“In a quiet revolution in thought and argument that hardly anyone would have foreseen only two decades ago, God is making a comeback. Most intriguingly this is happening…in the crisp intellectual circles of academic philosophers.”
—Time magazine, April 1980
God is making a comeback at:
OXFORD: Oxford’s Faculty of Theology and Religion is home both to the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, one of the world’s foremost institutions dedicated to fostering research, teaching and public engagement in the field; and to the Andreas Idreos Chair of Science and Religion, one of the world’s most prestigious endowed professorships in the field, currently held by Alister McGrath…
CAMBRIDGE: The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion http://www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/ is an academic research enterprise based at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. The Faraday Institute derives its name from Michael Faraday, one of Britain’s best-known scientists, who saw his faith as integral to his scientific research.
God is also making a comeback with individual scientists:
Quotes from other scientists since 1900 (from http://godevidence.com/2010/08/quotes-about-god-atheism/):
“Atoms are weird stuff, behaving like active agents rather than inert substances. They make unpredictable choices between alternative possibilities according to the laws of quantum mechanics. It appears that mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent inherent in every atom. The universe is also weird, with its laws of nature that make it hospitable to the growth of mind. I do not make any clear distinction between mind and God. God is what mind becomes when it passes beyond the scale of our comprehension.”
“Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.”
“You ask: what is the meaning or purpose of life? I can only answer with another question: do you think we are wise enough to read God’s mind?”
“I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know his thoughts; the rest are details.”
“As we conquer peak after peak we see in front of us regions full of interest and beauty, but we do not see our goal, we do not see the horizon; in the distance tower still higher peaks, which will yield to those who ascend them still wider prospects, and deepen the feeling, the truth of which is emphasized by every advance in science, that ‘Great are the Works of the Lord’.”
—Sir Joseph J. Thomson, Nobel Prize winning physicist, discoverer of the electron. Thomson, who was a devout Christian, is recognized as the founder of atomic physics.
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“A scientific discovery is also a religious discovery. There is no conflict between science and religion. Our knowledge of God is made larger with every discovery we make about the world.”
–Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., who received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the first known binary pulsar, and for his work which supported the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe. Taylor is a devout Christian.
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“God [is] the author of the universe, and the free establisher of the laws of motion.”
—Physicist and chemist Robert Boyle, who is considered to be the founder of modern chemistry. Boyle was a devout Christian.
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“One way to learn the mind of the Creator is to study His creation. We must pay God the compliment of studying His work of art and this should apply to all realms of human thought. A refusal to use our intelligence honestly is an act of contempt for Him who gave us that intelligence.”
— Physicist Ernest Walton, who won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics for his “atom smashing” experiments done at Cambridge University in the early 1930s, and so became the first person in history to artificially split the atom. Walton was a devout Christian.
(V. J. McBrierty (2003): Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton, The Irish Scientist, 1903-1995, Trinity College Dublin Press.)
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“It may seem bizarre, but in my opinion science offers a surer path to God than religion.”
“People take it for granted that the physical world is both ordered and intelligible. The underlying order in nature-the laws of physics-are simply accepted as given, as brute facts. Nobody asks where they came from; at least they do not do so in polite company. However, even the most atheistic scientist accepts as an act of faith that the universe is not absurd, that there is a rational basis to physical existence manifested as law-like order in nature that is at least partly comprehensible to us. So science can proceed only if the scientist adopts an essentially theological worldview.”
“There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all. . . It seems as though somebody has fine tuned nature’s numbers to make the Universe. . . The impression of design is overwhelming.”
–Physicist Paul Davies, winner of the 2001 Kelvin Medal issued by the Institute of Physics and the winner of the 2002 Faraday Prize issued by the Royal Society (amongst other awards), as cited in his book God and the New Physics (first quote), and from his acceptance address of the 1995 Templeton Prize (second quote).
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“Astronomers who do not draw theistic or deistic conclusions are becoming rare, and even the few dissenters hint that the tide is against them. Geoffrey Burbidge, of the University of California at San Diego, complains that his fellow astronomers are rushing off to join ‘the First Church of Christ of the Big Bang.’”
–Astrophysicist Hugh Ross, former post-doctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology and author of The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God.
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“Astronomers now find they have painted themselves into a corner because they have proven, by their own methods, that the world began abruptly in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in this cosmos and on the earth. And they have found that all this happened as a product of forces they cannot hope to discover…. That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact.”
–Robert Jastrow, the astronomer and physicist who founded NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies. Please see Jastrow’s book God and the Astronomers for further reading.
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“I believe that the more thoroughly science is studied, the further does it take us from anything comparable to atheism.”
“If you study science deep enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.”
—Lord William Kelvin, who was noted for his theoretical work on thermodynamics, the concept of absolute zero and the Kelvin temperature scale based upon it. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics. He gave a famous address to the Christian Evidence Society. In science he won the Copley Medal and the Royal Medal.
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“Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations… To the former He is the foundation, to the latter, the crown of the edifice of every generalized world view.”
“There can never be any real opposition between religion and science; for the one is the complement of the other. Every serious and reflective person realizes, I think, that the religious element in his nature must be recognized and cultivated if all the powers of the human soul are to act together in perfect balance and harmony. And indeed it was not by accident that the greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious souls.”
—Max Planck, the Nobel Prize winning physicist who made the crucial scientific contribution of founding quantum physics. Planck was a Christian and a member of the Lutheran Church in Germany.
Religion and Natural Science (Lecture Given 1937) Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, trans. F. Gaynor (New York, 1949), pp. 184
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“This sense of wonder leads most scientists to a Superior Being – der Alte, the Old One, as Einstein affectionately called the Deity – a Superior Intelligence, the Lord of all Creation and Natural Law.”
—Abdus Salam, winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in electroweak theory. He is here quoted in his article entitled Science and Religion.
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“I have concluded that we are in a world made by rules created by an intelligence. Believe me, everything that we call chance today won’t make sense anymore. To me it is clear that we exist in a plan which is governed by rules that were created, shaped by a universal intelligence and not by chance.”
–Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist and string theory pioneer.
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“The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power.”
–Nikola Tesla, the inventor and futurist scientist known for numerous inventions, but best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system. Tesla was the winner of: Edison Medal (1916); Elliott Cresson Medal (1894); John Scott Medal (1934)
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“I have looked into most philosophical systems and I have seen that none will work without God.”
“Science is incompetent to reason upon the creation of matter itself out of nothing. We have reached the utmost limit of our thinking faculties when we have admitted that because matter cannot be eternal and self-existent it must have been created.”
—Physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell, who is credited with formulating classical electromagnetic theory and whose contributions to science are considered to be of the same magnitude to those of Einstein and Newton. Maxwell was a devout Christian.
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“For myself, faith begins with a realization that a supreme intelligence brought the universe into being and created man. It is not difficult for me to have this faith, for it is incontrovertible that where there is a plan there is intelligence—an orderly, unfolding universe testifies to the truth of the most majestic statement ever uttered—-‘In the beginning God.’”
“Science can have no quarrel with a religion which postulates a God to whom men are His children.”
—Arthur Compton, winner of the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the Compton Effect.
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“Those who say that the study of science makes a man an atheist must be rather silly.”
“Something which is against natural laws seems to me rather out of the question because it would be a depressive idea about God. It would make God smaller than he must be assumed. When he stated that these laws hold, then they hold, and he wouldn’t make exceptions. This is too human an idea. Humans do such things, but not God.”
–Nobel Prize winning physicist Max Born, who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics.
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“God is a mathematician of a very high order and He used advanced mathematics in constructing the universe.”
–Nobel Prize winning physicist Paul A. M. Dirac, who made crucial early contributions to both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.
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“The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.”
“In the history of science, ever since the famous trial of Galileo, it has repeatedly been claimed that scientific truth cannot be reconciled with the religious interpretation of the world. Although I am now convinced that scientific truth is unassailable in its own field, I have never found it possible to dismiss the content of religious thinking as simply part of an outmoded phase in the consciousness of mankind, a part we shall have to give up from now on. Thus in the course of my life I have repeatedly been compelled to ponder on the relationship of these two regions of thought, for I have never been able to doubt the reality of that to which they point.”
—Werner Heisenberg, who was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics for the creation of quantum mechanics (which is absolutely crucial to modern science). Heisenberg was a Lutheran Christian, publishing and giving several talks reconciling science with his faith. He was a member of Germany’s largest Protestant religious body, the Evangelische Kirche.
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“As I try to discern the origin of that conviction, I seem to find it in a basic notion . . . enunciated first in the Western world by the ancient Hebrews: namely, that the universe is governed by a single God, and is not the product of the whims of many gods, each governing his own province according to his own laws. This monotheistic view seems to be the historical foundation for modern science.”
–Biochemist Melvin Calvin, winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of the Calvin cycle.
