Some people would have us believe that scientific breakthroughs have made spiritual belief unnecessary. This is a theory the facts won’t support. If anything, modern science has revealed our need for something more than modern science!
For all its benefits, science has many limitations. It can tell us how to operate on a diseased heart but not how to heal a broken one. It has discovered ways to improve our eyesight but can’t do much for our insight.
Science has revealed life’s complexities but hasn’t removed life’s perplexities. It simply can’t give answers to life’s most important questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What happens after we die?
Not only does science have many limitations, it also lacks moral limits. Science has no innate way to solve the moral and ethical dilemmas it has created. For example, science tells us we can clone humans but can’t tell us if we should clone humans.
So instead of making religion irrelevant, science has shown it to be irreplaceable. We need what faith brings—answers to our deepest questions and guidance for our biggest quandaries. We need the help and hope that come from God through faith in Jesus Christ.
In many ways, modern science makes faith in God easier not harder. Science continues to discover incredible evidence of design in our world—both on the micro-level (the cell) and macro-level (the constellations). The intricate design we see can strengthen our faith in an unseen Intelligent Designer.
(This article by Rick Reed originally appeared in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper as part of their series “Ask the Religion Experts.”)
Rick and Linda Reed 