Theism as the Foundation for Modern Science

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Theism as the Foundation for Modern Science

• David W. Richardson, Jr.
• MTh., University of Oxford

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Theism as the Foundation for Modern Science

• Modern Mythology
• What is Theism?
• Where Did Science Come From?
• Teaching the Truth

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Modern Mythology
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Galileo Galilei

• Galileo challenged the earth-centered cosmology
  of the day.
• The Church believed Galileo was in error and
  contradicted the teaching of Scripture.
• Galileo was placed under house arrest by the
  Church.

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Christopher Columbus

• Columbus sought a trade route to the Indies by
  sailing west rather than by the Cape of Good
  Hope.
• Everyone but the enlightened few believed the
  world was flat.
• The leaders of the Church and intellectuals of
  the day warned that he would fall off the edge of
  the world or be destroyed by dragons.

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Church and Science in Conflict

• Science and religion are at odds with each other
• When the church got out of the way, this was when
  science flourished.
• Science is rational and naturalistic
• Faith is subjective (even irrational) and
  superstitious.
• Is this how it really went?

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Re-writing History

• The conflict thesis is recent in origin
• Andrew Dickson White - A History of the Warfare
  of Science With Theology in Christendom (1898)
• Most historians of science have repudiated it
• The dominant view among historians is the
  compatibility of science with religion

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Galileo Myth

• Galileo Was Not Battling the Church
• Galileo was cantankerous, and a difficult person
• Galileo was battling Aristotle
• Thomas Aquinas wed Aristotle with theology
• Ptolemys cosmology was wrong (observation)
• Rejecting Ptolemy was equivalent to rejecting the
  Church

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Flat Earth Myth

• Only the ignorant since Archimedes have believed
  the Earth was flat.
• The popular astronomy text of the day was
  Sphere written by John of Sacrobosco
• Columbus had miscalculated the distance to the
  Orient.

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Recovering the Origins of Science

• The history of science shows that theism is
  primarily responsible for the rise of
  experimental science.
• Science is clouded in modern mythology
• Scientists are reclaiming the theistic history of
  science
• Science and Christianity Conflict or
  Coherence? - Henry F. Schaefer (2003)
• Modern Physics and Ancient Faith - Stephen Barr
  (2003)
• For the Glory of God How Monotheism Lead to
  Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End
  of Slavery - Rodney Stark (2003)

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What is Theism?
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Theism is a Worldview

• Everyone has a worldview.
• It is the way you look at the world
  (weltanschauung).
• A philosophical framework for filtering and
  categorizing data and experiences.
• Defines the nature of reality according to that
  person.
• First principles.

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Three Basic Worldviews

• Theism
• Naturalism
• Transcendentalism

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Theism

• There is a God
• There is nature
• The two are separate and distinct, and both are
  real

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Naturalism

• There is no God
• There is only nature
• God is an illusion

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Transcendentalism (Pantheism)

• There is only God
• There is no nature
• Nature is an illusion

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Grand Metaphysical Stories

• Theism
• Creation - God made nature out of nothing
• Naturalism
• Evolution - Nature made itself out of nothing
• Transcendentalism
• Reincarnation - God made nothing - nature is an
  illusion - all are part of God

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Where Did Science Come From?
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What Culture Founded Science?

• China?
• Chinese intellectuals pursued enlightenment not
  explanation.
• Taoism conceived the universe as chaotic without
  natural laws. The universe simply is and always
  was.
• No motivation for science
• Some technology, but no scientific tradition

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What Culture Founded Science?

• Greece?
• Some Greeks were careful observers of nature
• Archimedes, Aristotle, Euclid
• Greek philosophers, while usually not firm
  believers in the gods, were influenced by the
  general Greek worldview
• Greek gods could not account for a lawful
  universe.
• The universe is eternal undergoing a repeated
  cycle of progress and decay

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What Culture Founded Science?

• Inanimate objects transformed into living
  creatures with aims, emotions, and desires. This
  squelched the pursuit of physical explanations in
  favor of mysticism.
• Deduction not experiment produced final knowledge
• Aristotelian method - induction of principles
  from phenomenon, then deduction of explanations
  from principles.
• Experiment is superfluous
• Greeks generally thought science was unethical
• Prometheus, the prototypical scientist, incurred
  the wrath of the gods for stealing fire.
• Some technology, little science

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What Culture Founded Science?

• Islam?
• Picked up philosophy where Greeks left off. They
  expanded on Aristotle rather than innovating.
• Muslims assimilated and adapted others thought
  to Islam, but generated little original thinking.
• Allah not a lawful creator, but frequently
  intrudes in the world as he sees fit -
  determinism
• Some technology, little science.

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What Culture Founded Science?