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“Those who have magnified more recent controversies about the relations of science and religion, and who have projected them back into historical time, simply perpetuate a historical myth. The myth of a perennial conflict between science and religion is one to which no historian of science would subscribe.”
—Former Oxford University Professor of Science and Religion Peter Harrison.
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“The ghostly presence of virtual particles defies rational common sense and is nonintuitive for those unacquainted with physics. Religious belief in God, and Christian belief that God became Man around two thousand years ago, may seem strange to common-sense thinking. But when the most elementary physical things behave in this way, we should be prepared to accept that the deepest aspects of our existence go beyond our common-sense intuitions.”
–Nobel Prize winning physicist Tony Hewish as quoted in the foreword to John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale’s book Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions about God, Science, and Belief.
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“The best data we have (concerning the Big Bang) are exactly what I would have predicted, had I nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms, the Bible as a whole.”
“If there are a bunch of fruit trees, one can say that whoever created these fruit trees wanted some apples. In other words, by looking at the order in the world, we can infer purpose and from purpose we begin to get some knowledge of the Creator, the Planner of all this. This is, then, how I look at God. I look at God through the works of God’s hands and from those works imply intentions. From these intentions, I receive an impression of the Almighty.”
—Arno Penzias, the 1978 Nobel Prize recipient in physics as cited in New York Times on March 12, 1978 (first quote) and ‘The God I Believe in’, Joshua O. Haberman – editor, New York, Maxwell Macmillan International, 1994, 184. (second quote)
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“Amazing fine tuning occurs in the laws that make this [complexity] possible. Realization of the complexity of what is accomplished makes it very difficult not to use the word ‘miraculous’ without taking a stand as to the ontological status of the word.”
“God is the creator and sustainer of the universe and of humankind, transcending the universe but immanent in it.”
“God’s nature embodies justice and holiness, but is also a personal and loving God who cares for each creature (so the name ‘father’ is indeed appropriate).”
“God’s nature is revealed most perfectly in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as recorded in the New Testament of the Bible, who was sent by God to reveal the divine nature, summarized in ‘God is Love.’”
—George Ellis, the South African astrophysicist who was a collaborator on the Hawking-Penrose singularity theorems (regarding the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe), as cited in What Your Atheist Professor Doesn’t Know (But Should) by Stephen Williams.
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“I believe that a full understanding of this remarkable human capacity for scientific discovery ultimately requires the insight that our power in this respect is the gift of the universe’s Creator who, in that ancient and powerful phrase, has made humanity in the image of God (Genesis I: 26-27). Through the exercise of this gift, those working in fundamental physics are able to discern a world of deep and beautiful order–a universe shot thorough with signs of mind. I believe that it is indeed the Mind of that world’s Creator that is perceived in this way. Science is possible because the universe is a divine creation.”
–Former Cambridge University Professor of Mathematical Physics John Polkinghorne, as quoted in his book Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship. Polkinghorne is a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). In part because of his insights about God from physics, Polkinghorne changed careers and joined the Anglican priesthood.
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“The significance and joy in my science comes in those occasional moments of discovering something new and saying to myself, ‘So that’s how God did it.’ My goal is to understand a little corner of God’s plan.”
“A Creator must exist. The Big Bang ripples and subsequent scientific findings are clearly pointing to an ex nihilo creation consistent with the first few verses of the book of Genesis.”
—Henry “Fritz” Schaefer III, quantum chemist, five time Nobel Prize nominee, Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry, and director of the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia, as cited in What Your Atheist Professor Doesn’t Know (But Should) by Stephen Williams. Schaefer is a devout Christian.
“It is relatively unusual that a physical scientist is truly an atheist. Why is this true? Some point to the anthropic constraints, the remarkable fine tuning of the universe. For example, Freeman Dyson, a Princeton faculty member, has said, ‘Nature has been kinder to us that we had any right to expect.’”
– Henry F. Schaefer III (above), as quoted in his essay Stephen Hawking, the Big Bang, and God.
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“It is evident that an acquaintance with natural laws means no less than an acquaintance with the mind of God therein expressed.”
—James Joule, propounder of the first law of thermodynamics (on the conservation of energy). He also made important contributions to the kinetic theory of gases. The unit of heat known as the “Joule” is named after him. Joule was a devout Christian.
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“There are many ways in which people are made aware of their power to believe in the supremacy of Divine guidance and power: through music or visual art, some event or experience decisively influencing their life, looking through a microscope or telescope, or just by looking at the miraculous manifestations or purposefulness of Nature.”
—Sir Ernst Chain, winner of the the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology “for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases.”
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“Let me say that I don’t see any conflict between science and religion. I go to church as many other scientists do. I share with most religious people a sense of mystery and wonder at the universe and I want to participate in religious ritual and practices because they’re something that all humans can share.”
—Sir Martin Rees, the British cosmologist and astrophysicist who has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and was the president of the Royal Society between 2005 and 2010. Rees is the winner of the Crafoord Prize (the most prestigious award in astronomy), amongst many other awards.
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“Nevertheless, just as I believe that the Book of Scripture illumines the pathway to God, so I believe that the Book of Nature, with its astonishing details–the blade of grass, the Conus cedonulli, or the resonance levels of the carbon atom–also suggest a God of purpose and a God of design. And I think my belief makes me no less a scientist.”
—Owen Gingerich, research professor of astronomy and of the history of science emeritus at Harvard University. Gingerich, a devout Christian, is also senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
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“When confronted with the order and beauty of the universe and the strange coincidences of nature, it’s very tempting to take the leap of faith from science into religion. I am sure many physicists want to. I only wish they would admit it.”
—Physicist Tony Rothman, former post-doctoral fellow at Oxford University
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“When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one day I would be writing a book purporting to show that the central claims of Judeo-Christian theology are in fact true, that these claims are straightforward deductions of the laws of physics as we now understand them. I have been forced into these conclusions by the inexorable logic of my own special branch of physics.”
“From the perspective of the latest physical theories, Christianity is not a mere religion, but an experimentally testable science.”
—Professor of Mathematical Physics Frank Tipler, author of The Physics of Christianity and The Physics of Immortality. Tipler is one of the two founders of the famous anthropic principle regarding the fundamental physical constants necessary for the origin of life. He became a Christian as a result of his science.
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“It seems to me that when confronted with the marvels of life and the universe, one must ask why and not just how. The only possible answers are religious. . . . I find a need for God in the universe and in my own life.”
“Religion is founded on faith. It seems to me that when confronted with the marvels of life and the universe, one must ask why and not just how. The only possible answers are religious. For me that means Protestant Christianity, to which I was introduced as a child and which has withstood the tests of a lifetime.”
“But the context of religion is a great background for doing science. In the words of Psalm 19, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork’. Thus scientific research is a worshipful act, in that it reveals more of the wonders of God’s creation.”
–Arthur L. Schawlow, Professor of Physics at Stanford University and winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics.
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To the question, “Many prominent scientists – including Darwin, Einstein, and Planck – have considered the concept of God very seriously. What are your thoughts on the concept of God and on the existence of God?”
Christian Anfinsen replied: “I think only an idiot can be an atheist. We must admit that there exists an incomprehensible power or force with limitless foresight and knowledge that started the whole universe going in the first place.”
—Christian Anfinsen, winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on ribonuclease.
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“Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, and delicately balanced to provide exactly the conditions required to support life. In the absence of an absurdly improbable accident, the observations of modern science seem to suggest an underlying, one might say, supernatural plan.”
—Arno Penzias, winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics.
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“The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.”
—MIT physicist Vera Kistiakowsky
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“Here is the cosmological proof of the existence of God – the design argument of Paley – updated and refurbished. The fine tuning of the universe provides prima facie evidence of deistic design. Take your choice: blind chance that requires multitudes of universes or design that requires only one…. Many scientists, when they admit their views, incline toward the teleological or design argument.”
–Cosmologist and astronomer Edward Robert Harrison
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“A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”
–Cambridge University astrophysicist and mathematician Fred Hoyle commenting on the incredible fine-tuning necessary for life to exist (as quoted in The Creator and the Cosmos by Hugh Ross).
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“Fred Hoyle and I differ on lots of questions, but on this we agree: a common sense and satisfying interpretation of our world suggests the designing hand of a superintelligence.”
–Former Harvard University Research Professor of Astronomy and the History of Science Owen Gingerich, who is also senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Gingerich, a devout Christian, is here reflecting on Fred Hoyle’s above comment.
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“Perhaps the best argument…that the Big Bang supports theism is the obvious unease with which it is greeted by some atheist physicists. At times this has led to scientific ideas…being advanced with a tenacity which so exceeds their intrinsic worth that one can only suspect the operation of psychological forces lying very much deeper than the usual academic desire of a theorist to support his or her theory.”
