Scientists Who Believe in God

In this short interview (<4 min) Dr Francis Collins (Director, National Human Genome Research Institute) explains why he believes in a personal God and how his faith is compatible with science. For a brief article about Dr. Francis Collin's road to faith, see Why this scientist believes in God.

Given the apparent "rift" between science and faith in God in our modern world, it is perhaps surprising to learn that many famous scientists of the past had a deep faith in God! Many of today's scientists do too although you may not often hear about them. And like believing scientists before them (see a partial list below), they don't see a conflict between Christianity and science. Dr. Collins in the youtube video above is one example.

This topic is one I hope to visit time and again, but today I simply want to list a few scientists whom you may have heard of who were devout Christians:

1. Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543): Polish astronomer who put forward the first mathematically based system of planets going around the sun.
2. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1627): Philosopher known for establishing the scientific method of inquiry based on experimentation and inductive reasoning.
3. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630): Brilliant mathematician and astronomer. He did early work on light, and established the laws of planetary motion about the sun.
4. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): Galileo's troubles with the established church are famous, but his problem was with the institutionalized church, not Christianity. His controversial work on the solar system was published in 1633.
5. Rene Descartes (1596-1650): French mathematician, scientist and philosopher who has been called the father of modern philosophy.
6. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662): French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher.
7. Isaac Newton (1642-1727): In optics, mechanics, and mathematics, Newton was a figure of undisputed genius and innovation.
8. Robert Boyle (1791-1867): One of the founders and key early members of the Royal Society, Boyle gave his name to "Boyle's Law" for gases, and also wrote an important work on chemistry.
9. Michael Faraday (1791-1867): The son of a blacksmith who became one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century. His work on electricity and magnetism not only revolutionized physics, but led to much of our lifestyles today, which depends on them (including computers and telephone lines and, so, web sites).
10. Gregor Mendel (1822-1884): The first to lay the mathematical foundations of genetics, in what came to be called "Mendelianism".
11. William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907): Kelvin was foremost among the small group of British scientists who helped to lay the foundations of modern physics.

LIFE and death

The immortality of the soul is something of such vital importance to us, affecting us so deeply, that one must have lost all feeling not to care about knowing the facts of the matter"  Blaise Pascal

Me in the cockpit of a Piper Pawnee C, which I flew during
the summer of 1980 to apply pesticides to crops and pastures
near Scotia, Nebraska where I grew up.

My tension was rising as I powered my Piper Pawnee airplane down the short runway. I had been crop dusting all summer at my small-town airport but somehow this takeoff seemed different. The plane was fully loaded, sluggish, and had already passed the "point of no return" (where the airplane was moving too fast to safely stop even if I throttled back and applied brakes). The plane didn't seem to want to lift off, and the end of the runway was rapidly approaching. Immediately beyond was a county road with ditches on both sides and a barbed wire fence and tall corn field just beyond that. I knew the airplane wouldn't fare too well if I couldn't lift off by the time I got there, but worse, I knew I wouldn't fare too well either. By the time I got to the end of the runway the plane was still on the ground.That was not how I had planned for that day to go.

Does God Speak to Us Individually?

Can we really hear God? Walk with Him? Develop conversational intimacy with Him?

Certainly there is evidence of this in the Scriptures, starting at the beginning in Eden when God walked in the cool of the day and spoke with Adam and Eve (1). God also spoke with the prophets in the Old Testament such as to Elijah after he called down fire from heaven to burn a sacrifice placed on the alter (2), and afterwards when Elijah feared for his life because Jezebel sought to kill him (3). And lest we think that God only spoke with Elijah because he held the special role of being a prophet, James reminds us in the New Testament that Elijah was a person just like we are (4). There are other examples in the Scriptures of God speaking with people - Moses, David, Paul, Peter, and Jesus Christ himself. Dallas Willard in his book "Hearing God" makes the point that these events recorded in the Bible teach us the vital lesson that: Our humanity will not by itself prevent us from knowing and interacting with God just as they did (5).

Andes Mountains near Portillo Ski Area, northeast of
Santiago, Chile. I visited this beautiful place in July 2009.