• Western Christian Culture?
• Rich institutional, intellectual tradition -
  universities
• Aristotle expanded, questioned, and rejected
• Deduction verified by observation
• Science is a logical and natural product of
  Christian doctrine.
• Technology and experimental science.

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What Culture Founded Science?

• The rise of science was not an extension of
  classical learning. It was a natural outgrowth
  of Christian doctrine Nature exists because it
  was created by God. To love and honor God, one
  must fully appreciate the wonders of his
  handiwork. Moreover, because God is perfect, his
  handiwork functions in accord with immutable
  principles. By the full use of our God-given
  powers of reason and observation, we ought to be
  able to discover these principles (Rodney Stark,
  For the Glory of God, 2003, p. 157).

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Summary of Science History

• Natural philosophy begun by Greeks - 4th century
  BC
• Aristotle emerges as premier natural philosopher
  - 3rd century BC
• Platonism and atomism are competing natural
  philosophies - 3rd century BC
• Islamic world adopts Aristotle - 9th century AD

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Summary of Science History

• Aristotle widely available to the West - 11th
  century AD
• Universities founded - 13th century AD
• Experimental methodology developed at Oxford -
  13th century AD
• Aristotle repudiated - 17th century AD
• Birth of modern science - 17th century AD

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Isaac Newton
• Classical physics, calculus
• This most beautiful system of the sun, planets,
  and comets could only proceed from the counsel
  and dominion of an intelligent and powerful
  Being. And if the fixed stars are the centers of
  other like systems, these, being formed by the
  likewise counsel, must be all subject to the
  dominion of One (Mathematical Principles of
  Natural Philosophy).
• Newton wrote more about theology than science.

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Francis Bacon
• Formulated the scientific method
• Let no one think or maintain that a person can
  search too far or be too well studied in either
  the book of Gods word or the book of Gods
  works.

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Johannes Kepler
• Mathematics, physics, astronomy
• When asked, Why do you engage in science?,
  Kepler replied, to obtain a sample test of the
  delight of the Divine Creator in His work and to
  partake of His joy.
• He later stated, I believe only and alone in the
  service of Jesus Christ. In him is all refuge
  and solace.

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Blaise Pascal
• Probability theory, mechanics
• God makes people conscious of their inward
  wretchedness and his infinite mercy, unites
  Himself to their inmost soul, fills it with
  humility and joy, with confidence and love,
  renders them incapable of any other end than
  Himself. Jesus Christ is the end of all and the
  center to which all tends.

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Robert Boyle
• Chemistry
• Wrote Considerations Touching the Style of the
  Holy Scriptures.
• Endowed annual lecture at Oxford defending
  Christianity against indifferentism and atheism.
• Governor of the Corporation for the Spread of the
  Gospel of Jesus Christ in New England.

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• From Rodney Stark, sociologist, University of
  Washington
• Italic type indicate a Protestant Personal
  Piety
• Bayer, Johann (1572-1625) Devout
• Borelli, Giovanni (1608-1679) Conventional
• Boyle, Robert (1627-1691) Devout
• Brahe, Tycho (1546-1601) Conventional
• Briggs, Henry (1561-1630) Devout
• Cassini, Giovanni (1625-1712) Conventional
• Copernicus, Nicolaus (1473-1543) Conventional
• Descartes, René (1596-1650) Devout
• Fabricus, David (1564-1617) Devout
• Fallopius, Gabriel (1523-1562) Devout

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Fermat, Pierre (1601-1665) Conventional
• Flamsteed, John (1646-1719) Devout
• Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642) Conventional
• Gassendi, Pierre (1592-1655) Devout
• Gellibrand, Henry (1597-1663) Devout
• Gilbert, William (1540-1603) Conventional
• Graaf, Regnier de (1641-1673) Conventional
• Grew, Nehemiah (1641-1712) Devout
• Grimaldi, Francesco (1618-1663) Devout
• Guericke, Otto (1602-1686) Conventional
• Halley, Edmund (1656-1742) Skeptic
• Harvey, William (1578-1657) Conventional

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Helmont, Jan Baptista van (1577-1644) Devout
• Hevelius, Johannes (1611-1687) Conventional
• Hooke, Robert (1635-1703) Devout
• Horrocks, Jeremiah (1619-1641) Devout
• Huygens, Christiaan (1629-1695) Devout
• Kepler, Johannes (1571-1630) Devout
• Kircher, Athanasius (1601-1680) Devout
• Leeuwenhoek, Anton (1632-1723) Conventional
• Leibniz, Gottfried (1646-1716) Devout
• Malpighi, Marcello (1628-1694) Conventional
• Mariotte, Edme (1620-1684) Devout
• Mersenne, Marin (1588-1648) Devout