–Imperial College of London astrophysicist Christopher J. Isham, who is Britain’s leading quantum cosmologist.
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“As to the cause of the Universe, in context of expansion, that is left for the reader to insert, but our picture is incomplete without Him [God].”
–Astrophysicist and mathematician Edward Milne (winner of the Royal Society’s Royal Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Bruce Medal)
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“We all know that there are regions of the human spirit untrammeled by the world of physics. In the mystic sense of the creation around us, in the expression of art, in a yearning towards God, the soul grows upward and finds fulfillment of something implanted in its nature. The sanction for this development is within us, a striving born with our consciousness or an Inner Light proceeding from a greater power than ours. Science can scarcely question this sanction, for the pursuit of science springs from a striving which the mind is impelled to follow, a questioning that will not be suppressed. Whether in the intellectual pursuits of science or in the mystical pursuits of the spirit, the light beckons ahead and the purpose surging in our nature responds.”
— The great physicist Sir Arthur Eddington as quoted in his classic work The Nature of the Physical World
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“What is the ultimate solution to the origin of the Universe? The answers provided by the astronomers are disconcerting and remarkable. Most remarkable of all is the fact that in science, as in the Bible, the world begins with an act of creation.”
–Astronomer Robert Jastrow from Until the Sun Dies
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Then, last week, American scientists announced the discovery of radiation patterns in space that may mark the beginning of time itself. Said astrophysicist George Smoot, leader of the research team: “If you’re religious, it’s like looking at God. The order is so beautiful and the symmetry so beautiful that you think there is some design behind it.”
“Whatever caused the rapid expansion of the universe following the Big Bang–the same forces caused tiny ripples. Because if you try to do something too fast, you shake a little. God might be the designer. “
–George Smoot, astrophysicist and cosmologist in Maclean’s, May 4, 1992 (both quotes).
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“Recently I have gone back to church regularly with a new focus to understand as best I can what it is that makes Christianity so vital and powerful in the lives of billions of people today, even though almost 2000 years have passed since the death and resurrection of Christ. Although I suspect I will never fully understand, I now think the answer is very simple: it’s true. God did create the universe about 13.7 billion years ago, and of necessity has involved Himself with His creation ever since. The purpose of this universe is something that only God knows for sure, but it is increasingly clear to modern science that the universe was exquisitely fine-tuned to enable human life. We are somehow critically involved in His purpose. Our job is to sense that purpose as best we can, love one another, and help Him get that job done.” (Smalley 2005)
—Richard Smalley, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of a new form of carbon (buckminsterfullerene or “buckyballs”).
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“This much I can say with definiteness – namely, that there is no scientific basis for the denial of religion – nor is there in my judgment any excuse for a conflict between science and religion, for their fields are entirely different. Men who know very little of science and men who know very little of religion do indeed get to quarreling, and the onlookers imagine that there is a conflict between science and religion, whereas the conflict is only between two different species of ignorance.”
“The first important quarrel of this sort arose over the advancing by Copernicus of his theory that the earth, instead of being a flat plane and the center of the universe, was actually only one of a number of little planets, rotating once a day upon its axis and circling once a year about the sun. Copernicus was a priest – the canon of a cathedral – and he was primarily a religious rather than a scientific man. He knew that the foundations of real religion are not laid where scientific discoveries of any kind can disturb them. He was persecuted, not because he went against the teachings of religion but because under his theory man was not the center of the universe and this was most displeasing news to a number of egoists.”
“To me it is unthinkable that a real atheist could be a scientist.”
“Religion and science, then, in my analysis are the two great sister forces which have pulled, and are still pulling, mankind onward and upward.”
“The impossibility of real science and real religion ever conflicting becomes evident when one examines the purpose of science and the purpose of religion. The purpose of science is to develop – without prejudice or preconception of any kind – a knowledge of the facts, the laws and the processes of nature. The even more important task of religion, on the other hand, is to develop the consciences, the ideals and the aspirations of mankind.”
—Robert Andrews Millikan, who won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect. Millikan was a devout Christian.
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“I strongly believe in the existence of God, based on intuition, observations, logic, and also scientific knowledge.”
“Science, with its experiments and logic, tries to understand the order or structure of the universe. Religion, with its theological inspiration and reflection, tries to understand the purpose or meaning of the universe. These two are cross-related. Purpose implies structure, and structure ought somehow to be interpretable in terms of purpose.”
“At least this is the way I see it. I am a physicist. I also consider myself a Christian. As I try to understand the nature of our universe in these two modes of thinking, I see many commonalities and crossovers between science and religion. It seems logical that in the long run the two will even converge.”
–Charles Hard Townes, who received the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics. Townes was a devout Christian.
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“I believe in God. In fact, I believe in a personal God who acts in and interacts with the creation. I believe that the observations about the orderliness of the physical universe, and the apparently exceptional fine-tuning of the conditions of the universe for the development of life suggest that an intelligent Creator is responsible.”
“I believe in God because of a personal faith, a faith that is consistent with what I know about science.”
“Being an ordinary scientist and an ordinary Christian seems perfectly natural to me. It is also perfectly natural for the many scientists I know who are also people of deep religious faith.”
—William D. Phillips, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.
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“Science is experimental, moving forward step-by-step, making trial and learning through success and failure. Is not this also the way of religion, and especially of the Christian religion? The writings of those who preach the religion have from the very beginning insisted that it is to be proved by experience. If a man is drawn towards honor and courage and endurance, justice, mercy, and charity, let him follow the way of Christ and find out for himself. No findings in science hinder him in that way.”
–William Henry Bragg, winner of the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contribution to the analysis of crystal structures by means of X-rays.
Bragg’s daughter Gwendolen Mary Caroe wrote about her father’s faith, “Religious faith to W. H. Bragg was the willingness to stake his all on the hypothesis that Christ was right, and test it by a lifetime’s experiment in charity.”
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“The more I work with the powers of Nature, the more I feel God’s benevolence to man; the closer I am to the great truth that everything is dependent on the Eternal Creator and Sustainer; the more I feel that the so-called science, I am occupied with, is nothing but an expression of the Supreme Will, which aims at bringing people closer to each other in order to help them better understand and improve themselves.”
“I am proud to be a Christian. I believe not only as a Christian, but as a scientist as well. A wireless device can deliver a message through the wilderness. In prayer the human spirit can send invisible waves to eternity, waves that achieve their goal in front of God.”
—Guglielmo Marconi, winner of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the first successful system of wireless telegraphy. Marconi is the inventor of the radio; his revolutionary work made possible the electronic communications of the modern world.
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“I believe in God, who can respond to prayers, to whom we can give trust and without whom life on this earth would be without meaning (a tale told by an idiot). I believe that God has revealed Himself to us in many ways and through many men and women, and that for us here in the West the clearest revelation is through Jesus and those that have followed him.”
—Sir Nevill Mott, recipient of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on the magnetic and electrical properties of noncrystalline semiconductors.
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“Physics filled me with awe, put me in touch with a sense of original causes. Physics brought me closer to God. That feeling stayed with me throughout my years in science. Whenever one of my students came to me with a scientific project, I asked only one question, ‘Will it bring you nearer to God?’ ”
—Isidor Isaac Rabi, who won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei.
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“Science is a game – but a game with reality, a game with sharpened knives. If a man cuts a picture carefully into 1000 pieces, you solve the puzzle when you reassemble the pieces into a picture; in the success or failure, both your intelligences compete. In the presentation of a scientific problem, the other player is the good Lord. He has not only set the problem but also has devised the rules of the game – but they are not completely known, half of them are left for you to discover or to deduce. The uncertainty is how many of the rules God himself has permanently ordained, and how many apparently are caused by your own mental inertia, while the solution generally becomes possible only through freedom from its limitations. This is perhaps the most exciting thing in the game.”
—Erwin Schroedinger, winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory.”
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“I believe in God. It makes no sense to me to assume that the Universe and our existence is just a cosmic accident, that life emerged due to random physical processes in an environment which simply happened to have the right properties. As a Christian I begin to comprehend what life is all about through belief in a Creator, some of whose nature was revealed by a man born about 2000 years ago.”
—Antony Hewish, winner of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of pulsars.
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“Jesus knows our world. He does not disdain us like the God of Aristotle. We can speak to Him and He answers us. Although He is a person like ourselves, He is God and transcends all things.”
—Alexis Carrel, who won the 1912 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology “for his work on vascular suturing and the transplantation of blood-vessels and organs,” as quoted in his book Reflections on Life
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“Science and religion are very much alike. Both are imaginative and creative aspects of the human mind. The appearance of a conflict is a result of ignorance. We come to exist through a divine act. That divine guidance is a theme throughout our life; at our death the brain goes, but that divine guidance and love continues. Each of us is a unique, conscious being, a divine creation. It is the religious view. It is the only view consistent with all the evidence.”