Iranian Christian Sentenced to Death for Apostasy

This Iranian, 32 year old Youcef Nadarkhani (left), has been sentenced to execution by hanging in Iran. His crime is apostasy, or converting from Islam to Christianity. He is also a Pastor and has been baptizing people into the Christian faith. (By the way, Christianity is exploding under the repressive Islamic regime in Iran). Youcef Nadarkhani has been given multiple opportunities by Iranian courts to recant his faith but he repeatedly refuses, even under the threat of death.

This begs the question as to why he won't recant his faith under such pressure (did I mention he has been in prison since 2009?). Youcef is not a terrorist, murderer, rapist, or serial killer. He is a husband and father (see photo below) and is also following Christ's command to make disciples of all nations (1). This man truly has conviction about his faith.

If you are a Christian, have you experienced enough in your faith to make you that resilient? I have to ask myself as a Christian, would I deny my faith under such duress? I hope not. This man Youcef truly understands the "cost" of following Christ (2) and may pay with his life, as have many others before him (including in Iran), for not denying his love for and devotion to Jesus.

If you are not a Christian, doesn't this make you wonder what it is about Christianity that someone would endure such prolonged suffering for their faith? It has to be more than the "going through the motions" Sunday church services that many of us have experienced. As a Christian, I can tell you why. Experiencing a connection with Jesus Christ is the most powerful experience I can describe. He is 100% good, His love is 100% pure, and when we accept him, his Spirit pours His life into ours and takes away the weight of our wrongdoings, our "sin", and clears our consciences. He sets us free and opens new doors for us to live our life in communion with him.

Youcef Nadarkhani with his family.

Sound farfetched? Maybe so. But Youcef Nadarkhani doesn't think so. He has experienced Christ's love and has never looked back. I have experienced that love too, and the deep healing and restoration that it brings. Whether you are a Christian who hasn't experienced this or are not a Christian, it truly is available to everyone. You only need to want it, seek it, and accept it.

Under international pressure, Iranian courts have delayed the sentence and referred his case to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. So there is still hope that his life will be spared and that he will be released from prison. Either way, please say a prayer for Youcef Nadarkhani if you would. If you would like to do more, this website has information on how to get involved: http://aclj.org/iran/americans-support-pastor-youcef-overwhelming.

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3.

(1) Matthew 28:18-20; (2) Matthew 16:24-26.

Whispers of God from Hawaii

Jannis and I at Laupahoehoe Harbor.
The ocean is very wild and untamed here.

Recently my wife and I were in Hawaii, on the big island, a place filled with beauty and reminders of God's creation. Here are a few pictures from there, along with some inspirational words from the Bible.

A green sand beach (which is rare) at the very secluded
Mahana Bay. Green is caused by the mineral olivine.

 



The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
  the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
   and established it on the waters. (Psalm 24:1-2)

This was at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens.
Not sure what kind of flower (or whatever!) it is

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? (Matthew 6:28-30)

The Waipio Valley. The beach is black sand, caused
by lava being slowly pulverized by the ocean.

 [The LORD] set the earth on its foundations;
 it can never be moved.
You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
 the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
 at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
 they went down into the valleys,
 to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
  never again will they cover the earth.(Psalm 104:5-9)

Akaka Falls, 442 feet tall!

...praise the name of God—
      it's the only Name worth praising.
   His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky
(Psalm 148:13).

Secluded beach at Waialea Bay.

 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...(Romans 1:20)



 

Lava covering road at end of Chain of Craters
Road in Volcanoes National Park.

God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,   though its waters roar and foam

   and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3).

Beautiful Outlaw

Click on the picture to go to the Ransomed Heart
website and learn more about the book.

I know, the title of this post sounds like an oxymoron. Perhaps it is, but maybe not in the sense you think. The title "Beautiful Outlaw" refers to Jesus Christ. But was Jesus really an outlaw? He most definitely was in the eyes of...try to guess who!

