Can Science and Faith Go Together?

Troy Van Voorhis, Professor of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Edited Transcript:

Morality in Christianity isn’t some kind of ladder you have to ascend to draw close to God, because the story of Christianity isn’t about people ascending to God, but about a God who came down. The same God who created the universe and set it into motion and gives breath and life to every living thing … provided us the means for our redemption in Christ. And for me, that’s the reason science and faith aren’t enemies, they aren’t strangers, but they must be friends – because the same God is at work in both!

Discussion Questions:

1. Troy Van Voorhis points out that Christianity is a story about God revealing himself to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. Does this story support or suppress scientific inquiry?
2. How might a creator God reveal himself through the natural world as observed in the natural sciences?
3. Stephen Jay Gould, a Harvard biologist, coined the term “non-overlapping magisteria” (NOMA, for short) to convey that science and religion cannot comment about each other because they address different realms of study. Troy Van Voorhis’ view is a bit more nuanced. In your opinion, are science and religion enemies (their claims contradict each other), strangers (they don’t address the same topics), or friends (they address some of the same topics, but they don’t contradict)?