Commentary

Theories about the origin of the universe inevitably raise profound questions. So when science writer and independent physics researcher Eric Lerner reported that NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) had collected images disproving the widely-accepted Big Bang theory, the ensuing media excitement was perhaps understandable. Writing in a journal published by the British Institute of Art and Ideas, Lerner reported that NASA’s new telescope detected galaxies that are older and more numerous than astronomers expected. He then argued that this discovery supported his decades-old claim that “the Big Bang never happened” and also that astronomers are “panicking” about this. Though many media outlets picked up the story, astronomers aren’t actually worried and for good reason. The Big Bang affirms Read More ›

Many teens are beginning to think about life’s big questions: Does God exist? Does life have purpose? Is the Bible at odds with science? They’re at the stage where they need answers to their questions, especially as peers, teachers and employers challenge their childhood beliefs. Christianity and science start to seem more opposed to each other than they are in agreement. To help your teens better understand and defend their faith, tell them about three mind-blowing scientific discoveries of the 20th century that strongly point to an intelligent designer. These discoveries will affirm and support their belief in God. The good news? Your teens don’t have to ditch science to follow God! By pursuing the evidence for God, they will Read More ›

Throughout history, many prominent scientists have believed in God. Far from seeing their faith in God as incompatible with scientific investigation, most have found the two things complementary. Seventeenth-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, for example, believed that science was only possible because God made the world to be “intelligible” to the human mind. In his view, the same God who designed the world in a rational and orderly way also gave human beings rationality so they could understand the world He made. Thus, Kepler described scientists as having the high calling of “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.” Many early scientists were not only inspired to do science because they believed in God; they also thought that the natural world revealed Read More ›

Andrew Klavan’s reference to the popular Bell Curve Meme calls to my mind a particularly provocative version of that Meme, in which the three figures representing the different levels of insight and intelligence address the relationship between science and belief in God. The dullard on the left-hand tail of the curve says, “don’t listen to science, all the answers come from God.” The representative of conventional wisdom sitting at the top of the curve says, “God isn’t real. You should trust the science.” But then, as in all versions of the meme, a twist occurs. The jedi-savant figure at the extreme right-hand tail of the curve reaffirms the existence of God because of, not in spite of, what science has Read More ›

During the winter holidays, Jews celebrate a miraculous, unquenchable light and Christians celebrate the incarnation of God revealed by the light of a star. It’s fitting, therefore, that on December 22 NASA will launch a new satellite capable of seeing the first starlight from just after the Big Bang—a light, and an event, that tell us about the creation of the universe and, in their own ways, reveal God to the world.  NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope will be carried into space this week from French Guiana on the back of an Ariane 5 rocket. The $10 billion, 21-foot telescope features a massive umbrella-like sun shield. It also boasts 15 times the range of motion and six times the Read More ›

Fred Hoyle, the astrophysicist, coined the phrase, “big bang,” to ridicule the idea that the universe had a beginning, a position which suited him as an atheist, materialist.  But he changed his mind when the evidence indicated that the universe did have a beginning and that it was as finely tuned as a concert piano though with millions more interdependent variables that make possible our, Just right, Goldilocks universe.    As Hoyle wrote, “the properties of the universe fall within narrow and improbable ranges that are absolutely necessary for any complex life forms to exist.”    In The Return of the God Hypothesis, Stephen Meyer presents a variety of other scientists who may not have agreed with Hoyle but in one Read More ›

The first episode of the “Ancient Aliens” cable TV series promised to show that the growth of intelligent life on this planet had help that came from the stars. The Prometheus Entertainment summary in 2010 asked: “If ancient aliens visited Earth, what was their legacy, and did they leave behind clues” that still exist? The bigger question, nearly 200 episodes later, is whether aliens provided the building blocks of life itself. That’s the kind of subject — both theological and scientific — that surfaces whenever there are debates about whether extraterrestrial life exists. It’s one thing for a recent U.S. national intelligence report — “Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” — to discuss incomplete technical data and the possibility of hostile Read More ›