Why this scientist is a Christian

Last updated on: September 10, 2019 at 3:07 pm by Dan Peterson

Why this scientist is a Christian 2019-09-10T15:07:35-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This painting, by Donald E. Davis, depicts the Chicxulub asteroid slamming into the tropical, shallow seas of the sulfur-rich Yucatan Peninsula in what is today southeast Mexico. The aftermath of this immense asteroid collision, which occurred approximately 65-66 million years ago, is believed by some (though, I’m told, not by young-earth creationist me) to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other species on Earth. The impact spewed hundreds of billions of tons of sulfur into the atmosphere, producing a worldwide blackout as well as freezing temperatures that persisted for at least a decade. Shown in this painting are pterodactyls, flying reptiles with wingspans of up to 50 feet, gliding above low tropical clouds. They don’t know it, but they’re about to die.
(A public domain image from NASA)

“The day the dinosaurs died: Asteroid impact site reveals devastation from power of 10 billion A-bombs”

“‘End Times’ explores the catastrophic events that could kill us all: A new book looks at how to prevent asteroid strikes, climate change and other threats”

“Ancient crystal growths in caves reveal seas rose 16 meters in a warmer world: Findings on the Spanish coast of Mallorca hint at how oceans could respond to climate change”

But enough of this planet. How about someplace else?

“Whoa. Lakes on Titan Might be the Craters from Massive Underground Explosions”

***

At the time that he wrote this in response to the question “Why are you a Christian,” Jeff Hardin (Ph.D.,University of California at Berkeley), a specialist in cell biology, genetics/genomics, and developmental biology, was serving as the chair of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison:

I’m a Christian because the Christian story of the world—and of myself—makes sense of reality. The Gospel—an old English word for “Good News”—is a Big Story that involves each one of us, but it’s also one of cosmic proportions. When I began to grasp the personal and cosmic dimensions of this Big Story, I began to catch a tiny glimmer of how it makes sense of everything else. First, it made sense of my own life. When I was first presented with the Good News about Jesus of Nazareth, I saw that the Gospel story ran right through my own life. It explained why I, if I was really honest, could be capable of acts of love, goodness, and kindness, but why I could be simultaneously petty, mean, and disingenuous. It was why, when this truth about myself came crashing down on me as a middle schooler, I gratefully accepted, by God’s grace through Christ, something I could not do for myself. Second, the Big Story of the Scriptures is consilient with all that we know. It makes sense of the moral nature of reality that we all perceive, the “unreasonable reasonableness” (to borrow from physicist Eugene Wigner) of the universe, and of our own ability to perceive the moral and rational fabric of reality.

From “Believing Scientists Respond: Why Are You a Christian?”

Uncategorized

Previous Post

September 9, 2019

A book recommendation regarding global Muslim attitudes

Next Post

September 10, 2019 "A Crowd of 'Witnesses'"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book prophesies the destruction of Nineveh?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Obadiah Nahum Zephaniah Jonah