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).
d d d d 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. d
d d d d 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 new testament. (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.
