Q Review | Science and Origins

The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy and The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions

by Byron Borger

The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy by Nancy Pearcey & Charles Thaxton (Crossway; 1994) $15.99

For anyone following the conversations about faith and science, it is obvious that one of the major trends—and a matter of great contentiousness—is how some scientists are doing deep research to dismantle the Darwinian notion that changes evolving in God’s creation happen randomly, by utter chance. That is, networks of scientists and those who specialize in the philosophy of science, such as those loosely affiliated with what has come to be called the Intelligent Design movement, are increasingly respected, known for rigorous research and punchy polemics to show that the naturalistic worldview that pervades authentic Darwinism is frankly implausible and without scientific warrant. (Can the question of whether something happens "by chance" or not even be proven or disproven scientifically?) The implications of the philosophy of naturalism are legion, and some ID philosophers have been exploring this, as well. Of course there are layers of conversations going on—in the popular press, in Christian colleges and state universities, in academic journals and on the internet. This discussion about the philosophic and scientific credibility of the essential dogmas of secularized science is a hot, hot topic.

Decades ago, the primary voices against orthodox Darwinism were those who did not engage in much scientific research in the mainstream academy and who were largely young Earth creationists. They took Genesis seriously and seemed to use the Bible as a science manual; consequently, there seemed to be a rather bipolar debate between the Bible and modern science. In part because of books like this one, the conversation has now changed significantly as it has become clear that there are nuanced positions and gradations of opinion ranging from young earth or progressive creationists to intelligent design advocates to theistic evolutionists. Most people of faith, however, agree: when thinking about the rise of modern science, we simply must discern the long-standing “spirit of the age” as the zeitgeist of naturalism—that is, a philosophy that rules God out of court, as a given, as an unquestioned a priori. Obviously, this secularized view of the world can be debunked.

In anyone’s efforts to celebrate the ways historic Biblical faith has shaped science and how Darwinism’s atheism is not necessary for good science, The Soul of Science is a helpful resource. Pearcey, a philosopher, and Thaxton, a PhD in Chemistry, offer here a wonderful overview of how Judeo-Christian views of a real, contingent universe, being studied by people endowed by their creator with reason and creativity, gave rise to the extraordinary glories of Western science. One need not be a specialist in history or science to appreciate this grand overview of how a Christian worldview shaped the earliest, seminal scientists and how a coherent Christian philosophy can continue to fund robust and fruitful scientific endeavors. There is marvelous stuff here, too, about different schools of thought in mathematics, showing clearly how one’s fundamental starting assumptions can lead to different ways of construing even this field. (Non-Euclidian geometry? Einstein’s relativity? Each are explained and explored clearly, illuminating the religious elements of the field.) Interesting, insightful, influential, this was a major work that should be read today for its relevance, even now, and certainly as an early example of some of the intellectual analysis that shaped future thinkers in the intelligent design movement. As David Shotton, Lecturer in cell biology at University of Oxford insists, it is “a most significant book, which, in our scientific age, should be required reading for all thinking Christians and all practicing scientists.”

The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions Karl Giberson & Francis Collins (IVP; 2011) $20.00

Anyone that even slightly follows the popular press about science knows that Francis Collins—an evangelical Christian who came to faith by reading C.S. Lewis, and who has shared his conversion story in prominent venues such as in his commencement address at MIT—is a world-renowned geneticist known for spearheading the Human Genome Project and is now the Obama administration’s Director for the National Institutes of Health. Collins’ two books about seeing God in the world of genetics have been exceptionally popular. His co-author of this new book, Dr. Karl Giberson, a respected physicist, is the Director of the Forum on Faith and Science at the prestigious Boston-area Gordon College. He has published over one hundred academic articles and has written entry-level books on why serious Christians do not have to reject the basic principles outlined by Charles Darwin. To say he sees things a bit differently than the aforementioned intelligent design movement is nearly an understatement. These two vibrant, amiable, thoughtful scholars are perhaps the most visible of the evangelical response against the anti-Darwinism of Pearcey, et al. They offer a more mainstream evaluation of the assumptions behind evolution and seek to create conversations that invite various views to the table as the integration of ancient Biblical wisdom and modern evolutionary science is pursued. Their important organization created to launch this project is called BioLogos (which includes on their board eminent world-class scholars in the sciences, philosophy, Bible, and theology.) This book, in many ways, is the fist, major public contribution of BioLogos, offering a reasonable rapprochement between faith and the evolutionary sciences.

The Language of Faith and Science is valuable in ways that go beyond the current debate about Darwinism and evolution, however. It attempts, in a helpful question and answer format, to lay out a framework, a vocabulary, an approach to the general discussion about faith and science. As Dr Tim Johnson (senior medical contributor for ABC News) puts it, “This book is destined to become a classic for those who, with an open mind, are willing to seriously wrestle with questions about the relationship of modern science with Christian faith....it is a treasure trove for those willing to dig deep.” Owen Gingerich (of the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) says it is “a guide to the perplexed that is reverent, relevant and very well-informed.” We should be grateful for the possibilities of BioLogos ministry, and should follow their work. Reading this book is a good start.

You can order both of these books at Hearts and Minds Books. Mention Q Ideas when you order and receive 20% off.

Few are qualified to dispute scientific claims on their merit, but all of us must contend with the claims. How do you engage ideas that confront your worldview?

Editor's note: This image is from Shapeshift.

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