Why did science blossom when and where it did? And what does this say about the role of faith in science? Ian Hutchinson, professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT, addresses this question at The Veritas Forum at MIT.
They are actually compatible. In fact, it was a Christian culture of the West that provided the fertile soil – culturally and philosophically – in which science could grow. Stanley Jacke wrote:
The Bible teaches:
- The world is a free creation. God had free choices. We need to do experiments to find out how God created the world.
- The creation is good – and worthy of detailed study and investigation on its own merits.
- The world is not itself God – so we can investigate the universe without fear of violating the divine.
- Humans have been given a degree of authority and responsibility over creation and therefore it is permissible that we probe its secrets, providing we are truly acting as stewards of it.
- Rationality in humans is in the image of the creator, so we have the encouragement and expectation that we will be capable of understanding, at least partially, the work of creation.
These are theological and philosophical encouragements to investigate. With these principles along with the printing press, modern science gained momentum and became what we know it today.