Jan du Toit

IS IT SCIENTIFIC TO BELIEVE IN
CREATION?
• Science (Naturalism) denies any supernatural
activity
• Creationism affirms supernatural activity
• But if “science” means the study of nature, then
creationism would be “scientific” if used as a
philosophical context in which to study nature
 CAN A CHRISTIAN BE A SCIENTIST?

• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

• Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
• Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
• Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
• Francis Collins (1950- present)
 IS IT NECESSARY THAT SCIENCE BE
NATURALISTIC?
• Science is generally concerned with testing
predictions derived from specific hypotheses.
• The hypothesis that God caused an event through
means that are not possible to investigate would
not be considered a scientific hypothesis, because
it cannot be tested
 IF GOD’S ACTIVITIES WERE
ACKNOWLEDGED BY SCIENTISTS,
WOULDN’T THAT STIFLE RESEARCH?

• A problem to avoid is to fail to investigate a

phenomenon only because one believes God
caused it
 HOW CAN WE JUSTIFY REJECTING
THE CLAIMS OF SCIENCE ABOUT
CREATION WHEN SCIENCE HAS BEEN
SO SUCCESSFUL IN OTHER AREAS?
• The success of science is largely due to its
experimental methodology of defining initial
conditions, using controls to separate the effects
of individual factors, and repeating the experiment
to confirm the results
 HOW CAN WE JUSTIFY REJECTING
THE CLAIMS OF SCIENCE ABOUT
CREATION WHEN SCIENCE HAS BEEN
SO SUCCESSFUL IN OTHER AREAS?
• The study of history is a different matter. Here, the
initial conditions cannot be observed, and there is
no methodological control against which to test the
effects of individual factors
 HOW CAN WE JUSTIFY REJECTING
THE CLAIMS OF SCIENCE ABOUT
CREATION WHEN SCIENCE HAS BEEN
SO SUCCESSFUL IN OTHER AREAS?
• Those who accept divine activity in history do not
feel compelled to accept materialistic explanations
for historical events, regardless of the success of
science in other areas
 WHAT UNSOLVED QUESTIONS
ABOUT CREATION AND SCIENCE ARE
OF GREAT INTEREST?
• How can we achieve harmony between biblical
faith and the study of nature?
• How can we resolve
tensions between faith
and science?
• Science without
prejudice