Why is Science Incomplete Without Jesus? (long read)
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1 ESV
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:1-3 ESV
What Science Is
Science is fantastic. The universe we inhabit is huge and incredible and fascinating. Conducting experiments and making observations leads to discoveries that boggle our minds, enable us to do incredible things, and help us live better lives. Science is good and important work.
But science is not everything. There are many questions it simply cannot answer, that are beyond its scope. The ultimate questions of life – about meaning, goodness, and beauty – are in a different category. For these things, we need philosophy and theology. And I believe that the foundation of true philosophy is a person, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
Who Jesus Is
While there is tremendous evidence that Jesus the man existed and lived in Israel 2,000 years ago, we cannot prove beyond all doubt that He is God, the second person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). We can’t prove that He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. I believe that’s intentional on God’s part - He doesn’t want to cajole us into belief with evidence.
But He did leave a trail of clues, so that anyone who seeks Him will find Him.
“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:8 ESV
One of the most compelling pieces of evidence for the Gospel story (the good news about Jesus) is that believing in Jesus makes sense of the world we see and the lives we live. When scientists come up with a new theory, they test it by seeing if it makes sense of the facts as we observe them. The thing that convinced me to become a Christian is that the Gospel makes sense of the facts of the universe better than any belief system I’ve encountered. And it’s not even close.
Christianity tells us what the meaning of life is: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism) It tells us where morality comes from: “since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) It tells us why we can’t live up to our own ideals: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Only faith in Jesus makes sense of life as we know it.
Jesus and Science
This applies to science, too. Jesus is not just Lord of religion and philosophy; He is Lord of everything, and physical reality makes most sense in light of who He is and what He has done.
That’s not to say that you can’t be a good scientist without believing in Jesus, or that non-Christian scientists are doing a bad job. Common Grace is the idea that God, in His mercy, enables each of us to do good things for the good of the world, even when we don’t acknowledge Him. You can be a great scientist and not love Jesus. But you can’t be a fulfilled scientist or truly understand the wonderful meaning of your work apart from the God who made you.
Jesus is the Answer. What is the question?
There are several big questions about the universe that find their answer in Jesus. There might be physical “how” answers to these questions, but we have to look beyond science to find the “why.” Jesus is the foundation that holds up everything. Consider how the Gospel of Jesus makes sense of these questions:
• Where did the universe come from?
Most scientists agree that the universe has not always existed. It sprang into being in the Big Bang, an event that physicists and astronomers say happened about 13.8 billion years ago. When physicist and Catholic priest Georges Lemaître first proposed the Theory of the Primeval Atom (what we now call the Big Bang Theory) in 1927, it sent shock waves through the scientific world. If the universe had a moment of creation, there’s an awfully good chance it had a creator. Christians call this ex nihilo – God created everything out of nothing. The triune God is the creator and sustainer of all things.
• Where did life come from?
Science has been unable to answer the question of how life arose from non-life. How did the Earth go from a rock covered in elements to a planet teeming with endless varieties of life? Christians believe that God is the source of all life, and that He gives life to His creation. Someday, scientists will surely have a better understanding of the mechanisms of life. But life’s existence will never stop being incredible and miraculous. “And you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” (Acts 3:15)
• What makes humans different from animals?
Mankind is a strange type of creature. Body-wise, we are much like the animals. We have cells and DNA and organs and natural limitations. There are some animals that look remarkably like us (and some of us look remarkably like animals). We depend on the environment for our lives: water, food, shelter. We reproduce in the absurd way that many animals do. And yet, we are very, very different from any other creature.
Humans have built the printing press and skyscrapers and cell phones. We travel around the world in jet planes, and we go to outer space in rockets. We act in plays and watch television. We invented capitalism and ice hockey. We write poetry and do crazy things in the name of romance. We give our lives in wars or to help people in need. We do algebra. We are not like animals.
Christians believe that the huge gulf between humanity and everything else comes form one amazing fact:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27 ESV
God created us in His very image: creative, free, and relational. We are different from the animals because God breathed His own spirit into Adam.
And God has blessed humanity and demonstrated its goodness in an extraordinary way: He became man Himself. Jesus was fully God and fully human, a man who could live the perfect life we each owe to God and die as a perfect sacrifice on our behalf. If the human form is good enough for God Himself, we can trust that we are a part of His good creation. Though we are like animals in many ways, we are much more than beasts.
• Is there any hope for the future of humanity?
Science without God says that the universe is unwinding; that our sun is burning out, and that humanity cannot survive forever (even if we don’t die out, we’ll evolve into something else). If there is no life after death, as materialists would have us believe, then humanity is just a doomed species on a doomed planet in a doomed universe. Everything we do is ultimately meaningless, because even the greatest among us will be forgotten when there is no one left to remember them. If you think about it too hard (and most people don’t), it paints a pretty bleak picture.
Jesus, on the other hand, promises eternal life to those who have faith in Him:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
Even though we physically die, we can live with God forever.