—Sir John Eccles, who received the 1963 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for establishing the relationship between inhibition of nerve cells and repolarization of a cell’s membrane. He is here cited in his article titled “Modern Biology and the Turn to Belief in God.”
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“Is the Church inimical to science? Growing up as a Catholic and a scientist – I don’t see it. One truth is revealed truth, the other is scientific truth. If you really believe that creation is good, there can be no harm in studying science. The more we learn about creation – the way it emerged – it just adds to the glory of God. Personally, I’ve never seen a conflict.”
—Joseph E. Murray, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for work that “proved to a doubting world that it was possible to transplant organs to save the lives of dying patients.”
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“I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.”
–Astronomer Allan Sandage, winner of the Crafoord Prize in astronomy (which is equivalent to the Nobel Prize). Sandage is considered to be one of the founders of modern astronomy and was widely regarded to be the world’s greatest cosmologist until his death in 2010. He came to belief in God as a result of his science, as he announced at a conference on the origin of the universe in 1985. He also became a Christian.
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“We know that nature is described by the best of all possible mathematics because God created it. So there is a chance that the best of all possible mathematics will be created out of physicists’ attempts to describe nature.”
–Russian theoretical physicist Alexander Polyakov, winner of the Lars Onsager prize in 2011, the Dirac Medal and the Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics in 1986, the Lorentz Medal in 1994, and the Oskar Klein Medal in 1996.
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“If we need an atheist for a debate, we go to the philosophy department. The physics department isn’t much use.”
—Robert Griffiths, winner of the Heinemann Prize in mathematical physics.
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“For many years I have believed that God is the great designer behind all nature… All my studies in science since then have confirmed my faith. I regard the Bible as my principle source of authority.”
—Sir Ghillean T. Prance, the knighted British botanist and ecologist, Fellow of the Royal Society.
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“I build molecules for a living. I can’t begin to tell you how difficult that job is. I stand in awe of God because of what he has done through his creation. My faith has been increased through my research. Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science takes away from faith. If you really study science, it will bring you closer to God.”
—James Tour, one of the world’s leading nanoscientists, and a devout Christian.
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“The common belief that… the actual relations between religion and science over the last few centuries have been marked by deep and enduring hostility… is not only historically inaccurate, but actually a caricature so grotesque that what needs to be explained is how it could possibly have achieved any degree of respectability.”
–Cambridge University historian of science Colin Russell
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“An equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God.”
–Srinivasa Ramanujam, who is widely regarded to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time (on a similar plane with such greats as Archimedes and Newton).
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“God is Truth. There is no incompatibility between science and religion. Both are seeking the same truth. Science shows that God exists.”
“The observations and experiments of science are so wonderful that the truth that they establish can surely be accepted as another manifestation of God. God shows himself by allowing man to establish truth.”
–Sir Derek Barton, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, as quoted in Cosmos, Bios, Theos: Scientists Reflect on Science, God, and the Origins of the Universe, Life, and Homo sapiens.
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To the question, “What do you think should be the relationship between science and religion?” Walter Kohn replied: “Mutual respect. They are complementary important parts of the human experience.” (Kohn 2002).
And to the inquiry, “What do you think about the existence of God?” Walter Kohn gave the following answer: “There are essential parts of the human experience about which science intrinsically has nothing to say. I associate them with an entity which I call God.” (Kohn 2002).
—Walter Kohn was the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for contributions to the understandings of the electronic properties of materials..
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“The vast mysteries of the universe should only confirm our belief in the certainty of its Creator. I find it as difficult to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe as it is to comprehend a theologian who would deny the advances of science.”
“They (evolutionists) challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun? They say they cannot visualize a Designer. Well, can a physicist visualize an electron? What strange rationale makes some physicists accept the inconceivable electron as real while refusing to accept the reality of a Designer on the grounds that they cannot conceive Him?”
“God deliberately reduced Himself to the stature of humanity in order to visit the earth in person, because the cumulative effect over the centuries of millions of individuals choosing to please themselves rather than God had infected the whole planet. When God became a man Himself, the experience proved to be nothing short of pure agony. In man’s time-honored fashion, they would unleash the whole arsenal of weapons against Him: misrepresentation, slander, and accusation of treason. The stage was set for a situation without parallel in the history of the earth. God would visit creatures and they would nail Him to the cross!”
“Although I know of no reference to Christ ever commenting on scientific work, I do know that He said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Thus I am certain that, were He among us today, Christ would encourage scientific research as modern man’s most noble striving to comprehend and admire His Father’s handiwork. The universe as revealed through scientific inquiry is the living witness that God has indeed been at work.”
—Werner von Braun, the father of space science and the most important rocket scientist involved in the development of the U.S. space program.
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“There is no ground for supposing that matter and energy existed before [the Big Bang] and were suddenly galvanized into action. For what could distinguish that moment from all other moments in eternity? It is simpler to postulate creation ex nihilo—Divine will constituting Nature from nothingness.”
–English mathematical physicist Edmund T. Whittaker, winner of the Copley Medal, which is the most prestigious award in British science.
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“The universe is a put-up job.”
— Cambridge University astrophysicist Fred Hoyle, referring to the fine tuning of the laws of nature which he felt “could not be just a happy accident,” as his Cambridge colleague John Polkinghorne put it in Quarks, Chaos, and Christianity.
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“If the universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in.”
–Harvard educated NASA astrophysicist John A. O’Keefe.
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“Why do people cling with such ferocity to belief in a mind-independent reality? It is surely because if there is no such reality, then ultimately (as far as we can know) mind alone exists. And if mind is not a product of real matter, but rather is the creator of the illusion of material reality (which has, in fact, despite the materialists, been known to be the case, since the discovery of quantum mechanics in 1925), then a theistic view of our existence becomes the only rational alternative to solipsism.” [“Solipsism” is defined as “the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.”]
–Physicist Richard Conn Henry from Johns Hopkins University
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“This now tells how precise the Creator’s aim must have been, namely to an accuracy of one part in 10, to the power of 10, to the power of 123. This is an extraordinary figure. One could not possibly even write the number down in full in the ordinary denary notation: it would be 1 followed by 10 to the power of 123 successive 0’s. Even if we were to write a 0 on each separate proton and on each separate neutron in the entire universe- and we could throw in all the other particles for good measure- we should fall far short of writing down the figure needed.”
–Oxford University mathematical physicist, mathematician, and philosopher of science Roger Penrose, as cited in his book The Emperor’s New Mind. Penrose has received a number of prizes and awards, including the 1988 Wolf Prize for physics, which he shared with Stephen Hawking for their contribution to our understanding of the universe.
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“In the works of the Creator ever open to our examination, we possess a firm basis on which to raise the superstructure of an enlightened creed. The more man inquires into the laws which regulate the material universe, the more he is convinced that all its varied forms arise from the action of a few simple principles… The works of the Creator, ever present to our senses, give a living and perpetual testimony of his power and goodness far surpassing any evidence transmitted through human testimony. The testimony of man becomes fainter at every stage of transmission, whilst each new inquiry into the works of the Almighty gives to us more exalted views of his wisdom, his goodness, and his power.”
—Charles Babbage, the mathematician and inventor considered to be “the father of the computer” for his invention of the first computer. Babbage was a devout Christian.
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“…We then examine a particular coding system in DNA and discover that UI [universal information] is conveyed within the genes. Using this DNA evidence and scientific laws governing UI as premises, we are able to develop sound, logical deductions. This leads us to the following conclusion: the God of the Bible exists and He is responsible for originating and embedding Universal Information into biological life.”
—Werner Gitt, Director and Professor at the German Federal Institute of Physics and Technology, Germany. Gitt is also the head of the Department of Information Technology. The above is an excerpt from the introduction to his book Without Excuse, in which he utilizes the insights of information science to demonstrate that the origin of life can only be explained as the result of a conscious, intelligent creator. (Please see Scott Youngren essay How Atheism Relies on Special Pleading, in which he cites Gitt’s skillful explanations. Youngren was apparently “GodEvidence,” who compiled this list at http://godevidence.com/2010/08/quotes-about-god-atheism/)
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“God created the universe out of nothing in an act which also brought time into existence. Recent discoveries, such as observations supporting the Big Bang and similar astronomical phenomena, are wholly compatible with this view.”
–Henry Margenau, Yale University Professor of Physics and Natural Philosophy, as cited in Cosmos, Bios, Theos: Scientists Reflect on Science, God, and the Origins of the Universe, Life, and Homo Sapiens.
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“I think that God originated the universe and life. Homo Sapiens was created by God using the process that does not violate the physical laws of the universe significantly or none at all. (Hidden variables of quantum mechanics under God’s power?)”
–Shoichi Yoshikawa, Senior Research Scientist and Professor, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, as cited in Cosmos, Bios, Theos: Scientists Reflect on Science, God, and the Origins of the Universe, Life, and Homo Sapiens. (*See additional references at end of post.)
