Can You Believe in Science AND God?
Have you ever heard someone say, "Science has proved there is no God"? A lot of kids hear that - in school, online, from friends. But is it true? Let's find out.
The Biggest Scientists Believed in God
Here is something your textbook probably won't tell you: many of the most famous scientists in history believed in God. Not just a little bit. A lot.
- 1Isaac Newton discovered gravity and invented calculus. He wrote more about God than about science. He said studying the universe was a way of understanding God's work.
- 2Georges Lemaitre was a Catholic priest AND the scientist who first proposed the Big Bang theory. That is right - the idea that the universe had a beginning came from a priest.
- 3Francis Collins led the Human Genome Project, which mapped every gene in the human body. He is one of the most important scientists alive today, and he is a committed Christian.
If science proved God does not exist, why would some of the greatest scientists in history believe in him?
The very first scientists - the people who invented the scientific method - were almost all Christians. They believed that because God made the universe with order and rules, it could be studied and understood. Modern science did not grow up fighting against God. It grew up because of belief in God.
The Big Idea
Science is amazing at answering "how" questions. How does gravity work? How do plants grow? How do stars form?
But science cannot answer "why" questions. Why does the universe exist at all? Why is there something instead of nothing? Why do we have a sense of right and wrong?
Asking "does science disprove God?" is like asking "does a telescope disprove the astronomer?" The telescope is a tool. The astronomer is the person who uses it. Science is a tool for studying what God made. Finding out how something works does not tell you it was not made on purpose.
Questions Kids Ask
"My teacher says evolution explains everything. Does that mean God didn't make us?"
Evolution tries to explain how living things change over time. But it does not explain how life started in the first place. Nobody knows how the first living cell appeared from non-living chemicals. That is still a complete mystery. And the Bible tells us that God is the Author of life. He formed the first man himself and breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7). Figuring out how a book was printed does not mean the book has no author.
Why does understanding how something works NOT prove it was not designed?
- Can you name something amazing in nature that science has explained HOW it works - but that still looks designed?
- Why do you think some people believe science and God are enemies?
- If you were a scientist, would studying the universe make you believe in God more or less? Why?