they simply used
science as method to study it.
References
BioLogos. “Are Science and Christianity at War?” BioLogos, 20 Nov. 2023, biologos.org/
common-questions/are-science-and-christianity-at-war.
BioLogos. “Is There a God and Does He Care About Me? The Testimony of Biologos Founder
Francis Collins.” BioLogos, 17 Dec. 2019, biologos.org/personal-stories/is-there-a-godand-
does-he-care-about-me-the-testimony-of-biologos-founder-francis-collins.
C.S. Lewis Institute. “Faith in and Knowledge of God.” C.S. Lewis Institute, 5 Aug. 2022,
www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/faith-in-and-knowledge-of-god/
#:~:text=Knowledge%20is%20understanding%20%E2%80%94%20recognizing%20how
,things%20and%20knows%20all%20things.
Cambridge Dictionary. Evolution English Meaning - Cambridge Dictionary,
dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/evolution.
Dawkins, Richard. “Christian Science - the Misuse of the Word Science!” Richard Dawkins
Foundation for Reason and Science, 31 July 2013, richarddawkins.net/2013/07/christianscience-
the-misuse-of-the-word-science/.
Ligonier Ministries. “All Truth Is From God.” Ligonier Ministries, ligonier.org/learn/articles/alltruth-
gods-truth-reformed-approach-science-and-scripture.
Morris, Henry M. The Scientific Case Against Evolution, www.icr.org/home/resources/
resources_tracts_scientificcaseagainstevolution/.
National Institutes of Health. “Who We Are.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-weare#:~:
text=The%20National%20Institutes%20of%20Health,improve%20health%20and
%20save%20lives.
Paul II, John. “Letter of His Holiness John Paul II.” Received by Reverend George V. Coyne,
S.J. Director of the Vatican Observatory, 1 June 1988.
Sproul, Robert Charles. “Ultimately with R.C. Sproul.” Episode Nothing Can Happen by
Chance, 25 Sept. 2023.
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