10/12/15 Kobe early 20’s
Are science and faith incompatible?
A college student from Korea who has adopted “Kobe” as his American name told me he grew up Catholic in Korea but now doesn’t take time to observe his childhood faith.
I asked why and he said it was partly because of his heavy study load but also because his belief in science has him questioning his beliefs.
But are science and faith really incompatible?
I talked some about the valuable contributions of the scientific approach to knowledge, in such areas as health and technology. But there are questions science can’t answer and Kobe agreed that just because science can help us find SOME truth doesn’t mean we should expect it to find ALL truth. So we shouldn't conclude that the things science can’t explain, such as God’s existence, are therefore disproved.
In fact, if the scientific method could somehow be used to prove or disprove God by conducting experiments and expecting consistent results every time, then such a “god” would not be a personality but would be an impersonal force or material object of some sort and subject to the same laws of nature as the rest of creation.
I went on to explain how Jesus taught his followers to address God very personally – as their heavenly father – and what that can mean for us.
Kobe said his prayers are limited to asking God for things when he feels he needs them, so I asked questions based on Hebrews 12: What kind of a father doesn’t discipline his children? What kind of father doesn’t love them enough to chastise them when needed? And what kind of relationship do we have with our heavenly father if we only talk to him when we need something?
God loves his children, and this is a relationship that science can never explain.
A college student from Korea who has adopted “Kobe” as his American name told me he grew up Catholic in Korea but now doesn’t take time to observe his childhood faith.
I asked why and he said it was partly because of his heavy study load but also because his belief in science has him questioning his beliefs.
But are science and faith really incompatible?
I talked some about the valuable contributions of the scientific approach to knowledge, in such areas as health and technology. But there are questions science can’t answer and Kobe agreed that just because science can help us find SOME truth doesn’t mean we should expect it to find ALL truth. So we shouldn't conclude that the things science can’t explain, such as God’s existence, are therefore disproved.
In fact, if the scientific method could somehow be used to prove or disprove God by conducting experiments and expecting consistent results every time, then such a “god” would not be a personality but would be an impersonal force or material object of some sort and subject to the same laws of nature as the rest of creation.
I went on to explain how Jesus taught his followers to address God very personally – as their heavenly father – and what that can mean for us.
Kobe said his prayers are limited to asking God for things when he feels he needs them, so I asked questions based on Hebrews 12: What kind of a father doesn’t discipline his children? What kind of father doesn’t love them enough to chastise them when needed? And what kind of relationship do we have with our heavenly father if we only talk to him when we need something?
God loves his children, and this is a relationship that science can never explain.
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