Are faith and science in conflict? To be a
good scientist, would I have to deny my faith? And to be a person of faith,
would I have to ignore or even be hostile to science?
As Christians, we would emphatically
answer “no” to these questions. Since it is the same God who both created the
world with all its wonders and who reveals Himself through Jesus Christ, there
should be no conflict between the truths we discover through the scientific
method and the truths we discover through investigating God’s word. Nothing we
discover in the world which God created should contradict what He has revealed
through Jesus Christ. And nothing which Jesus Christ reveals should contradict
what we can discover in the natural world.
Throughout history, we find scientists who
were also men of devout Christian faith.
One example is Nicolaus Copernicus. Before
Copernicus, it was widely accepted that the earth was the center of the
universe. However, through his understanding of math and observations of the
sky, he made the argument that the earth rotated around the sun. There were
some who found his theories hard to accept and others who claimed that it
contradicted the Bible. However, when Copernicus’ theories were explained to
Pope Clement VII, it was said that he was thrilled by the discovery.
Besides being a man of science, Copernicus
was a man of devout Christian faith. He was raised by his uncle who was a
bishop. Though there is no record of his ever being ordained, it is assumed
that he must have been a priest because he was at one time nominated to be a
bishop. At his death, he was buried in the cathedral of Frombork in modern day
Poland.
Another great scientist who was also a man
of faith was Gregor Mendel. By working in his garden, he discovered how living
things pass on genetic traits from one generation to another. Because of his
research, he is considered the father of modern genetics. Besides being an
eminent scientist, he was also a man of devout Christian faith who served as an
Augustinian friar and abbot of Saint Thomas Abbey in the modern day Czech
Republic.
Finally, a more recent example of a man of
faith who was also a great scientist, is Fr. Georges Lemaitre. He was a Belgian
priest who developed the theory that is now called “The Big Bang Theory” that
the universe began from one primeval atom which exploded leading to the
expansion of the universe over time. He dedicated his life not only to science
but to the service of God through the priesthood.
None of these men saw any contradiction
between the truths which could be understood through science and those which
could be understood through faith. In fact, it could be argued that their faith
inspired them to pursue truth even more vigorously and to manifest the glory of
God through the wonders of the created world.
We see this truth in today’s gospel. Who
are the Magi if not early scientists? They certainly did not understand the
universe as we do today and did not have all the instruments for observing it
that modern scientist do, but they were committed to learning the truth about
the world by studying the stars. They were first and foremost men devoted to
the truth. Because of that, they were not content to simply study the stars.
Rather, they were willing to follow that star all the way to Jerusalem and then
to Bethlehem. And it was there, sitting on the lap of Mary, that they
discovered the fullness of truth - Jesus Christ.
As Creator of all things, God is the
fullness of truth. And that truth is fully revealed through Jesus Christ. If we
are truly committed to knowing the truth then we have to be truly committed to
Jesus Christ. Unless He is part of the equation, our knowledge will always be
partial and incomplete. Because He is the Creator of all that is, we can only
discover the truth fully when we discover Him.
Science is one way to discover truth. It
seeks to understand reality by observing the natural world. There is no doubt
that our world is a much better place because of the contributions of science.
However, for all its successes, science cannot tell us everything there is to
know. There are dimensions of reality that cannot be placed in a test tube or
observed under a microscope. Not everything we experience can be understood by
boiling it down to its basic parts. Science cannot tell us what the purpose of
life is, why there is something rather than nothing or how we should live.
Ultimately, without faith, those questions can never be answered. And, it can be
argued that until those questions are answered fully we cannot put the
discoveries of science to their best use.
Today, we gather to celebrate the Epiphany
of the Lord - the day that Jesus Christ was revealed to pagan scientists from
the East. Today, He is revealed to the whole world as the source and summit of
all truth. All those who are truly committed to the truth - whether they seek
that truth through science or religion - will ultimately find Christ.
Therefore, if our pursuit of science is taking us away from God, then there is
something wrong with our methods or our understanding of who God is. Likewise,
if our pursuit of God is making us skeptical of or hostile to science, then
there is something wrong with our method of seeking God or our understanding of
who He is.
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