Faith and the Scientist

8/17/18          Kevin  (video)            late 20's

“If a scientist could prove God’s existence, would you still believe?” 

That’s an unusual question.  Most people might ask a believer like me “If a scientist could prove God doesn’t exist, would you still believe regardless?” or they might ask an atheist “If a scientist could prove God’s existence, then would you believe?” 

But whether or not I would believe if God’s existence could be demonstrated scientifically was something I have never been asked before.  It was asked of me by a thoughtful young man named Kevin during a sidewalk conversation.  I had just told him why I feel we shouldn’t expect to be able to scientifically proof of God’s existence, and Kevin had an interesting way of looking at a question from several different angles.

“I’ve never thought of it that way before” I said.  “And, off the top of my head, I would have to say no, I wouldn’t, because then God would no longer be God.” 

I know that seems counterintuitive.  We have become accustomed to depend on science to validate all truth claims through experimentation and evidence.  If we can isolate the variables and conduct repeated tests that deliver similar results, we might confirm our hypothesis that God does indeed exist.

But in what situation should we expect God to act the same way every time?  The Bible repeatedly tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”, so therefore we must approach Him with reverence and awe rather than the skepticism of a scientist. 

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 when He told the Devil in the wilderness ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’  I believe this also applies to the scientific testing of God’s existence.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.  We are not to approach God with the analytic attitude of a scientist, depending on our own effort to find Him. 

To be sure, God responds to the sincere seeker who “tests” God by taking steps of faithful obedience.  Most Christians can give testimonies and anecdotes of God’s faithfulness in response.  But science requires experiments done under carefully controlled conditions that can be repeated with similar results.  The problem is, this gives man the illusion that he is in control rather than God.

Faith is extremely important to God.  Many of man’s characteristics please God, such as love, kindness, generosity, and even the patience and ingenuity of a scientist.  But faith in Jesus is the one thing we need for salvation. 

Why faith?  Because it is the one characteristic we can have that we can’t take pride in or take credit for.  Our faith points to the One we have faith in, not in any quality or goodness of our own.  We can’t boast about our faith, but only treasure it with gratitude and wonder.

Like a weightlifter gradually building up his strength, there are things we can do to build up our own faith, such as spending time in his Word and responding in obedience.  But that first inkling of faith, the faith that might at first only be the size of a mustard seed, is a gift from God that no amount of science or any other effort of man can attain.

PS – Kevin graciously allowed me to record our conversation, which can be seen in it’s entirety HERE