“The more I study science, the more I believe in God.”

Albert Einstein

Last night we began our first bible study series on Science and Religion. Clearly, we hit on a hot topic because we had our largest bible study yet in my time at Parkview with 18 participants. According to Barna research, a number of young people have turned away from religion and The Church because they feel that religious institutions are antagonistic towards science.

“The most common of the perceptions in this arena is ‘Christians are too confident they know all the answers’ (35%). Three out of ten young adults with a Christian background feel that ‘churches are out of step with the scientific world we live in’ (29%). Another one-quarter embrace the perception that ‘Christianity is anti-science’ (25%). And nearly the same proportion (23%) said they have ‘been turned off by the creation-versus-evolution debate.’ Furthermore, the research shows that many science-minded young Christians are struggling to find ways of staying faithful to their beliefs and to their professional calling in science-related industries.” (https://www.barna.com/research/six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church/)

Considering that some of the participants from last night’s conversation were teenagers, it showed us we were meeting a need of our youth as well as a wide age range at Parkview. It was really exciting to explore how science can be compatible with our faith. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 The first verse of the bible begins with science! In fact, this is how the whole bible study series began. Last summer, I led a new members class and one of the participants had been attending the church for ten years. He told me he had never become a member of the church because he believed in science and thought that that would be incompatible for him to join. I had pointed out to him one of the reasons I had become interested in coming to Parkview was because it explicitly states on its website: “we believe science should be embraced, not feared.” It had not connected for him that Parkview was so supportive of embracing science, and as a result, became a member of the church.

As Francis Collins says, “One of the greatest tragedies of our times is this impression that has been created that science and religion have to be at war.” There is no war. Only the beauty and mystery that when we explore science, it gives us the opportunity to gaze into the eyes of God.