One does not have to tell anyone that this is the age of science and technology. In the past four hundred years scientists have discovered the secrets of nature at such a rapid pace that it has affected all walks of our life. A few decades ago a heart attack meant an early death, but today many patients are able to live for twenty or more years on a pacemaker !

With the increasing inroads of science and technology into the life of the common man, science is gaining an unusual popularity all around. It is being given the lion's share in the education system. While all of this is commendable, something not so pleasing has been happening behind the scene. Many people armed with a good knowledge of science have been using it as a tool to attack belief in God and Bible. Since the target of their attack is the common man who is not a trained scientist or philosopher, the battle is uneven. The common man thinks that science has finally driven the last nail into the coffin in which faith is buried.

The most unfortunate victims of these attacks are Christian school and college students. Most of them face direct or indirect attacks against their faith, and they usually find no one to whom they can turn to for answers. This gives rise to an inner mental struggle of unusual proportions. This article is dedicated to all those young persons and their counselors who have at one time or other asked these questions. Be assured that there are sensible answers to all reasonable questions related to science and faith, and this article will serve as a starting point.

QUESTIONS OF SCIENCE AND FAITH

Most of the times people ignore the questions related to science and faith. This is neither correct nor necessary. In fact questions related to science and faith are not going to decrease in any way. The atheistic and humanistic movements are on the increase, and they have been successful in influencing even a good number of Christian thinkers, and therefore attacks against the faith are only going to increase in the coming days.

HOW TO FACE THE QUESTIONS

There is no use running away from the questions which come up against one's faith. Rather one will have to face them objectively, honestly, and humbly. Objectively because many people are disturbed even on superficially hearing a question. An objective evaluation, on the other hand, might reveal that what appeared as a challenge to one's faith is nothing except a cleaver juggling of words aimed at scaring the weak and the ignorant ! Honestly because there are indeed many questions which one will have to face and only a fool will try to run away from reality. Some people resort to irony and sarcasm against the doubter when they ask a question, but this is not the proper spirit.Humbly because no person can answer all questions which come up against the faith. Even a fool can ask more questions that what the wisest man can reply, and in our case it is highly trained men who are asking most of the questions.

INFORMATION THAT WE MUST HAVE

No one can face a question unless he is prepared in advance. When it comes to questions related to science and faith, one must have at least some idea about what science is, and how it is organized into different types of information:

Science is the result of man's quest to study and explore nature. We received the mandate to do this when the Lord commanded man to subdue the earth. The present-day science is the direct result of the Protestant Reformation. The church fathers connected with reformation encouraged wise men to form scientific societies to explore the world which is sustained by the word of an unchanging God.

The scientific information gathered by scientists is made up of two categories of truth. One can be called the THEORIES of science, and the other can be called the LAWS of science. Theories represent all that information which is not final yet, while laws represent all that information about which we are sure and certain. Since only the laws of science represent certainty, only they can be used in a discussion of science versus faith. Any discussion that is based upon theories of science exhibits only ignorance, because a theory is not something that has become final knowledge.

At the same time, it must also be noted that physical sciences are able to test only physical properties, historical sciences can deal only with historical truths, and so on. While one kind of scientific activity can enlighten the studies undertaken in another branch, it cannot be used to prove or disprove what does not come under its jurisdiction.

BIBLE AND MODERN SCIENCE

Since Bible contains numerous comments upon the natural world, it is a common trick of the critic to attack many of these statements. Interestingly, whenever a LAW of science is used to attack the word of God, a careful analysis always settles the issue. So much so that after four hundred years of intense attack, we are in a position to say that statements of Bible are not in contradiction with any known LAW of science. On the other hand, there are many THEORIES with which Bible comes in conflict. But as we have seen above, a THEORY is not a FACT. A theory

represents only guesswork, which may or may not be true. Since it is such an uncertain piece of knowledge it is not legitimate to use it to attack the word of God. In fact not even secular courts would permit such kinds of arguments to establish a point against something. In fact most of the alleged contradictions and problems in the Bible versus science debate is between THEORIES of science and statements of Bible. But such arguments are not valid in any way.

SCIENCE IN THE BIBLE

There is an interesting side to the discussion : while no statement of Bible has ever been contradicted by a fact of science, many statements of Bible have given advance scientific information about the natural world. In fact there are many statements in the Bible, the truth of which were confirmed by scientists only three to five thousand years after they were said by Biblical characters. For example in the book of Job it is said that the earth hangs in space without any support (Job 26:7); in the book of Isaiah it is suggested that the earth is spherical (Isaiah 40:42); that life resides in blood (Leviticus 17:11). All of this information was discovered by scientists only in the past few hundred years. In fact there are several thousand statements in the Bible the truth of which has been discovered by scientists, archaeologists, or historians only in the recent times.

BIBLE AND EVOLUTION

The theory of evolution has received a good amount of publicity in the last one hundred years. So much so that today it is being taught right from the first standard of school in some places. Since this theory is diametrically opposed to the record of creation found in Genesis, many young people are puzzled about what to believe and what to reject. Some people have tried to find a middle way by suggesting that indeed it is God who created life, but that He used evolution as the method of doing it all. This type of interpretation is not wise because it is forcing the plain statements of Bible to fit into something which it does not say.

Most of the confusion over the question of evolution/creation arises because many do not pause to examine the scientific nature of evolution. As the widely used name 'theory of evolution' implies, the concept of evolution is only a THEORY. It is not a fact of science, and most of the proofs brought up in the favour of this theory have vanished in the past three decades ! Since it is a mere theory with proofs which are disappearing with time, Christians need not be worried about reconciling it with the history of creation recorded in the Bible.

EVIDENCES FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

As I mentioned above, physical sciences can deal only with physical reality, historical sciences with history, and mathematics only with mathematical reality. They cannot go beyond

their own realm. For example, the feeling of love for a beloved person is something that is very real. In the same way, hatred, ambition, pride, etc. are all realities, but there is no scientific method to prove or disprove their existence. The closest that we can come to examine them is with the help of logic. Logical analysis of a person's behaviour can help us to deduce whether these feeling exist in a person or not. In the same way, logical analysis of the universe, its organization, the complex order and plan apparent all around us help us to make logical deductions about the existence of God.

For example, it is common knowledge that if matter is left to itself, the long-term result will be disorder. This is a LAW of physics. This is the reason why we see decay all around us. Fruits left to themselves decay very soon, but an intelligent person can put them into a refrigerator to preserve them for a longer period of time. This refrigerator in turn had to be invented by highly intelligent scientists.

When a person sees a beautiful painting, he immediately thinks of the artist behind it because it is not the natural property of colours to organize themselves into pictures. When a person looks at a computer, he immediately thinks of the scientists who worked at developing it because it is not the natural property of electronic components to get organized into a complex computer. When a person sees an ultra-modern factory, he immediately things of the thousands of scientists and technologists who made this possible because it is not the natural property of matter to organize itself into such a complex, ordered, and purposeful structure. If this is so, when we look at the universe, it is natural for us to look for someone behind all this.

Living beings look very simple to a superficial observer. But this is not the case. Even the simplest living cell is much more complex than the most complex factory. Once we think of cells which make up our body, they turn out to be infinitely complex compared to the most complex structure that man has ever made !! If paintings, computers, and factories need creators, then it is only logical to believe that the living cells, which are infinitely complex compared to anything that man has ever made, are the product of an infinitely knowledgeable person.

If we look honestly at the universe around us, it is not possible to deny the existence of God. There are too many designs all around us to account them by blind chance. A plan needs a planner behind it, and an infinitely complex plan demands an all knowing person behind it.