Motivation v. The Gap

One of the arguments I hear against allowing God in science
is that the Gap theory kills scientific investigation. The Gap theory they are
referring to is, "If we just say God did it, then there is no further reason to
investigate." This sentiment only makes sense to a person who is not motivated
by faith in God. The reality is that science as we know it is the product of
Christendom. Just as Christians once owned slaves as the world did, Christians
once believed in many superstitions.  For thousands of years people around
the world have believed superstitions because they believed that the "gods" were
whimsical and competitive, with natures hardly more honorable than our own. But
the Judeo-Christian God is not that way. He is understood to be orderly,
logical, purposive, and powerful enough to reflect that nature in all He has
made. That is why Christendom would not accept that the world around us was
incomprehensible. That is why it was Christendom that made alchemy into
chemistry. That is why it was Christendom that made astrology into astronomy.
That is why Johannes Kepler would not give up on discovering the mathematics of our
solar system. Kepler and many other founders of modern science believed in the God of John 1:1, where it says, “In the Beginning was the Word.” The Greek word used there in the original is not the only Greek option for “word,” it is LOGOS–the root of our English word “logic.” So read that verse, “In the beginning was the Logic, and the Logic was with God, and the Logic was God.” It says that the Judeo-Christian God is the logic behind the universe and all that we see. I just recently discovered the beautiful website of a Christian amateur astronomer, motivated by faith in that God to pursue his hobby. Check it out. Is it not motivational to think that when you look into a telescope that
you are looking into the face of God?

This entry was posted on January 19, 2008 at 12:22 am and is filed under Culture & society, History, Science and faith. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.