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Napier, John (1550-1617) Devout
• Newton, Isaac (1642-1727) Devout
• Oughtred, William (1575-1660) Devout
• Papin, Denis (1647-1712) Devout
• Paracelsus (1493-1541) Skeptic
• Pascal, Blaise (1623-1662) Devout
• Picard, Jean (1620-1682) Devout
• Ray, John (1628-1705) Devout
• Riccioli, Giovanni (1598-1671) Devout
• Roemer, Olaus (1644-1710) Conventional
• Scheiner, Christoph (1575-1650) Devout
• Snell, Willebrord (1591-1626) Conventional

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Scientific Pioneers Were Christians

• Steno, Nicolaus (1638-1686) Devout
• Stevinus, Simon (1548-1620) Conventional
• Torricelli, Evangelista (1606-1647) Conventional
• Vesalius, Andreas (1514-1564) Devout
• Vieta, Franciscus (1540-1603) Conventional
• Wallis, John (1616-1703) Devout

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Later Scientific Pioneers Who Were Christians

• Scientist Discipline Founded/Contribution
• William Petty (1623-1687) Statistics
  Scientific economics
• William Derham (1657-1735) Ecology
• John Woodward (1665-1728) Paleontology
• Carolus Linneaus (1707-1778) Taxonomy
  Biological classification system
• Richard Kirwan (1733-1812) Mineralogy
• William Herschel (1738-1822) Galactic
  astronomy Uranus
• John Dalton (1766-1844) Atomic theory Gas law
• Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) Comparative anatomy
• Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) Thermokinetics
  Safety lamp
• John Kidd, M.D. (1775-1851) Chemical synthetics
• David Brewster (1781-1868) Optical mineralogy
  Kaleidoscope
• William Prout (1785-1850) Foot chemistry

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Later Scientific Pioneers Who Were Christians

• Scientist Discipline Founded/Contribution
• Michael Faraday (1791-1867) Magnetic Theory
• Charles Babbage (1792-1871) Computer Science
• Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872) Telegraph
• William Whewell (1794-1866) Anemometer
• Joseph Henry (1797-1866) Electric motor
  Galvanometer
• Matthew Maury (1806-1873) Oceanography
  Hydrograph
• Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) Glacial geology,
  ichthyology
• James Young Simpson (1811-1870) Gynecology
• James Joule (1818-1889) Thermodynamics
• George Stokes (1819-1903) Fluid Mechanics
• Rudolph Virchow (1821-1902) Pathology
• Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) Genetics
• Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) Bacteriology

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Later Scientific Pioneers Who Were Christians

• Scientist Discipline Founded/Contribution
• Henri Fabre (1823-1915) Entomology of living
  insects
• William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) (1824-1907) Energeti
  cs, Thermodynamics
• William Huggins (1824-1910) Astral spectrometry
• Bernahard Riemann (1826-1866) Non-Euclidean
  geometrics
• Joseph Lister (1827-1912) Antiseptic surgery
• Balfour Stewart (1827-1887) Ionospheric
  electricity
• James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) Electrodynamics,
  statistical thermodynamics
• P.G. Tait (1831-1901) Vector analysis
• John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (1842-1919) Similitud
  e Model Analysis Inert Gases
• John Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945) Electronics
  Electron tube Thermionic valve
• William Ramsey (1852-1916) Isotopic Chemistry

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Teaching the Truth
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Theism and the Scientific Method

• The scientific method hinges on careful
  observation and repeatable experiment.
• Why is there repeatability, predictability, and
  regularity?
• Theism is a better explanation than naturalism
  and transcendentalism.

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Integrate a Theistic Understanding

• Explore your discipline from a theistic
  perspective
• Why do we use this method (scientific method)?
• Why does it work?
• Where does regularity, repeatability, and
  predictability come from? Naturalism can not
  provide this foundation.
• Write about your conclusions

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Engage Others

• If it is true that theism is the primary
  foundation of science, this foundation should be
  incorporated into your instructional curriculum
  and research.
• This act returns God to the real world to the
  realm of knowledge not just faith.
• Realize that theism is a competing worldview to
  the prevailing naturalism of the university, and
  be prepared to defend it.

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Science Among Competing Worldviews

• Include naturalism to continue to work with
  colleagues.
• Develop a distinctively theistic research agenda
  apart from the work you do with naturalistic
  colleagues.
• Publish your findings in mainstream journals and
  Christian journals.
• Pursue excellence by submitting your theistic
  work to the same academic rigor.

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Conclusion

• You do not need to be a Christian to do science.
• A theistic worldview gave rise to experimental
  science, and it the best worldview to sustain it.
• A naturalist can do science, but has no good
  reason to expect repeatability, predictability,
  or regularity in the world.
• Naturalists borrow a foundation of order in the
  world from the theistic worldview to do science.

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Contact

• Dave Richardson
• daver_at_clm.org
• www.daverichardson.us