Why Do the Scientist-Christians Here Believe in God?

[Michelle (Michelle Ols)]

I do not have time for a well-crafted reply, but can try pasting together some thoughts.

I agree with most of what was already mentioned by @structureoftruth and @Jordan although I am sure we have each had our own individual/personal journeys with our faith.

I do not fit into the stereotype that many seem to have about why a scientist would believe in God, in that I was not raised in the faith.

I was raised by an atheist and an agnostic, not attending any church. I grew up and attended college in New England, where most of my friends were raised by families similar to mine, or had a nominal faith (with different faith backgrounds including Christian, Catholicism, Hinduism and Judaism). The culture in New England is generally not very open to faith. So if I were to adhere to cultural norms here, I would have remained atheist or agnostic. The first time I met a person with strong convictions in their faith was when I was studying abroad in Germany, a place where faith is also generally, nominal. At the time, I was in college, with the goal of going on to get my PhD and become a research scientist. I thought that it was not possible to be a scientist and have faith in God: that faith and science were mutually exclusive.

The new idea I heard from my acquaintance in Germany was that Christianity is not just a religion or blind faith, but is a “relationship with Jesus.” After that, over the course of the next year, through a series of personal experiences and encounters, I felt that God was “hunting me down.” God brought numerous serious and thoughtful Christians into my life during my continued study abroad period and also upon return to college back home. When I returned home I was surprised to learn that a couple of my science professors were strong Christians, which opened up the possibility for me that I could become a scientist and also a person of faith. I also read some apologetics books that helped me see that there are reasonable reasons to believe in Jesus and the God of the Bible. I was particularly influenced by C.S. Lewis’ path to faith that he described in “Surprised by Joy” and “Mere Christianity.” Hearing about similar experiences that many others have had in their lives also strengthens my conviction that there must be a God. I started reading the Bible, attending church and continued asking many people about their faith and discussing theological questions more generally.

Over the decades I have become more and more convinced of the truth of the gospel: that we are all sinners in need of a savior. That God loved us so much that He became incarnate to reveal Himself to us and to provide Himself as the sacrifice required so that we could be reconciled in our relationship with Him, and that God continues to live with us through the gift of His Holy Spirit.

Here are a couple other testimonies of scientists who came to faith later in life:

ROSALIND PICARD

An MIT Professor Meets the Author of All Knowledge

SY GARTE @sygarte

I Assumed Science Had All the Answers. Then I Started Asking Questions

[Eddie (Edward Robinson)]

A very interesting and helpful discussion, Michelle. Thank you!

[Eddie (Edward Robinson)]

@Michelle

other testimonies of scientists who came to faith later in life:

Thanks for these articles, Michelle. I particularly like this, from Rosalind Picard’s conclusion:

“I once thought I was too smart to believe in God. Now I know I was an arrogant fool who snubbed the greatest Mind in the cosmos—the Author of all science, mathematics, art, and everything else there is to know.”

This rings true for me. Though I don’t think I was ever a confirmed atheist, I did enjoy arguing like an atheist, partly to shock people and partly to impress with the brilliance (or what I supposed was brilliance) of my arguments. Like your two scientist examples, I was very clever in school, a voracious reader, etc., and I did like think of myself as superior to those who believed in the Bible or Christianity or any religion. My own movement back toward explicit belief in God was a result more of reading philosophy and theology and comparative religion than from the kind of personal experiences recorded by these scientists, but my embarrassment when I look back at the shallow, know-it-all scientism of my young self seems akin to their own reaction to their past attitudes.