Sárospataki Füzetek 14. (2010)
2010 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Byl, John: Világnézetek háborúja: a keresztyénség és kihívói.
WAR OF THE WORLDVIEWS Many founders of modern science appealed to a Christian worldview. Consider what the following scientific giants said about God: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630): I give thanks to Thee, O Lord Creator, Who hast delighted me with Thy makings and in the works of Thy hands have I exalted.14 Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): The laws of nature give clear testimony of a lawgiver... Nature is written in the language of mathematics.15 Isaac Newton (1642-1727): This most beautiful system of sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.16 All three scientists believed that the God of the Bible had created the universe according to a rational plan, that God created man in His image, and, hence, that man is able to discern the rational structure of the universe. God thus provided the coherence between the worlds of matter, human minds, and mathematics, thereby solving Penrose’s mysteries. Without belief in the absolute God of the Bible nothing in the world makes sense. Although unbelievers are still able to reason, their reasoning powers can be justified only on the basis of the Christian worldview. This conclusion is echoed by the physicist Paul Davies, who writes, Even the most atheistic scientist accepts as an act of faith that the universe is not absurd, that there is a rational basis to physical existence manifested by a law-like order in nature that is at least in part comprehensible to us. So science can proceed only if the scientist adopts an essentially theological worldview.17 In short, only the Christian worldview provides an adequate basis for rationality and objective knowledge. Why (Post) Modernists Reject Christianity The conclusion just reached provokes a question. If Christianity is in fact rationally superior to other worldviews, why is it not more widely accepted? Naturalism Consider first of all naturalism. Given the lack of evidence for naturalism, its inability to explain the deeper mysteries of the universe, and its self-contradictory nature, why do so many scientists persist in their support of naturalism? 14 Kepler, Johannes: Epitome of Copemican Astronomy & Harmonies of the World. (1621) Amherst, Prometheus Books, 1995. 240. 15 Galilei, Galileo: “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina” (1610), in Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo. Stillman Drake (translator and editor). New York, Doubleday Anchor Books, 182. 16 Newton, Isaac: The Principia: Mathematical Prinriples of Natural Philosophy. (1687) Trans. B. Cohen & A. Whitman, Berkely, University of California Press, 1999. 939-943. 17 Davies, Paul: “Physics and the Mind of God”, First Things. 1995 (August/Sept): 32. SÁROSPATAKI FÜZETEK 37
