SCIENCE AND BELIEF IN GOD
England
Immediately after Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon in 1969 and his “one small step for man, one giant leap for Mankind” speech, his colleague Buzz Aldrin celebrated Holy Communion in the landing craft. Buzz, after whom the toy “Buzz Lightyear” is named asked Mission Control for silence. Then to mark this historic moment he took Holy Communion which had been prepared for him in advance by his home church. Quite literally the first bread consumed on the moon and the first wine drunk there were the elements of Holy Communion.
This symbolic act was quite deliberate. The astronaut wanted to send a watching world the message that the Christian faith and science was completely compatible. Here he was at the cutting edge of science and yet at the same time a believer in God and a churchgoer.
The reason why this information is unknown to so many is because at the time The American Humanist Association threatened NASA with legal action if they allowed this religious moment to be made public. They realised its significance and knew that if it was broadcast it would destroy once and for all the bizarre myth that Christian belief and science are somehow incompatible . The truth finally came out in Buzz Aldrin’s biography.
In reality, numerous scientists have come to faith precisely as a result of their study of science. Take for example the conversion of Dr Paul Gentuso who eventually became a medical missionary in Cote d’Ivoire. As a young man, Paul decided to go to medical school in order to become a doctor. He didn’t really believe in God and assumed that his existence was but a random accident of nature. Studying science however, was to totally change his thinking.
The following are his words “In anatomy class we dissected a human hand. In investigating the hand, I first removed the skin, then isolated the individual tendons and muscles as I worked my way to the bones. The tendons of the hand are aligned in tendon sheaths, like self-lubricating pulleys, allowing the hand to work in a tireless, noiseless, almost effortless fashion. It was perfectly designed to carry out all the work it was called to do, everything from lifting a small object to lugging a tree trunk. In seeing how each tendon was perfectly aligned along the axis of each finger and how each finger moved in a co-ordinated fashion when tugged by individual tendons it became obvious to me that there was a Creator, who had intelligently designed and created the human hand . This was the first time in my adult life that I could say with assurance that a Creator existed. It was a spiritual experience for me. I went from disbelief to certainty based on studying God’s creation.”
Paul’s eyes were opened as it dawned on him that the Ultimate Scientist and Designer of life was Almighty God. It is often said by Christians in the scientific community that science merely explains how God makes things work; the Bible on the other hand goes further by explaining why God created us. As Paul contemplated these truths he gave his life to the Lord and after completing medical school, God called him to the mission field.
It is a complete myth for individuals to think that science and religious belief are incompatible . Professor John Lennox at Green Templeton College Oxford puts it like this, “For me as a Christian believer, the beauty of the scientific laws only reinforces my faith in an intelligent, Divine creative force at work. The more I understand science, the more I believe in God because of my wonder at the breadth, sophistication and integrity of His creation.”
Scientists have now discovered that if the information encoded in just a “pin head” size of DNA was written out in book form, those books would stretch to the moon and back over 200 times. As it stands now, atheists actually need to have faith the size of a mountain to believe that all this complexity has happened as the result of blind chance. It takes a lot of “faith” to be an atheist!
(Similar faith affirming articles may be found on www.internetpulpit.co.uk)
Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. – Proverbs 4:6-8
