“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” – Romans 1:20 (NIV)
The talk on Christianity and Science was extremely thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating. It was a topic that I was very interested in and excited for, being a science student myself who often wondered about the relationship between God and science.
What is really interesting is that the Bible itself has already described that very relationship in Romans 1:20, speaking of God’s invisible qualities being “clearly seen”, and being “understood from what has been made”. Isn’t this the definition of science or scientific inquiry, where observations are made and inferences derived from those observations to make sense of what we are seeing?
Through science, we are seeing God. He is in all that we can physically see, and in all that we cannot physically see. Biology has always been one of my favourite aspects of science because, to me, it is the study through which I can best physically see the beauty of God. In my current course (Pharmacy), I have learnt about the human anatomy and physiology, and once again I can clearly see God’s beauty and wonderful design through that. It is just so remarkable how everything functions so well together in such complex systems that I cannot even begin to describe it. I can only use this quote to summarise my feelings: “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator.” (Louis Pasteur)
Of course, science does indeed have its own limits. It is based on many assumptions, and cannot answer anything beyond what it observes, which is fine because it would be ridiculous to expect to know everything there is to know about God simply by studying science. Faith plays an even larger role, and I am inspired by the famous scientists who affirmed this by saying that it was precisely because of their faith in God that led them to studying science in the first place. With faith, we are also allowed the freedom and confidence to investigate beyond the boundaries of scientific inquiry, asking questions that science does not have the answers to.
What is really interesting is that the Bible itself has already described that very relationship in Romans 1:20, speaking of God’s invisible qualities being “clearly seen”, and being “understood from what has been made”. Isn’t this the definition of science or scientific inquiry, where observations are made and inferences derived from those observations to make sense of what we are seeing?
Through science, we are seeing God. He is in all that we can physically see, and in all that we cannot physically see. Biology has always been one of my favourite aspects of science because, to me, it is the study through which I can best physically see the beauty of God. In my current course (Pharmacy), I have learnt about the human anatomy and physiology, and once again I can clearly see God’s beauty and wonderful design through that. It is just so remarkable how everything functions so well together in such complex systems that I cannot even begin to describe it. I can only use this quote to summarise my feelings: “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator.” (Louis Pasteur)
Of course, science does indeed have its own limits. It is based on many assumptions, and cannot answer anything beyond what it observes, which is fine because it would be ridiculous to expect to know everything there is to know about God simply by studying science. Faith plays an even larger role, and I am inspired by the famous scientists who affirmed this by saying that it was precisely because of their faith in God that led them to studying science in the first place. With faith, we are also allowed the freedom and confidence to investigate beyond the boundaries of scientific inquiry, asking questions that science does not have the answers to.
Following the eye-opening talk about Christianity and Science, there was also Rev. Tan Tiong Ann’s talk on Christian Living and Ps. Gideon’s talk about Biblical Counselling. As I considered all of these talks on the whole, I learnt about what it truly means to be living as a Christian who is studying science in a society that is placing rapidly increasing importance on the subject, and as a Christian whom my friends turn to when they need a listening ear or advice.
As a Christian, I live by maintaining and upholding what Christ has actualised and given to us; not only living as myself, but also Christ who is living in me. As a Christian, I need to show love and understanding to everyone around me, but this love must come from the bottom of my heart as Christ has done. As a Christian who is also a science student, I also live because I believe in Christ, and my faith is the very drive to study this subject.
At the end of the second week, I am reminded of this verse: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:13). Saying that the three talks correspond to these three immensely important teachings would certainly be oversimplifying things, but somehow as I reflect on the second half of this week, I can see the interconnectedness between them.
Now when I think about Christian living, I will remember this verse and reflect on how all of the talks – not only in the second week – are connected to each other to form the big picture of Christianity, and what it means for not only myself, but also for the church. It is not easy, and would probably take an extremely long time to figure out, but I want to take the first step towards it.
Alethea Lim
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