The answer to whether science and faith conflict is a resounding no, according to Dave McElfresh, who spoke at Olney Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, August 7. Dave is a math and science teacher at The Fairfax Christian School in Northern Virginia. He’s also an elder in his home church.
A longtime friend of yours truly, Dave firmly believes that the knowledge of the universe we have acquired from science over the years points to a supernatural Creator. It’s only when scientists rule out the possibility of the supernatural from the get-go that they come up with theories and explanations that seem to contradict what we read in the Bible. This, however, is a philosophical judgment made by many scientists today, not a scientific one.
What’s more, the increasingly widespread feeling that science and faith collide is an assumption that took root in the 20th century. The pioneers of the Scientific Revolution (names like Newton, Galileo, Kepler, and more) all believed in God. They saw their work as contributing to a better understanding God’s Creation.
That view continued well into the 20th century, even after Darwin’s (in)famous theory of evolution. In the words of early 20th century Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Planck: “There can never be any real opposition between religion and science; for the one is the complement of the other…it was not by accident that the greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious souls.”
You can watch Dave’s full presentation at the link below…
In his presentation, Dave explained that science (classically centered on the scientific method) is but one way to arrive at what is true. Other ways include (but are not limited to) personal observation and experience, the testimony of other people’s experiences (such as witnesses in a court of law), and logical deduction. When scientists claim that science is the only way to arrive at truth, they are not only overstepping their traditional bounds, but they are making a claim that itself cannot be scientifically tested or validated.
One of the best ways that scientific evidence points to a Creator, Dave says, is the presence of order in the universe. Why would a universe that came about by random phenomena have scientific laws? Why would such a universe be as orderly as ours is?
I encourage you to watch the full presentation above. It starts at the 13:10 mark.
Dave will be returning to Olney Baptist Church for another presentation once his schedule allows. The new school year is about to start, and Dave teaches several classes — and drives a bus! So, he’s quite busy when school is underway. But he will return in a few months.
God bless you!
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