1901–2000 A.D. (20th century)
According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes a review of Nobel prizes award between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of Nobel Prizes Laureates, have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. Overall, Christians have won a total of 72.5% of all the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, 65.3% in Physics, 62% in Medicine, 54% in Economics.
- John Hall Gladstone (1827–1902): served as President of the Physical Society between 1874 and 1876 and during 1877–1879 was President of the Chemical Society. He also belonged to the Christian Evidence Society.[81][82]
- George Stokes (1819–1903): minister’s son, wrote a book on Natural Theology. He was also one of the Presidents of the Royal Society and made contributions to Fluid dynamics.[83][84]
- Henry Baker Tristram (1822–1906): founding member of the British Ornithologists’ Union. His publications included The Natural History of the Bible (1867) and The Fauna and Flora of Palestine (1884).[85]
- Enoch Fitch Burr (1818–1907): astronomer and Congregational Church pastor who lectured extensively on the relationship between science and religion. He also wrote Ecce Coelum: or Parish Astronomy in 1867. He once stated that “an undevout astronomer is mad” and held a strong belief in extraterrestrial life.[86][87]
- Lord Kelvin (1824–1907): [See previous post]
- William Dallinger (1839–1909): British minister in the Wesleyan Methodist Church and an accomplished scientist who studied the complete life cycle of unicellular organisms under the microscope.[89]
- Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923) was a German engineer and physicist, who, on 8 November 1895, produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays or Röntgen rays, an achievement that earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901[90]
- Giuseppe Mercalli (1850–1914) was an Italian volcanologist and Catholic priest. He is best remembered for the Mercalli intensity scale for measuring earthquakes.
- Pierre Duhem (1861–1916): worked on Thermodynamic potentials and wrote histories advocating that the Roman Catholic Church helped advance science.[91][92][93][94][95]
- James Britten (1846–1924): botanist who was heavily involved in the Catholic Truth Society.[96][97]
- Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850–1927): Walcott was a paleontologist, most notable for his discovery of the Burgess Shale of British Columbia. The late Stephen Jay Gould said that Walcott, “discoverer of the Burgess Shale fossils, was a convinced Darwinian and an equally firm Christian, who believed that God had ordained natural selection to construct a history of life according to His plans and purposes.”[98]
- Johannes Reinke (1849–1931): German phycologist (?) and naturalist who founded the German Botanical Society. An opposer of Darwinism and the secularization of science, he wrote Kritik der Abstammungslehre (Critique of the theory of evolution), (1920), and Naturwissenschaft, Weltanschauung, Religion, (Science, philosophy, religion), (1923). He was a devout Lutheran.[99]
- Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937): was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi’s law and a radio telegraph system. He shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics.[100][101]
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955): French Jesuit paleontologist, co-discoverer of the Peking Man, noted for his work on evolutionary theory and Christianity. He postulated the Omega Point as the end-goal of Evolution and he is widely regarded as one of the most important Catholic theologians of the 20th century.
- William Williams Keen (1837–1932): first brain surgeon in the United States, and a prominent surgical pathologist who served as President of the American Medical Association. He also wrote I believe in God and in evolution.[102]
- Francis Patrick Garvan (1875–1937): Priestley Medalist who received a “Mendel Medal” from Villanova University, was mentioned by Catholic Action as a “prominent Catholic layman”, and was involved with the Catholic University of America.[103][104]
- Pavel Florensky (1882–1937): Russian Orthodox priest who wrote a book on Dielectrics and wrote of imaginary numbers having a relationship to the Kingdom of God.[105]
- Max Planck (1858–1947): was a German theoretical physicist whose work on quantum theory won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.[106]
- Eberhard Dennert (1861–1942): German naturalist and botanist who founded the Kepler Union, a group of German intellectuals who strongly opposed Haeckel‘s Monist League and Darwin’s theory.[107] A Lutheran, he wrote Vom Sterbelager des Darwinismus, which had an authorized English translation under the name At The Deathbed of Darwinism (1904).
- George Washington Carver (1864–1943): American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. Carver believed he could have faith both in God and science and integrated them into his life. He testified on many occasions that his faith in Jesus was the only mechanism by which he could effectively pursue and perform the art of science.[108]
- Arthur Eddington (1882–1944): British astrophysicist of the early 20th century. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, or the radiation generated by accretion onto a compact object, is named in his honor. He is famous for his work regarding the theory of relativity. Eddington was a lifelong Quaker, and gave the Gifford Lectures in 1927.[109]
- Alexis Carrel (1873–1944): French surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for pioneering vascular suturing techniques.[110]
- Charles Glover Barkla (1877–1944): British physicist, and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917 for his work in X-ray spectroscopy and related areas in the study of X-rays (Roentgen rays).[111] Mr. Barkla was a Methodist and considered his work to be part of the quest for God, the Creator”.[112][113][114]
- John Ambrose Fleming (1849–1945): in science he is noted for the Right-hand rule and work on vacuum tubes. He also won the Hughes Medal. In religious activities he was President of the Victoria Institute, and preached at St Martin-in-the-Fields.[115][116][117]
- Philipp Lenard (1862–1947): German physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties. He was also an active proponent of the Nazi ideology.[118][119] [which should disqualify him as a true believer in the Christian faith! Jessica]
- Robert Millikan (1868–1953): second son of Reverend Silas Franklin Millikan, he wrote about the reconciliation of science and religion in books like Evolution in Science and Religion. He won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics.[120][121][122][123][124]
- Charles Stine (1882–1954): son of a minister who was VP of DuPont. In religion he wrote A Chemist and His Bible and as a chemist he won the Perkin Medal.[125]
- Max Born (1882–1970): was a German physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. Born won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics for his “fundamental research in Quantum Mechanics, especially in the statistical interpretation of the wave function”[126][127][128]
- E. T. Whittaker (1873–1956): converted to Catholicism in 1930 and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. His 1946 Donnellan Lecture was entitled on Space and Spirit. Theories of the Universe and the Arguments for the Existence of God. He also received the Copley Medal and had written on Mathematical physics before conversion.[129]
- Arthur Compton (1892–1962): won a Nobel Prize in Physics. He also was a deacon in the Baptist Church and wrote an article in Christianity Takes a Stand that supported the controversial idea of the United States maintaining the peace through a nuclear-armed air force.[130][131]
- Ronald Fisher (1890–1962): English statistician, evolutionary biologist and geneticist. He preached sermons and published articles in church magazines.[132]
- Georges Lemaître (1894–1966): Roman Catholic priest who was first to propose the Big Bang theory.[131
- Kathleen Lonsdale (1903–1971): notable Irish crystallographer, the first woman tenured professor at University College London, first woman president of the International Union of Crystallography, and first woman president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. She converted to Quakerism and was an active Christian pacifist. She was the first secretary of the Churches’ Council of Healing and delivered a Swarthmore Lecture.
