Is Science Enough to Build Your Life On?

One of my favorite movie characters is Sherlock Holmes (played by Jeremy Brett), and I will occasionally binge-watch the Granada Television series (from my complete DVD set). In the acclaimed The Hound of the Baskervilles, James Mortimer and Sherlock Holmes, both men of science, are confronted with the apparent supernatural hound that Mortimer describes as “this Baskerville demon, and which could not possibly be any animal known to science.”

To which Holmes questions, “And you, a trained man of science, believe it to be supernatural?” Mortimer will not commit to a supernatural explanation and agnostically confesses, “I do not know what to believe.” Holmes naturally replies, “I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world.”

Man of Science

Unless you have been educated in a religious private school, you have been trained in the school of science void of the supernatural. You learned to acquire knowledge exclusively through iterative, empirically verifiable processes. You rely on observable phenomena to analyze data and formulate testable, practical truth claims.

Responding to a Kierkegaard quote about belief posted on LinkedIn, a plumbing engineer colleague of mine said, “Truth is verifiable and repeatable. Put in the effort to find it.”

As men and women of science, this is how we think and how we problem solve. We build our lives around the real world with real-life problems (family, finances, relationships, engineering), and we observe, collect information, analyze, and formulate a solution. If that doesn’t work, we iterate and try again. If this is the process of your way of thinking, you are a “man of science” without need of the supernatural.

By that I mean, without the need for faith and prayer, turning to God for counsel, finding real sustainable joy from another realm, and living a noble cause beyond the natural. Men of science find no need for such things in the real world.

I Don’t Know What to Believe

Like James Mortimer, we men and women of science fall into this agnostic stance whenever we are confronted with the inexplicable supernatural, whether paranormal phenomena, out-of-body experiences, religious epiphanies, or miracles. Such experiences fall outside the range of empirical data and analysis on which scientific truth claims are based.

We have no thinking category for the supernatural or for God, no commitment to any truth claims about it, and strive to find a natural explanation for every phenomenon without which we wouldn’t know what to believe. Yet this cognitive dissonance between natural science and theology is no longer sustainable amid the revolution in physics within the dynamic space-time-matter continuum, where scientists are finding harmony among mind and matter, the rational order of nature, immanent intelligibility, and harmony between Creator and man. [1]

A Return to Transcendence, Glory, and Joy

Men and women of science have forfeited the divine for the natural, a natural divested of substance and being, and have torn away the intrinsic worth and coherence of what nature truly is and who we are in the realm of nature. As a result, we have lost the sense of a transcendent Being who created all things, of our own glorious worth being made in His image, and an inexpressible joy and gladness of heart in relationship with God. We have lost mystery, majesty, and mirth.

If you are resonating with all this, long for something more in life than empirical-analytical data can deliver, and wish to explore who God is, how to find dignity in who you are, and be surprised by joy, then read Psalm 16 with me. Find out what “men and women of God” are experiencing.

Who is God?

God is not so high and transcendent that we cannot reach Him, nor is He disinterested in us. What is God like then? Let us look to Psalm 16:

• He is close enough to keep us safe, to guard our lives, and protect us (v. 1).
• He is good and gives all that is good (v.2).
• He provides Himself as our inheritance, which means He offers eternal life with Himself and will personally support us toward that end (v. 5).
• As a good father, He will counsel and instruct us when we ask Him (v. 7).
• He will come alongside us when we are shaking with fear and make us feel safe (v. 8-9).
• His word and promises are inviolate and trustworthy. He promises not to abandon us when we are dying. Our bodies may lie in the grave for a time, but we will not. We will be alive with Him as we wait for the resurrection of our bodies (v. 10).

Who are We?

We are saints, holy ones, right now while on earth (Psalm 16:3). This does not mean we are perfect and without fault. We deeply feel our faults and the need for continual repentance. This does mean that we belong to Him and He allows us to share in His own nature—holiness.

This is staggering. Even with our failures and faults, He draws us in to Himself to be covered with His own holiness and declares us to be holy. We are His, and He is not ashamed of us (Hebrews 2:11). Furthermore, He dignifies us with a royalty the world cannot give or recognize. He makes us noble, excellent, and majestic individuals, regardless of how low our position in life may be.

C.S. Lewis recognized this hidden majesty:

“It is a serious thing, to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.” [2]

Surprised by Joy

What is the aftermath of setting the Lord continuously before us? Our hearts will be glad, and our glory will rejoice, and we will experience the fullness of joy and receive endless pleasures from Him (Psalm 16:9, 11). This is the gift of Himself to us as a bridegroom to a bride in nuptial bliss. Come, taste and see that He is good and build your life around Him!

[1] To learn more about this revolution of science and theology, see T. F. Torrance, Theological and Natural Science (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002).

[2] C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (Harper San Francisco, 1980).