Science in Christian Perspective

Letter to the Editor

The Abstract
C. Daniel Geisler 
University of Wisconsin-Madison 
Madison, Wisconsin 53706

From: JASA 26 (June 1974): 87.

There exists a marvelous abstract painting by the painter Adolphus Ealey. The painting is composed of seven or eight large solid fields of color, each of which is pure and bright, imbedded in a heavy black matrix. On first glance, the fields seem to have no particular relation, one to the other, but they make a pleasing combination to the eye. Gradually, however, as you study the picture, the fields begin to relate to each other. They seem to make a pattern of some kind. Suddenly your vision clears, and there hangs a picture of the crucified Christ, complete with bloodied head and side. It is as if you suddenly recognized an old friend, so altered that he was not known at first. You can study the picture for long periods, marveling at the intricate relationships between the fields of color and the total picture.

The relationship of science to Christianity is of the same type. Scientists are busy investigating many different aspects of the universe and each scientific discipline has determined a section of the whole for itself to study. As each field develops, it is able to deepen its understanding, to describe more and more exactly the phenomena within its scope. The color of that particular science turns deep and rich, and some of those devoted to its claim that the whole picture is of that hue. Those devoted to other sciences see other colors and have different perceptions of the whole. But all of the fields bland to make up a reality that is God's handiwork. If we but push far enough, and synthesize well enough, we will eventually come to God. His shape will emerge from the fields. For He is the Creator of the universe and it must show His power and mind. Thus, the Christian has ultimately nothing to fear from science. When completed, it will not lead him into nothingness or into terror, but into the hands of a loving Father.

Treat, therefore, the discoveries of science as the signs of God's hands. Rejoice in the beauty and harmony of His creation as it is unfolded. Be glad especially that you know enough of God's will to live it now and do not have to wait the unknown period of time that will be necessary for science to put together a reasonable facsimile of the whole.