Many scientists believe in evolution today because they don’t believe in the supernatural. But why should anyone believe in the supernatural today? After all, in our Western society the predominant worldview is that of naturalism. This worldview starts with the premise that anything supernatural is impossible. And since God creating our universe out of nothing would be a supernatural event many scientists clearly rule out this possibility. But these same scientists want you to believe that evolution, which also started with nothing to begin its process, could take place with no supernatural activity. So, in reality both creation out of nothing and evolution out of nothing seems to me, requires some type of supernatural activity.
(Hebrews 11:3) states: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” The Bible tells us that it is God’s command, not evolution, that started the process of creation.
It is also important to note that many of the greatest scientists of all time believed in the supernatural creation events described in the Bible and not in evolution. Men such as Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Johannes Kepler and many others from the past were strong believers in God, the Bible, and the supernatural.1 To those scientists today who don’t believe in the supernatural it would do them well to examine the lives of these great scientists to see why they believed in the supernatural.
Evolutionary scientists today sadly accept evolution regardless of whether or not the facts support it. Professor Richard Lewontin, a world leader in evolutionary biology, reveals his clear bias against God and creation in this telling quote:
“Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”2
In the final analysis we are left with three choices when it comes to the question of origins. The first is the supernatural choice that says God did it. The second choice is that of naturalism that states that natural properties or causes did it. And the third option of evolution states that nothing did it. Sadly, many scientists today believe in the third option of evolution because they are unwilling to follow the evidence wherever it may lead; if that means a supernatural cause. This anti-supernatural bias is summed up well by Lewontin when he said: “for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.” However, just because these scientists believe something does not make it true. I truly believe that an open and honest seeker of the truth on how our universe and mankind came into being will realize that the supernatural option is the only valid choice and that: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” will always trump: “nobody times nothing equals everything.”
1 Isaac Newton is perhaps the greatest scientist of all time. Robert Boyle is regarded as the founding father of modern chemistry. Michael Faraday was one of the greatest physicists of all time. James Clerk Maxwell is considered the father of electromagnetic field theory. Johannes Kepler is the father of modern astronomy.
There are three statements in this article that compel me to respond.
1. “Many scientists believe in evolution today because they don’t believe in the supernatural.”
2. “Evolutionary scientists today sadly accept evolution regardless of whether or not the facts support it.”
3. “ we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”
Progressively, these statements demonstrate a point I’ve made many times before. It’s not a matter of “believing” or “facts” but it’s open rebellion against the “Devine.”
Scientists, of all people, know the truth because they view it in detail every day they observe creation. This takes us back to Romans 1:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
So, do we conclude they are clueless and need more facts? How does Scripture describe their “without excuse” status? “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” It’s a wilfill act of war against God.
And are the consequences that they remain innocently ignorant of the truth until more evidence is presented to them?
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.”
They work hard to keep the door shut on the Devine foot. It’s no accident, ignorance or lack of knowledge. They see no neutral ground in this battle and neither should the Christian. There is no compromise, only opposite worldviews at every point. “What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” II Cor. 6
Our witness and apologetic to the unbelieving scientist must recognize this perspective if we are ever to Biblically challenge their worldview at its core values. More than most people we witness to, the scientist is proof that men and women need a new birth, a new start, a change of mind (repentance) to become new creations who “think God’s thoughts after Him.”