Science & Faith—Are They At Odds? Part 2

By Brandon Anchant, Senior Apologetics Intern

There is a widespread misunderstanding about the role of science—what it is equipped to explain and what lies outside its proper boundaries. Because of this confusion, many who hold to a naturalistic worldview often regard the Christian faith as unscientific or irrational.

In this blog post, we will look at three common misconceptions rooted in naturalistic assumptions:

1. Science has disproven God.
2. Faith is irrational.
3. The only real debate is Evolution vs. Creation.

If science really has disproven God, then we’re in big trouble as Christians. So, has it? Let’s get something straight. Science will never be able to prove nor disprove God. That’s not the point of science. Science can only offer explanations for the natural world and is unable to touch anything outside of it. The belief that science can explain everything is known as scientism. In scientism, science is the ultimate source of real knowledge and truth. But if science is confined to the natural world, then how can it offer answers to the major questions of life, such as: Why am I here? Where did everything come from? How do I know right from wrong? What happens when I die? What is the purpose of life? Sure, science can help you calculate the rate of a falling object, but it cannot answer these simple, child-like questions.

Science describes the “how,” not the ultimate “why.” Science deals with mechanisms, processes, and natural laws and observes how things operate in the world. But it cannot tell you the purpose and meaning of why these things work the way they do. Science can help us explain how gravity works, but doesn’t answer why gravity exists in the first place or why the universe is structured by consistent mathematical laws instead of chaos.

However, in a biblical worldview, we see the answer in Christ. Colossians 1:17 tells us that all things were created through Him and for Him and in Him all things hold together. But how are they held together? Hebrews 1:3 tells us that He upholds the universe by the word of His power.

As we can see, science does not and cannot answer all questions. Science can only address the natural. Therefore, a conclusion such as, “Science has disproven God,” is a categorical error. That which explains the natural cannot disprove the supernatural. It’s an illogical conclusion.

Skeptics will say that faith is irrational. The faith they are referring to is blind faith: the belief in something for which there is no proof. But that’s not the faith of historic Christianity. Christianity is an evidence-based religion, and the linchpin of our faith is the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then our preaching is useless, our faith is futile, we would be labeled as false witnesses about God, and we are still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:12–19). But with even a minimal amount of research effort, a monumental amount of evidence to support the truth of Christianity can be found—manuscript evidence, archaeological evidence, external non-biblical references to events in the Bible, and much more.

To be irrational is to act or think in a way that is not guided by reason or logic. Sure, there are some people who have not investigated the evidence supporting their faith and yet still believe in the truth of Christianity, but that doesn’t change the fact that the biblical worldview is infinitely more rational than the naturalistic worldview.

Christianity provides the preconditions of intelligibility necessary for logic and reason to make any sense. These preconditions include laws of logic, objective morality, uniformity of nature, and the reliability of our senses and minds. Remember, the naturalistic worldview cannot account for these things because in their worldview, only matter and energy exist.

Logic is not something that can be weighed or measured because it’s immaterial. To make a claim that something is irrational is to use reasoning from a rational mind, and the ability to reason can only be found in the biblical worldview, not a worldview where everything is chaos and a product of matter in motion.

When people think about the science vs. faith discussion, they often reduce it to a single debate: Did life come about by Darwinian evolution or an all-powerful Creator? I can understand why that connection is being made, but is that all we need to discuss? Of course not. Not only is it okay to broaden the discussion, but it’s necessary so we don’t get distracted by this side topic. It’s not that we need to dodge the evolution discussion altogether, but evolution can become an unnecessarily large distraction, especially for someone like me who isn’t a specialist in that field. The evolution vs. creation issue is not the only thing to consider between the scientific naturalistic worldview and Christianity. Physics, genetics, and astronomy show the fine-tuning of the universe. We need to see through the weeds and get to the deeper issue: the foundation of science itself. How do we know things? Where do the immaterial laws of logic come from? How could these laws that govern the universe come about by evolution? Doesn’t evolution itself seem to require a foundation of immaterial, orderly laws for anything to develop at all?

It only takes one step to go from evolution to a deeper layer of thought. For example, someone may say, “I think evolution is the best scientific explanation for how we got here.” You might respond, “I see. Evolution is definitely what most people point to today. Can I ask a question, though? When you say, ‘scientific explanation,’ what do you think science depends on in order to work in the first place?” In just one question, we have now come to potentially expose the very foundation of their knowledge, logic, and morality. We don’t need to win the evolution argument to show them that their worldview is faulty.

From these three common misconceptions that we’ve discussed, it’s important to figure out which worldview can account for the fundamentals of reality. Science has many limitations, and it most certainly does not hold the answers to every question about reality and existence. Science makes a terrible god. So, let’s glorify and honor the God who makes science possible and meaningful.

By Brandon Anchant,  Senior Intern

Brandon is a Rock Climber, General Manager of Reading Rocks Climbing & Fitness, and an aspiring Apologist/Evangelist. He has been an intern of Dr. Mark Farnham with Apologetics for the Church since 2024. He is a public speaker, podcaster, and musician, and currently serves in his Adult Bible Fellowship at Calvary Church Lancaster.