Dear Friends,
When people find out that I speak to scientists about the scientific basis for faith in Christ, they almost always ask me how many scientists believe in God and how many are hostile to my message. I see amazement on their faces, and sometimes incredulity, when I tell them that scientists are just as likely to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior as non-scientists. If I have time, I add that I find unbelievers among them as receptive to the evidences for a Creator and for the reliability of the Gospel as unbelieving non-scientists, sometimes even more so.

I've just received some help in dealing with such amazement and doubt: popular news magazines. One feature story after another came out this summer about scientists whose faith in God is sparked by their research into the natural realm. In fact, the headline "Science Finds God" shouted in 63-point type across the front cover of Newsweek on July 20, 1998.

Such articles document that scientists are finally speaking out about their religious beliefs and that their confidence arises from the substantial and ever-growing body of evidence for a divine Creator. Foremost among these evidences is the anthropic principle, the discovery that the universe appears to have been exquisitely designed for the support of life. We carry books about people who have been deeply affected by the strength of that principle.

The kind of "conversion" these news magazines reported were typically changes from non-theism to deism, some to theism. There is barely a word about any scientist's becoming a Christian. One unflattering story tells of a researcher who was asked to leave an evangelical church because he rejected archbishop Ussher’s date (4004 B.C.) for the creation of the cosmos.

Believing in God has become more acceptable in our society, but believing in Christ has not. One reason cannot be helped: the Gospel offends people today as it did in the days when Jesus walked the Earth. Another reason is that Christians have gained (what a loss, really!) a reputation for being mentally deficient or mentally ill. This reason we can do something about.

I appreciate Ken Samples’ constancy in exhorting believers to develop what he calls a "life of the mind," some intellectual alertness and thinking skills. Whether the media notice or not, our peers in the neighborhood and workplace will. For my part, I will constantly encourage pastors and lay people alike to make room in churches for scientists and for other analytical people. Such people may use strange words. They may ask challenging questions. They may wish to experiment with new ways of doing things. They want to know not only what a church does and believes but why. One pastor told me his life and ministry were a lot easier before the scientists we invited in began attending.

Just as the first-century church needed the balance of both Jews and Gentiles, so also does the church today need both scientists and non-scientists to thrive and to fulfill its purpose. Let's work together to help the church roll out a welcome mat for technically-trained people. Let's encourage these people to do what they do best in terms of ministry. At the same time, let's help them recognize their rough edges. Some need to be told, tactfully yet plainly, that they intimidate those around them. Some have no idea how or why they (perhaps I should say we) do.

Sincerely,

Hugh Ross

P.S. We have a winner in our contest to track down the quotation, "The heart cannot rejoice in what the mind rejects." Bob Passantino phoned within hours after the newsletter arrived in his mailbox to report that the comment comes from Galileo. Volunteer Marj Harman carefully tracked down intermediate references and corrected the quotation's wording for us. First she found it on Charles Stanley's "In Touch" ministry web page. There the quotation is attributed to Josh McDowell. On p. 2 of Evidence that Demands a Verdict, McDowell attributes it to Clark Pinnock, in Set Forth Your Case: Studies in Christian Apologetics (Nutley, N. J.: The Craig Press, 1967), p. 3. Pinnock writes, "The aim of apologetics is not to trick a person into becoming a Christian against his will. It strives rather at laying the evidence for the Christian gospel before men in an intelligent fashion, so that they can make a meaningful commitment under the convincing power of the Holy Spirit. The heart cannot delight in what the mind rejects as false." Congratulations to Bob, and a big thanks to Marj and all the rest of you who participated.