I was raised in a Christian home, where my parents were new believers
as they both came to know the Lord when I was very young. I was raised
in a conservative church that is not aligned to any of Entwistle’s patterns,
but if I had to choose one, I believe my upbringing may have been most
akin to a slight fundamentalism. However, as I have aged, I see no need to
be wary of science. Science only validates the living God. Entwistle (2015)
affirms, “Protestants gravitated to science because of its potential to
reveal glimpses of the Creator and His character. Science, then, became a
venue of worship and praise” (p. 32).
I believe science demonstrates and supports the existence of God,
so there is no conflict between science and faith. Certainly, humans have
not identified all scientific realities, but with each observation rendered,
each reveal or support a created order by the uncreated One. For
example, neuroscience has revealed that trauma is stored in every cell,
and this trauma can be passed along to the offspring:
[G]enes are not fixed; life events can trigger biochemical messages that
turn them on or off by attaching methyl groups, a cluster of carbon and
hydrogen atoms, to the outside of the gene (a process called
methylation), making it more or less sensitive to the messages from the
body. While life events can change the behavior of the gene, they do not
alter its fundamental structure. Methylation patterns, however, can be
passed on to offspring—a phenomenon known as epigenetics. Once again,
the body keeps the score, at the deepest levels of the organism. (Van der
Kolk, 2014, p. 152)
This scientific reality of epigenetics speaks to a biblical principle: “The
wages of sin is death” (New International Version, 1984/1973, Romans
3:23a). Whether the individual inflicted with trauma committed the sin,
the sin was perpetrated upon the individual, or the fallen nature of our
world brought about the trauma, the death principle from the sin or the
fall is propagated not only within the individual but can also be transferred
to any offspring. Further, epigenetics demonstrates another biblical
principle from the ten commandments, where God commands the
Israelites to have no other gods or idols before Him; however, if they do
engage in idol worship, then the consequences for this transgression will
be to subsequent generations (New International Version, 1984/1973,
Deuteronomy 5:9b). This example reveals God’s created order; simply
that what we reap, we will sow.
Another example of science revealing God’s creation comes from
the current pandemic. Based upon fifteen different current studies, the
natural antibodies that God created to exist within humans after
undergoing a virus is proving more resilient and effective than man-made
vaccines, according to a recent article by Daniel Horowitz (2021). In this
same article, Horowitz mentions the Pfizer vaccine’s waning effectiveness
while natural antibodies are continuing to show resilience and not
diminishing effectiveness over time (para. 2). Additionally, Horowitz
(2021) cites a Washington University study published in Nature (2021)
that found the following: “People who recover [even] from mild COVID-19
have bone-marrow cells that can churn out antibodies for decades” (para.
8). Again, science reveals God’s handiwork.
References
Entwistle, D. N. (2015).Integrative approaches to psychology and
Christianity: An introduction to worldview issues, philosophical
foundations, and models of integration(3rd ed.). Wipf & Stock Publishers.
The Holy Bible, new international version: Containing the old testament
and the newtestament.(1984). International Bible Society. (Original work
published in 1973)
Horowitz, D. (2021, August 25).Horowitz: 15 studies that indicate natural
immunity from prior infection is more robust than the COVID vaccines.
Blaze Media.https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/horowitz-15-studies-
that-indicate-natural-immunity-from-prior-infection-is-more-
robust-than-the-covid-vaccines
Van der Kolk, B. (2014)The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body
in the healing of trauma. Viking.