- Neil Kensington Adam (1891–1973): British chemist who wrote the article A CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST’S APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF NATURAL SCIENCE.[134][135]
- David Lack (1910–1973): Director of the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology and in part known for his study of the genus Euplectes. He converted to Anglicanism at 38 and wrote Evolutionary Theory and Christian Belief in 1957.[136][137]
- Hugh Stott Taylor (1910–1974): chemist who received Villanova University‘s “Mendel Medal”[138] and was made a Knight Commander of the Papal Order of St. Gregory the Great.[139]
- Charles Coulson (1910–1974): Methodist who wrote Science and Christian Belief in 1955. In 1970 he won the Davy Medal.[140]
- George R. Price (1922–1975): American population geneticist who while a strong atheist converted to Christianity. He went on to write commentaries on the New Testament and dedicated portions of his life to helping the poor.[141]
- Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900–1975): Russian Orthodox geneticist who criticized young Earth creationism in an essay, “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution,” and argued that science and faith did not conflict.[142][143]
- Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976): German theoretical physicist and one of the key pioneers of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1932 “for the creation of quantum mechanics”.[144]
- Michael Polanyi (1891–1976): born Jewish, but became a Christian. In 1926 he was appointed to a Chemistry chair in Berlin, but in 1933 when Hitler came to power he accepted a Chemistry chair (and then in 1948 a Social Sciences chair) at the University of Manchester. In 1946 he wrote Science, Faith, and Society ISBN 0-226-67290-5.[145]
- Wernher von Braun (1912–1977): “one of the most important rocket developers and champions of space exploration during the period between the 1930s and the 1970s.”[146] He was a Lutheran who as a youth and young man had little interest in religion. But as an adult he developed a firm belief in the Lord and in the afterlife. He was pleased to have opportunities to speak to peers (and anybody else who would listen) about his faith and Biblical beliefs.[147]
- Pascual Jordan (1902–1980): German theoretical and mathematical physicist who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. He contributed much to the mathematical form of matrix mechanics, and developed canonical anticommutation relations for fermions.[148][149]
- Peter Stoner (1888–1980): co-founder of the American Scientific Affiliation who wrote Science Speaks.[150][151]
- Henry Eyring (1901–1981): American chemist known for developing the Eyring equation. Also a Latter-Day Saint whose interactions with LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith on science and faith are a part of LDS history.[152][153]
- Mary Kenneth Keller (1914–1985): American nun who was the first woman to earn a PhD in Computer Science in the US.[154]
- William G. Pollard (1911–1989): Anglican priest who wrote Physicist and Christian. In addition he worked on the Manhattan Project and for years served as the executive director of Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies.[155]
- Frederick Rossini (1899–1990): American noted for his work in chemical thermodynamics. In science he received the Priestley Medal and the National Medal of Science. An example of the second medal is pictured. As a Catholic he received the Laetare Medal of the University of Notre Dame. He was dean of the College of Science at Notre Dame from 1960 to 1971, a position he may have taken partly due to his faith.[156][157]
- Aldert van der Ziel (1910–1991): researched Flicker noise and has the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers named an award for him. He also was a conservative Lutheran who wrote The Natural Sciences and the Christian Message.[158]
- Jérôme Lejeune (1926–1994): French pediatrician and geneticist known for research into chromosome abnormalities, particularly Down syndrome. He was the first President of the Pontifical Academy for Life and has been named a “Servant of God.”[159][160]
- Alonzo Church (1903–1995): American mathematician and logician who made major contributions to mathematical logic and the foundations of theoretical computer science. He was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian church.[161]
- Ernest Walton (1903–1995): Irish physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951 for his work with John Cockcroft with “atom-smashing” experiments done at Cambridge University in the early 1930s, and so became the first person in history to artificially split the atom, thus ushering the nuclear age. He spoke on science and faith topics.[162]
- Nevill Francis Mott (1905–1996): Anglican, was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist known for explaining the effect of light on a photographic emulsion.[163] He was baptized at 80 and edited Can Scientists Believe?.[164]
- Mary Celine Fasenmyer (1906–1996): member of the Sisters of Mercy known for Sister Celine’s polynomials. Her work was also important to WZ Theory.[165]
- John Eccles (1903–1997): Nobel laureate and neurophysiologist who was a devout theist and a practicing Catholic.[166]
- Arthur Leonard Schawlow (1921–1999): Arthur Schawlow was an American physicist who is best remembered for his work on lasers, for which he shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics. Schawlow was a “fairy [fairly?] Orthodox Protestant.”[167] In an interview, he commented regarding God: “I find a need for God in the universe and in my own life.”[168] [I couldn’t find footnotes 167 or 168 in the Wikipedia article about Schawlow. Jessica]
- Carlos Chagas Filho (1910–2000): Neuroscientist who headed the Pontifical Academy of Sciences for 16 years. He studied the Shroud of Turin and his “the Origin of the Universe”, “the Origin of Life”, and “the Origin of Man” involved an understanding between Catholicism and Science. He was from Rio de Janeiro.[169]
2001–today (21st century)
- Sir Robert Boyd (1922–2004): pioneer in British space science who was Vice President of the Royal Astronomical Society. He lectured on faith being a founder of the “Research Scientists’ Christian Fellowship” and an important member of its predecessor Christians in Science.[170]
- Alberto Dou Mas de Xaxàs (1915–2009): Spanish/Catalan Jesuit priest and one of the foremost mathematicians of his country. He was a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and a Professor of Mathematics at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and he was Rector of Universidad de Deusto from 1974 to 1977.
- Richard Smalley (1943–2005): A Nobel laureate in Chemistry known for buckyballs. In his last years he renewed an interest in Christianity and supported Old Earth Creationism
- Mariano Artigas (1938–2006): He had doctorates in both physics and philosophy. He belonged to the European Association for the Study of Science and Theology and also received a grant from the Templeton Foundation for his work in the area of science and religion.[171]
- J. Laurence Kulp (1921–2006): Plymouth Brethren member who led major studies on the effects of nuclear fallout and acid rain. He was a prominent advocate in American Scientific Affiliation circles in favor of an Old Earth and against flood geology.[172][173][174][175]
- Arthur Peacocke (1924–2006): Anglican priest and biochemist, his ideas may have influenced Anglican and Lutheran views of evolution. Winner of the 2001 Templeton Prize[176]
- John Billings (1918–2007): Australian physician who developed the Billings ovulation method of Natural family planning. In 1969, Billings was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (KCSG) by Pope Paul VI.[177]
- Russell L. Mixter (1906–2007): Noted for leading the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) away from anti-evolutionism, and for his advocacy of progressive creationism.[175][178]
- C. F. von Weizsäcker (1912–2007): German nuclear physicist who is the co-discoverer of the Bethe-Weizsäcker formula. His The Relevance of Science: Creation and Cosmogony concerned Christian and moral impacts of science. He headed the Max Planck Society from 1970 to 1980. After that he retired to be a Christian pacifist.[179]
- Stanley Jaki (1924–2009): Benedictine priest and Distinguished Professor of Physics at Seton Hall University, New Jersey, who won a Templeton Prize and advocated the idea modern science could only have arisen in a Christian society.[180]
- Allan Sandage (1926–2010): astronomer who did not really study Christianity until after age forty. He wrote the article A Scientist Reflects on Religious Belief and made discoveries concerning the Cigar Galaxy.[181][182][183][184]
- Ernan McMullin (1924–2011): Ordained in 1949 as a catholic priest, McMullin was a philosopher of science who taught at the University of Notre Dame. McMullin wrote on the relationship between cosmology and theology, the role of values in understanding science, and the impact of science on Western religious thought, in books such as Newton on Matter and Activity (1978) and The Inference that Makes Science (1992). He was also an expert on the life of Galileo.[185] McMullin also opposed intelligent design and defended theistic evolution.[186]
- Joseph Murray (1919–2012): Catholic surgeon who pioneered transplant surgery. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990.[187]
- Ian Barbour (1923–2013): Physicist who wrote Christianity and the Scientists in 1960, and When Science Meets Religion ISBN 0-06-060381-X in 2000.[188]
- Charles H. Townes (1915–2015): In 1964 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics and in 1966 he wrote The Convergence of Science and Religion.[189][190]
- Peter E. Hodgson (1928–2008): British physicist, was one of the first to identify the K meson and its decay into three pions, and a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture.
- Nicola Cabibbo (1935–2010): Italian physicist, discoverer of the universality of weak interactions (Cabibbo angle), President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences from 1993 until his death.
- Henry M. Morris, PhD. 1918-2006: American hydraulic engineer. One of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research. He is considered by many to be “the father of modern creation science.”[2] Co-author of The Genesis Flood with John C. Whitcomb. [2][3][4]
Currently living
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
- Denis Alexander (born 1945): Director of the Faraday Institute and author of Rebuilding the Matrix – Science and Faith in the 21st Century. He also supervises a research group in cancer and immunology at the Babraham Institute.[191]
- Werner Arber (born 1929): Swiss microbiologist and geneticist. Along with American researchers Hamilton Smith and Daniel Nathans, he shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of restriction endonucleases. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Arber as President of the Pontifical Academy—the first Protestant to hold that position.[192]
- Robert J Asher: palaeontologist and lecturer at the University of Cambridge Department of Zoology and a curator at the University Museum of Zoology. His book ‘Evolution and Belief: Confessions of a Religious Paleontologist’ was published by Cambridge University Press in 2012.[193] Dr Asher is also a former Curator of Mammals at the Berlin Natural History Museum and Frick Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History.
- Francisco J. Ayala (born 1934): evolutionary biologist and philosopher. Known for his research in population and evolutionary genetics. Called the “Renaissance Man of Evolutionary Biology.” His studies and discoveries of human anatomy and physiology have opened up new methods and approaches to combating diseases and ailments.
- Robert T. Bakker (born 1945): paleontologist who was a figure in the “dinosaur Renaissance” and known for the theory some dinosaurs were warm-blooded. He is also a Pentecostal preacher who advocates theistic evolution and has written on religion.[194][195]
- R. J. Berry (born 1934): former president of both the Linnean Society of London and the “Christians in Science” group. He wrote God and the Biologist: Personal Exploration of Science and Faith (Apollos 1996) ISBN 0-85111-446-6 He taught at University College London for over 20 years.[196][197]
- Derek Burke (born 1930): British academic and molecular biologist. Formerly a vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia. Specialist advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology since 1985.
