The Belief in God and Immortality. James H. Leuba. Boston Sherman, French & Company, 1916.
Scientists are Still Keeping the Faith. Edward J. Larson and Larry Witham. Nature, Volume 386, 3 April 1997.
100 Years of Nobel Prizes. Baruch A. Shalev. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2003.
The Wall Street Journal, Dec 24, 1997, article by Jim Holt, “Science Resurrects God.”
Note on Nobel Prize Awards: Technically, there is no Nobel Prize in economics. Although it is not one of the prizes that Alfred Nobel established in his will in 1895, it is referred to along with the other Nobel Prizes by the Nobel Foundation. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was established in 1968 by the Bank of Sweden, and it was first awarded in 1969, more than 60 years after the distribution of the first Nobel Prizes. This award was included in the analysis of the 100 Years of Nobel Prizes, though it was not mentioned in the video.
DOES CHRISTIANITY OPPOSE SCIENCE?
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Many people believe Christianity and science are enemies. Contrary to popular belief, you can be smart in today’s modern high-tech world and still believe in God and creation. Many of the most intelligent and influential people on the planet, including scientists, are Christians.
For example, Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project and one of the world’s leading scientists stated: “Science is simply mankind trying to understand the greatness of God's design.”
In 1916, 42% of scientists believed in God. 80 years later, repeating the same research methods as the previous study, 39% of scientists believed in God—almost the exact same percentage.
Consider the Nobel Prize, widely regarded as the most prestigious award obtainable for accomplishments in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. Nobel Prize winners include the likes of Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr. and Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin.
According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes, a review of the 650 Nobel Prize awards from 1901 to 2000, over 65% of the Nobel Prize winners over the last century were Christian—and nearly 90% believed in God.
As for the scientific categories, Christians won 65% of all the Nobel Prizes in Physics, 73% in Chemistry and 62% in Medicine.
OK, so let’s recap:
You can be an elite scientist and still believe in God and the Bible.
In fact, 40% of scientists believe in God—and this figure hasn’t changed in 80 years.
And over the last 100 years, 65% of all Nobel Prize winners—those who have, and I quote: “conferred the greatest benefit to mankind”—were Christian. And nine out of ten believed in God.
To quote Albert Einstein, perhaps the most famous scientist of all time: “The more I study science, the more I believe in God.”
So, despite what you hear in the news or from someone at either polar end of the debate, Christianity and science can coexist in harmony. If you believe in God and creation, along with many scientists and most of the Nobel Prize winners over the last century… you’re in pretty good company.
Thanks for watching. At Christianity Engaged, we want to encourage people of all ages that don’t have to choose between God and science. You can be smart in today’s modern, high-tech world and still believe in God and the Bible. If you liked this video be sure to watch our next video, “Has Science Proven There is No God?” You can help us create more videos like this and make them available for free by making a tax-deductible donation to our ministry at ChristianityEngaged.org. Thanks, and God bless.