I didn’t realize when I got this that it was from a Christian perspective. And I was excited because I thought it was great that a Christian was writing about the importance of science. Especially in this time when it seems like Christians are willing to throw out science when it doesn’t agree with their dogma - whether their dogma is biblical or not. Unfortunately, it quickly devolved into how important it is for science to be informed by Christianity. Which is something I appreciate on the surface - it makes sense to use a value system - one of ethics and morality - to inform scientific inquiry. But this approach has 2 flaws. First, it assumes that non-Christian value systems are worthless. Second, it assumes that Christian value systems are objectively informed by God’s revelation. Both of these assumptions are arrogant, and the second is dangerous.

Arrogant because in both, you are presupposing you have the right answer, and everyone else has the wrong answer.

And the second is dangerous because it gives religious people free reign to wield their belief systems to destroy others because they think they have a direct line to the supreme being and know exactly what he/she/it thinks. This has destroyed lives, communities, and entire societies.

At least he addresses the second in chapter 7 - and I tend to agree with a lot of this chapter - but does it seem odd to plop a chapter on biblical interpretation in the middle of a book on science. Maybe not. We need to have the same humility approaching the Bible as we do approaching what we perceive science is telling us - that is always open to new thoughts, ideas, and interpretations.

But back to the book.

I found this quote interesting:

“Often a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other parts of the world, about the motions and orbits of the stars and even their sizes and distances . . . and this knowledge he holds with certainty from reason and experience. It is thus offensive and disgraceful for an unbeliever to hear a Christian talk nonsense about such things, claiming that what he is saying is based in Scripture. “

Holy crap! St. Augustine disses young earth creationists!

And when I started getting into this book, I was even more interested because that’s what I thought it was going to be about. Encouraging Christians not to abandon science because of poor biblical hermeneutics.

But it’s this that bothers me:

“Christians need to be involved in science for ethical reasons.”

It assumes that Christians have hold of an ethics system others do not. That’s arrogant. And incorrect. You’d probably agree if you knew some of the Christians I know.

Plus he seems to argue against himself - based on Western popular evangelical Christianity:

“Once one recognizes the role of values in science, it becomes easier to see how one’s faith can impact one’s scientific career. Christians are free to pursue outcomes that align with their convictions: alleviation of suffering, cherishing of life and stewardship of the earth, for example. And Christians can object to scientific research that runs counter to these goals. In other words, one’s scientific career can be motivated by the same Christian beliefs that guided our predecessors in the Scientific Revolution.”

This is ironic because most non-Christians I know embrace these values while most Christians I know do not.

And a lot of the book is filled with arguments like this. I might agree with the author if a majority of Christians lived out the teachings of Christ. But since they do not, his arguments kind of fall flat.