According to godFreeWorld, Christianity not only had nothing to do with laying the foundations of modern science, faith is actually toxic to science. Christianity, then, takes credit for something it didn’t do…kinda like your high school lab partner, who lets you do all the work then takes credit for it.
This is a serious accusation. Now let’s see where the evidence points.
First, godFreeWorld is just plain wrong about the facts. It turns out that most of the fathers of modern science—you know, the guys with laws named after them—were Christians.
Second, the Christian convictions of the founders of modern science led to the birth of modern science because these Christians saw the world in a very particular way. Firstly, they believed there was an orderly creation because there is a God of order who made it.
Second, to do science you need smart people using their rational minds to study the world. Where did rational minds come from? A rational God. They were convinced they were “thinking God’s thoughts after him” (Kepler said that). So, not only is the world governed by rational laws, we can discover the world’s rational laws with our rational minds.
Finally, they believed that studying the acts of creation was actually an act of worship. Kepler wrote, “I had the intention of becoming a theologian...but now see how God is, by my endeavors, also glorified in astronomy.”
So, godfreeWorld got his facts wrong. It’s simply not a “Christian myth” that Christianity led to science. Ironically, the idea that Christian faith is toxic to science is the real myth. Some atheists claim Christianity is a science stopper. The facts of history show the opposite. Christianity was the modern science starter.
Transcript
Many have been told that there’s been a long war between Christianity and science. Well, they were misinformed, but we’re gonna fix that right now.
This is Red Pen Logic with Mr. B, where we help you assess bad thinking by using good thinking.
And we try to have some fun while we’re doing it.
In today’s tweet, godFreeWorld denies that Christian theology was central in getting modern science going. He says, “It’s a Christian myth that Christianity led to science. The promotion of ‘faith’ as a virtue—so central to Christianity—is directly toxic to science. No, Christianity loves to attempt to take credit for everything of value and rarely, if ever, deserves it.”
According to godFreeWorld, Christianity not only had nothing to do with laying the foundations of modern science, but faith is actually toxic to science. Christianity, then, takes credit for something it didn’t do. Kind of like your high school lab partner, who lets you do all the work and then he takes credit for it. (I’m talking to you, Derek Smith.) This is a serious accusation. Now, let’s see where the evidence points.
First, godFreeWorld is just plain wrong about the facts. (“You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”) This is where the tactic “Just the facts, ma’am” really comes in handy. Here’s how it works: You simply counter bad information with good information—the facts. It turns out that most of the fathers of modern science (you know, the guys who have scientific laws named after them) were Christians.
For example, check out these facts. Francis Bacon, the guy who developed the scientific method, he was a Christian. Johannes Kepler, you know, the brilliant scientist who discovered the laws of planetary motion, a committed Christian. Galileo, the scientist who convinced the world that the sun is the center of the solar system, not the earth, a Bible-believing Christian.
Robert Boyle, he founded modern chemistry. Yep, also a Christian. And Gregor Mendel, he monkeyed around with pea plants and founded genetics—he was a monk, for goodness sake. And what about Louis Pasteur? You got it, a Christian. Lord Kelvin (hey, can you turn up the heat in here, Stacey?)—Christian. You get the idea.
Virtually all the founders of the disciplines of modern science—most of them Bible-believing Christians—believed that the world they were studying was God’s world. Those are the facts, and we’re supposed to believe that Christianity had nothing to do with the founding of modern science?
Now, you might be thinking, well, nearly everyone was a Christian back then, so big deal. That’s true, but it misses the point. Well-known sociologist Rodney Stark says that not only was there no inherent conflict between religion and science, but Christian theology was essential for the rise of science. Why? Why did modern science develop in Europe, for example, and not in Africa, or Asia, or India? Stark says it was because of the unique features of Christian theology.
Award-winning author Tom Holland (the historian, not Spider-Man) says this: “Without Christianity, we would not have science.” The Christian convictions of the founders of modern science led to the birth of modern science because these Christians saw the world in a very particular way. Holland attributes the rise of modern science to what he called the goldilocks qualities of the Christian God. Well, what are these qualities?
First, they believed in an orderly creation because they believed in a God of order who made it. Science relies on an orderly universe that behaves in a particular, regular way. But why would the universe behave this way? Well, the early scientists believe that an intelligent God made it that way. C.S Lewis says, “Men became scientific because they expected Law in Nature, and they expected law in nature because they believed in a Legislator.” Makes sense.
Second, to do science, you need smart people using their rational minds to study the world. And where did rational minds come from? A rational God. They were convinced that they were thinking God’s thoughts after him (Kepler said that). So, not only is the world governed by rational laws, but we can discover those rational laws by using our rational minds.
Third, they believed that studying the acts of creation was actually an act of worship. Kepler wrote, “I had the intention of becoming a theologian...but now see how God is, by my endeavors, also glorified in astronomy.” And Copernicus said, “To know the mighty works of God... must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High.”
So godFreeWorld gets the facts wrong. It’s simply not a Christian myth that Christianity led to science. Ironically, the idea that Christian faith is toxic to science is the real myth. Some atheists claim that Christianity is a science stopper, but the facts of history tell us just the opposite. Christianity was the modern science starter.
James Clerk Maxwell was one of the most important physicists who ever lived. He predicted the electromagnetic waves that help you heat your leftovers, text your friends, and get a tan. Or in my case, a sunburn. Maxwell had a Latin inscription carved into the doors of the Cavendish laboratory at Cambridge University. It translates, “Great of the works of the Lord studied by all who delight in them.” Now, let me ask you a question. Was Maxwell’s faith toxic to his science? Of course not. For Maxwell and many others, Christianity was the inspiration for science, not a hindrance to it. To avoid giving credit where credit is really due, godFreeWorld has to deny the facts and propagate false information.
So, what have we learned? Sometimes, the best way to combat bad information is to use good information. Christianity gave rise to modern science. This isn’t opinion. This is a fact, like it or not. According to godFreeWorld, the world would be better off without God. But according to history, a God-free world would likely be a science-free world, and I kind of like science.
Class dismissed.