- William Cecil Campbell (born 1930): is an Irish-American biologist and parasitologist known for his work in discovering a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworms, for which he was jointly awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine[198]
- Ben Carson (born 1951): American neurosurgeon. The first to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head.[199]
- Francis Collins (born 1950): [See above]
- Darrel R. Falk (born 1946): American biologist and the former president of the BioLogos Foundation.[202]
- Charles Foster (born 1962): science writer on natural history, evolutionary biology, and theology. A Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Linnean Society of London,[203] Foster has advocated theistic evolution in his book, The Selfless Gene (2009).[204]
- Keith R Fox: British Professor of Biochemistry at Southampton University. Has a PhD in Pharmacology from Cambridge. His research concerns the sequence-specific recognition of DNA by small molecules, oligonucleotides and proteins, and the formation of unusual DNA structures. Formerly a chair of “Christians in Science”[205]
- John Gurdon (born 1933): British developmental biologist. In 2012, he and Shinya Yamanaka were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery that mature cells can be converted to stem cells. In an interview with EWTN.com on the subject of working with the Vatican in dialogue, he says “I’m not a Roman Catholic. I’m a Christian, of the Church of England…I’ve never seen the Vatican before, so that’s a new experience, and I’m grateful for it.”[206]
- Jeff Hardin (born 1959): American cell and developmental biologist, chair of the Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and co-chair of the Isthmus Society at UW-Madison. An Evangelical, Hardin received an M.Div. degree prior to resuming his scientific career. He is lead author of World of the Cell (Pearson). He has served as Chair of the Board of the BioLogos Foundation.
- Brian Heap (born 1935): biologist who was Master of St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge and was a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion.[207][208]
- William B. Hurlbut: physician and Consulting Professor at the Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University Medical Center. He served for eight years on the President’s Council on Bioethics and is nationally known for his advocacy of Altered Nuclear Transfer (ANT). He is a Christian of no denomination and did three years of post-doctoral study in theology and medical ethics at Stanford.[209][210]
- Denis Lamoureux (born 1954): evolutionary creationist. He holds a professorial chair of science and religion at St. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta —the first of its kind in Canada. Co-wrote (with lawyer Phillip E. Johnson) Darwinism Defeated? The Johnson-Lamoureux Debate on Biological Origins (1999). Wrote Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution (2008).[211]
- Noella Marcellino (born 1951): American Benedictine nun with a degree in microbiology. Her field of interests include fungi and the effects of decay and putrefaction.[212]
- Alister McGrath (born 1953): prolific Anglican theologian who has written on the relationship between science and theology in A Scientific Theology. McGrath holds two doctorates from the University of Oxford, a DPhil in Molecular Biophysics and a Doctor of Divinity in Theology. He has responded to the new atheists in several books, i.e. The Dawkins Delusion?. He is the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford.[213]
- Kenneth R. Miller (born 1948): biology professor at Brown University who wrote Finding Darwin’s God ISBN 0-06-093049-7.[214]
- Simon C. Morris (born 1951): British paleontologist who made his reputation through study of the Burgess Shale fossils. He was the co-winner of a Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal and also won a Lyell Medal. He is active in the Faraday Institute for study of science and religion and is also noted on discussions concerning the idea of theistic evolution.[215][216][217]
- William Newsome (born 1952): neuroscientist at Stanford University. A member of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-chair of the BRAIN Initiative, “a rapid planning effort for a ten-year assault on how the brain works.”[218] He has written about his faith: “When I discuss religion with my fellow scientists…I realize I am an oddity — a serious Christian and a respected scientist.”[219]
- Martin Nowak (born 1965): evolutionary biologist and mathematician best known for evolutionary dynamics. He teaches at Harvard University and is also a member of the Board of Advisers of the Templeton Foundation.[220][221]
- Ghillean Prance (born 1937): botanist involved in the Eden Project. He is a former President of Christians in Science.[222]
- Joan Roughgarden (born 1946): evolutionary biologist who has taught at Stanford University since 1972. She wrote the book Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist.[223]
- Mary Higby Schweitzer: paleontologist at North Carolina State University who believes in the synergy of the Christian faith and the truth of empirical science.[224][225]
Chemistry
- Peter Agre (born January 30, 1949): American physician, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, and molecular biologist at Johns Hopkins University who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (which he shared with Roderick MacKinnon) for his discovery of aquaporins. Agre is a Lutheran.[226]
- Gerhard Ertl (born 1936): 2007 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. He has said in an interview that “I believe in God. (…) I am a Christian and I try to live as a Christian (…) I read the Bible very often and I try to understand it.”[227]
- Brian Kobilka (born 1955): American Nobel Prize winner of Chemistry in 2012, and is professor in the departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Kobilka attends the Catholic Community at Stanford, California.[228] He also received the Mendel Medal from Villanova University, which it says “honors outstanding pioneering scientists who have demonstrated, by their lives and their standing before the world as scientists, that there is no intrinsic conflict between science and religion.”[229]
- Henry F. Schaefer, III (born 1944): wrote Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence? ISBN 0-9742975-0-X and is a signatory of A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism. He was awarded the American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry in 1979.[230]
- James Tour (born 1959): Chao Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, Texas, where he also holds faculty appointments in computer science and materials; recognized as one of the world’s leading nano-engineers. Gained his Ph.D. in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry from Purdue University, and postdoctoral training in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University. An Evangelical Christian, Tour has written: “I build molecules for a living, I can’t begin to tell you how difficult that job is. I stand in awe of God because of what he has done through his creation. Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science takes away from faith. If you really study science, it will bring you closer to God.”[231]
Physics and Astronomy
- Freeman Dyson (born 1923): is an English-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, known for his work in quantum electrodynamics, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering.
- Stephen Barr (born 1953): physicist who worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory and contributed papers to Physical Review as well as Physics Today. He also is a Catholic who writes for First Things and wrote Modern Physics and Ancient Faith. He teaches at the University of Delaware.[232]
- John D. Barrow (born 1952): English cosmologist who did notable writing on the implications of the Anthropic principle. He is a United Reformed Church member and Christian deist. He won the Templeton Prize in 2006. He once held the position of Gresham Professor of Astronomy.[233][234]
- Gerald B. Cleaver: professor in the Department of Physics at Baylor University and head of the Early Universe Cosmology and Strings (EUCOS) division of Baylor’s Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics & Engineering Research (CASPER). His research specialty is string phenomenology and string model building. He is linked to BioLogos and among his lectures are “”Faith and the New Cosmology.”[235][236]
- Guy Consolmagno (born 1952): American Jesuit astronomer who works at the Vatican Observatory.
- George Coyne (born 1933): Jesuit astronomer and former director of the Vatican Observatory.
- Manuel García Doncel (born 1930): Spanish Jesuit physicist, formerly Professor of Physics at Universidad de Barcelona.
- George Francis Rayner Ellis (born 1939): professor of Complex Systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He co-authored The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time with University of Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking, published in 1973, and is considered one of the world’s leading theorists in cosmology. He is an active Quaker and in 2004 he won the Templeton Prize.
- Pamela L. Gay (born 1973): American astronomer, educator and writer, best known for her work in astronomical podcasting. Doctor Gay received her PhD from the University of Texas, Austin, in 2002.[237] Her position as both a skeptic and Christian has been noted upon.[238]
- Karl W. Giberson (born 1957): Canadian physicist and evangelical, formerly a physics professor at Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts, Dr Giberson is a prolific author specializing in the creation-evolution debate and who formerly served as vice president of the BioLogos Foundation.[239] He has published several books on the relationship between science and religion, such as The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions and Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and Believe in Evolution.
- Owen Gingerich (born 1930): Mennonite astronomer who went to Goshen College and Harvard. Mr. Gingerich has written about people of faith in science history.[240][241]
- Guillermo Gonzalez (born 1963 in Havana, Cuba): astrophysicist, proponent intelligent design, and an assistant professor at Ball State University, a public research university, in Muncie, Indiana. He is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute‘s Center for Science and Culture and a fellow with the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design. Co-author, The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery (with Jay Richards) and Observational Astronomy (with D. Scott Birney and David Oesper).