In Jesus' day, much as in our own, the religious establishment had by-and-large distorted the true picture of who God was and what he was really like. The message was lost about God's love, goodness, mercy, etc. The religious leaders had burdened their followers with petty laws and endless duties to the point where life was filled with heaviness and despair. Into this scene stepped Jesus, who was not happy with what the religious leaders were doing in God's name. During Jesus' brief lifetime (~33 years) he repeatedly went into the Jewish temple and intentionally provoked the religious leaders by (gasp) healing peoples' ailments (for example, blindness, deafness, crippling diseases) on the Sabbath Day. Read here about one brief example (Mark 3:1-6); there are many more. The problem was that religious rules forbade anybody from working on the Sabbath, and Jesus was breaking that rule by healing people (i.e., "working"). And the religious leaders were furious at him for doing this, so much so that they started plotting to murder him.

What do you think of when you think about Jesus? Do you think "televangelists"? Irrelevant? Boring? Religious? Perhaps you've had a bad experience at church and you naturally affiliate it with Jesus.

The first chapter of the book "Beautiful Outlaw" is entitled "The Playfulness of God and the Poison of Religion". Unfortunately, even today religion often presents a distorted picture of who Jesus really is (Disclaimer: Please don't think I'm passing judgement on every church). And that is tragic because it turns people away from a person who is truly remarkable, beautiful, and definitely worth knowing. Beautiful Outlaw is designed to introduce you to Jesus as he really is. He is many good things, but he is anything but religious.

I have read the first chapter of Beautiful Outlaw so far (the entire book will be released on October 5) but am excited about reading the rest of the book. I have read all of the books that John Eldredge, the author has written and I have no doubt that this one could be a life changer. I encourage you to check it out, though, with a warning that your life may never be the same if you give it a fair shake!

Emphasis of America’s Founding Fathers on God

I spent this week in Washington D.C. and had time to visit some of the sites including the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and the Washington Monument. I was encouraged to be reminded of the faith that our founding fathers had in God as they started a new country called America. Here are some excerpts from quotes that are engraved in stone at the Jefferson Memorial (Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd U.S. President and drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence):

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Declaration of Independence)

Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens [burdens]...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...

God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?

(Dale speaking here…) Seeing Jefferson’s references to God prompted me to dig a little deeper into quotes from some of our other founding fathers and I thought I would share a few with you:

George Washington (1st U.S. President; excerpt from ‘Letter to the Governors of the States on Disbanding the Army’, June, 1783):

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for brethren who have served in the field; and finally that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.

John Adams: (2nd U.S. President and Signer of the Declaration of Independence; excerpt from ‘Diary and Autobiography of John Adams’, Vol. III, p. 9)

Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.

John Hancock (1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence; excerpt from a proclama­tion signed by John Hancock set May 17, 1776; www.johnhancock.org):

The [Continental] Congress…do earnestly recommend…a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer [throughout the colonies]; that we may, with united hearts, confess and bewail our manifold sins and transgressions, and by a sincere repentance and amendment of life, appease his [God's] righteous displeasure, and through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain his pardon and forgiveness."

John Witherspoon: (Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Clergyman and President of Princeton University; excerpt from Sermon at Princeton University, "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men," May, 1776)

While we give praise to God, the Supreme Disposer of all events, for His interposition on our behalf, let us guard against the dangerous error of trusting in, or boasting of, an arm of flesh.... If your cause is just, if your principles are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts.

(Dale speaking again…). The founders of America were, by and large, a profoundly religious people. If you live in America and enjoy the fruits of liberty and freedom, then in no small way you have them to thank. I also visited Arlington National Cemetery this week, which vividly illustrates the “last full measure” that so many have paid to maintain our free way of life. And I visited the 911 Memorial at the Pentagon, which painfully illustrates that there are those who would destroy the freedoms we enjoy; who would steal, kill, and destroy in order to bring tyranny over our lives.

My visit to Washington D.C. powerfully reminded me of the legacy that our founders and subsequent generations have left for us. My prayer is that my generation, and yours, will defend that freedom and pass it on intact to the next. I believe there is no better way than to do that than on our knees seeking God’s direction for our country. If you are not from America, then I encourage you to do the same for your country. After all, it matters not where we are from, we all need God’s presence and direction in our lives and for our nations. He loves us all!