We don’t just live in some vaporous state, floating on clouds in robes and playing harps. Jesus will return to redeem the Earth (or make a new one):
“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
2 Peter 3:13 ESV
We were made for this world (or one a lot like it), in a redeemed and purified state.
Christians look forward to the day Jesus will physically return to Earth to make all things new.
“But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Matthew 26:64b ESV
We don’t have to put our hope in the current universe lasting forever, or in humanity finding a new home on another planet, or in creating our own temporary “meaning.” We have hope and a future because of Jesus.
• Why does the cosmos appear tailor-made for humanity?
The anthropic principle says that for the universe to be understood, it must have the right conditions for conscious minds to inhabit it. There are many different physical properties of our world that make it a suitable home for humanity, and the chances of them all lining up perfectly (as they have) is infinitesimally small. The force of gravity; the Earth’s size, shape, and distance from the Sun; the size, shape, and location of the Moon; the ratios of elements in our atmosphere; the location of our Solar System in the Milky Way Galaxy - if any of these constants (or many others) was off by even the slightest margin, there would not be an inhabitable Earth for us to live on.
The incredibly long odds against our existing has led to some fascinating philosophical thinking and excellent questions about why everything has lined up so perfectly. But Christians don’t have to wonder why things are the way they are. We believe that God made this universe with us in mind, and He is the great Engineer. He knew exactly what conditions we would need to survive, and He made things just so. How He did it is a great question for scientists. But why He did it is for theologians to explore, and they tell us that God made us because He loves us.
• Where does consciousness come from?
Similar to the question about what makes humans different from animals is the question of consciousness. How is it possible for humans to think, decide, be moral, and feel that we “are” somebodies, rather than groups of memories and impulses walking around in bodies? How are we conscious?
Psychologists have many theories about how the brain is related to the self, and how our thoughts and feelings might possibly arise out of electric impulses in a bunch of wrinkly gray mush. These theories are helpful for determining how and why things sometimes go wrong in the mind - for treating addiction or mental illness or brain injuries. But psychological theories fall short when you try to describe things as mysterious and otherworldly as love or wonder or forgiveness. Our conscious experience of the world is more than just a scaled-up version of monkey life (eat - defecate - sleep - mate - repeat).
Christians believe that our thinking and feeling are shadows or copies of God’s thinking and feeling. He created us, remember, in His own image. Wisdom and knowledge come from God. Emotions come from God. Our very understanding of selves comes from God. Psychology might be able to tell us about patterns of thought or how the brain sends signals, but there is something supernatural about consciousness itself, and that’s no surprise to Christians.
• Are we alone in the universe?
Some people are obsessed with the search for extraterrestrial life. They want to know if we are alone in the universe or if there are other intelligent creatures. Space agencies have spent millions of dollars to search for signals and signs of life. Aliens permeate our culture in movies, television, and books. Are we alone, or is there somebody else out there?
I don’t have any idea if aliens exist. God can make whatever He wants, wherever He wants, so I’m sure He could make aliens if He desired. I haven’t been able to find any references to extraterrestrials in my Bible, confirming or denying. The question, while interesting, really doesn’t matter to me. I already know that we are not alone. I know that there are other beings in the universe.
“Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!”
Psalm 148:2 ESV
God created angels to serve and worship Him. And some of those angels fell and became Satan and his demons. They aren’t from Mars, but they are other creatures that God has made that apparently have some influence on the world and the affairs of mankind. Christians know that whether aliens exist or not, we are not alone, and there are things in this world we do not understand. But we can trust in the character of Jesus to protect His people, and that He will be victorious in the end.
• Who can we thank for the splendor of nature?
Humans are often awed by the splendor of creation, because nature is awesome. When we think about the vast universe with billions and billions of stars; when we consider the invisible world around us of atoms, molecules, and cells; when we see the beauty of the natural world or consider the wonder of living things - it is good and natural to be struck with wonder, and I hope that you often are.
But for those who don’t believe in God, who think all of this was one big lucky accident, there is a certain frustration. I can’t imagine what it’s like to look at a blazing sunset and have no one to thank for it - to think that it’s just a bunch of rods and cones in your eyeballs lighting up a certain region of your brain, rather than a masterpiece painted by the Master Artist, an act of love for you, His creature.
“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
Psalm 19:1 ESV
Christians have somebody to thank. And, as C. S. Lewis said, the thanking completes the enjoyment. It’s satisfying and humbling to thank God for the gifts of creation, and to know that He has made it for us because He is a good Father.
Conclusion
Science, even without acknowledgement of Jesus, is very good. It teaches us about the universe we inhabit and enables us to make our lives in it better. But when science is placed in the context of the Christian worldview - into the big, beautiful, incredible story of the Gospel - it really flourishes. Because then we can put science in service of God and the ultimate truth, and see it for what it is: a gift from God, and a way to understand truth about the universe He’s made. The Gospel changes everything, and science is a very cool part of everything.