- J. Richard Gott (born 1947): professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University. He is known for developing and advocating two cosmological theories with the flavor of science fiction: Time travel and the Doomsday argument. When asked of his religious views in relation to his science, Gott responded that “I’m a Presbyterian. I believe in God; I always thought that was the humble position to take. I like what Einstein said: “God is subtle but not malicious.” I think if you want to know how the universe started, that’s a legitimate question for physics. But if you want to know why it’s here, then you may have to know—to borrow Stephen Hawking’s phrase—the mind of God.”[242]
- Robert Griffiths (born 1937): noted American physicist at Carnegie Mellon University. He has written on matters of science and religion.[243]
- Peter Grünberg (born 1939): is a German physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his discovery with Albert Fert of giant magnetoresistance which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disk drives[244]
- John Hartnett (born 1952): Australian Young Earth Creationist who has a PhD and whose research interests include ultra low-noise radar and ultra high stability cryogenic microwave oscillators.[245][246][247]
- Michał Heller (born 1936): Catholic priest, a member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion. He also is a mathematical physicist who has written articles on relativistic physics and Noncommutative geometry. His cross-disciplinary book Creative Tension: Essays on Science and Religion came out in 2003. For this work he won a Templeton Prize. [note 6][248]
- Antony Hewish (born 1924): British Radio Astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 (together with Martin Ryle) for his work on the development of radio aperture synthesis and its role in the discovery of pulsars. He was also awarded the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1969. Hewish is a Christian.[249] Hewish also wrote in his introduction to John Polkinghorne‘s 2009 Questions of Truth, “The ghostly presence of virtual particles defies rational common sense and is non-intuitive for those unacquainted with physics. Religious belief in God, and Christian belief … may seem strange to common-sense thinking. But when the most elementary physical things behave in this way, we should be prepared to accept that the deepest aspects of our existence go beyond our common-sense understanding.”[250]
- Colin Humphreys (born 1941): British physicist. He is the former Goldsmiths’ Professor of Materials Science and a current Director of Research at Cambridge University, Professor of Experimental Physics at the Royal Institution in London and a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge. Humphreys also “studies the Bible when not pursuing his day-job as a materials scientist.”[251]
- Ian Hutchinson (scientist): physicist and nuclear engineer. He is currently Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Christopher Isham (born 1944): theoretical physicist who developed HPO formalism. He teaches at Imperial College London. In addition to being a physicist, he is a philosopher and theologian.[252][253]
- Ard Louis: Professor in Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford. Prior to his post at Oxford he taught Theoretical Chemistry at Cambridge University where he was also director of studies in Natural Sciences at Hughes Hall. He has written for The BioLogos Forum.[254]
- Juan Maldacena (born 1968): Argentine theoretical physicist and string theorist, best known for the most reliable realization of the holographic principle – the AdS/CFT correspondence.[255]
- Stephen C. Meyer (born 1958): physicist and earth science. Meyers wrote Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt. Worked as a geophysicist for the Atlantic Richfield Company. Meyer earned his Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science in 1991. Director of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute and Vice President and Senior Fellow at the DI.[256]
- Don Page (born 1948):[257] Canadian theoretical physicist and practicing Evangelical Christian, Dr. Page is known for having published several journal articles with Stephen Hawking.[258][259]
- William Daniel Phillips (born 1948): 1997 Nobel laureate in Physics (1997) who is a founding member of The International Society for Science and Religion.[260]
- Andrew Pinsent (born 1966): Catholic priest, is the Research Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford University.[261] He is also a particle physicist, whose previous work contributed to the DELPHI experiment at CERN.[262]
- John Polkinghorne (born 1930): British particle physicist and Anglican priest who wrote Science and the Trinity (2004) ISBN 0-300-10445-6. Winner of the 2002 Templeton Prize.[263]
- Hugh Ross (born 1945): Canadian astrophysicist, Christian apologist, and old Earth creationist whose postdoctoral research at Caltech was in studying quasars and galaxies.
- Russell Stannard (born 1931): British particle physicist who has written several books on the relationship between religion and science, such as Science and the Renewal of Belief, Grounds for Reasonable Belief and Doing Away With God?.[264]
- Walter Thirring (born 1927): Austrian physicist after whom the Thirring model in quantum field theory is named. He is the son of the physicist Hans Thirring, co-discoverer of the Lense-Thirring frame dragging effect in general relativity. He also wrote Cosmic Impressions: Traces of God in the Laws of Nature.[265]
- Frank J. Tipler (born 1947): mathematical physicist and cosmologist, holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Mathematics and Physics at Tulane University. Tipler has authored books and papers on the Omega Point, which he claims is a mechanism for the resurrection of the dead. His theological and scientific theorizing are not without controversy, but he has some supporters; for instance, Christian theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg has defended his theology,[266] and physicist David Deutsch has incorporated Tipler’s idea of an Omega Point.[267]
- Jennifer Wiseman: Chief of the Laboratory for Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. An aerial of the Center is shown. In addition she is a co-discoverer of 114P/Wiseman-Skiff. In religion is a Fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation and on June 16, 2010 became the new director for the American Association for the Advancement of Science‘s Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion.[268]
- Antonino Zichichi (born 1929): Italian nuclear physicist and former President of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. He has worked with the Vatican on relations between the Church and Science.[269][270]
Earth Sciences
- Mike Hulme (born 1960): professor of Climate Change in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA), and is the author of Why We Disagree About Climate Change. He has said of his Christian faith, “I believe because I have not discovered a better explanation of beauty, truth and love than that they emerge in a world created – willed into being – by a God who personifies beauty, truth and love.”[271]
- Eric Priest (born 1943): authority on Solar Magnetohydrodynamics who won the George Ellery Hale Prize among others. He has spoken on Christianity and Science at the University of St Andrews and is a member of the Faraday Institute. He is also interested in prayer, meditation, and Christian psychology.[272]
- John Suppe (born 1943): professor of Geology at National Taiwan University, Geosciences Emeritus at Princeton University. He has written articles like “Thoughts on the Epistemology of Christianity in Light of Science.”[273]
Engineering
- Fred Brooks (born 1931): American computer architect, software engineer, and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM’s System/360 family of computers and the OS/360 software support package, then later writing candidly about the process in his seminal book The Mythical Man-Month. Brooks has received many awards, including the National Medal of Technology in 1985 and the Turing Award in 1999. Brooks is an evangelical Christian who is active with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and chaired the Executive Committee for the Central Carolina Billy Graham Crusade in 1973.[274]
- Richard H. Bube (born 1927): emeritus professor of the material sciences at Stanford University. He is a member of the American Scientific Affiliation.[275]
- John Dabiri (born 1980): Nigerian-American biophysicist, professor of aeronautics and bioengineering at Stanford University, MacArthur Fellow and one of Popular Science magazine’s “Brilliant 10” scientists in 2008.[276]
- Raymond Vahan Damadian (born 1936): medical practitioner and inventor who created the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Scanning Machine). He is a young-earth creationist and there was a controversy on why he did not receive the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, given that he had come up with the idea and worked on the development of the MRI.
- Donald Knuth (born 1938): (Lutheran) The Art of Computer Programming and 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated (1991), ISBN 0-89579-252-4.[277]
- Larry Wall (born September 27, 1954): creator of Perl, a programming language.[278]
Others
- Robert J. Wicks (born 1946): clinical psychologist who has written on the intersections of spirituality and psychology. Wicks for more than 30 years has been teaching at universities and professional schools of psychology, medicine, nursing, theology, and social work, currently at Loyola University Maryland. In 1996, he was a recipient of The Holy Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, the highest medal that can be awarded to the laity by the Papacy for distinguished service to the Roman Catholic Church.
- Michael Reiss (born 1960): British bioethicist, science educator, and an Anglican priest. He was Director of Education at the Royal Society from 2006 to 2008. Reiss has campaigned for the teaching of evolution,[279] and is Professor of Science Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, where he is Pro-Director of Research and Development.[280]
- Rosalind Picard (born 1962): professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT, director and also the founder of the Affective Computing Research Group at the MIT Media Lab, co-director of the Things That Think Consortium, and chief scientist and co-founder of Affectiva. Picard says that she was raised an atheist, but converted to Christianity as a young adult.[281]
- John Lennox (born 1945): mathematician, philosopher of science and pastoral adviser. His works include the mathematical The Theory of Infinite Soluble Groups and the religion-oriented God’s Undertaker – Has Science buried God? He has also debated religion with Richard Dawkins. He teaches at Oxford, so an old map of it is pictured.[282][283]
- Justin L. Barrett (born 1971): Director of the Thrive Center for Human Development and Professor of Psychology at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology after being a researcher at Oxford, Barrett is a cognitive scientist specializing in the cognitive science of religion. He has published “Cognitive Science, Religion, and Theology” (Templeton Press, 2011). Barrett has been described by the New York Times as ‘an observant Christian who believes in “an all-knowing, all-powerful, perfectly good God who brought the universe into being,” as he wrote in an e-mail message. “I believe that the purpose for people is to love God and love each other.”‘
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology
[*More from http://godevidence.com/2010/08/quotes-about-god-atheism/: Please also read this Wikipedia post detailing a list of Christian Nobel Laureates.
Lastly, AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY please read Without Christianity, There Would Be No Science, which describes how science itself owes its origins to Christianity. Stanley Jaki, a leading philosopher of science and Distinguished Professor of Physics at Seton Hall University, explores this subject matter in detail. Please read Jaki’s books Christ and Science and The Savior of Science for a more thorough exploration of this subject.
Readers: Please note that several of the quotes featured in this post were extracted from nobelists.net. For a more exhaustive list of God believing scientists and Nobel Laureates (including exact citations), please visit this site and download the pdf.]
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