Why Do You Believe In God, When We Have Science?
Let’s face the facts: most Americans think science and Christianity are at odds.
According to Pew Research, 59% of Americans say science and religion are “often in conflict.” Only 38% say they’re “mostly compatible.” But is that majority view actually correct? Are science and Christian faith enemies?
Nope. In fact, science doesn’t just happen to be compatible with Christianity—it actually needs Jesus in order to make any sense at all.
Let’s walk through it.
We’ll tackle this in three parts:
The invisible laws of math and logic,
The uniformity of nature, and
The human mind itself.
1. Math and Logic: The Laws You Can’t Touch
Science begins with faith in certain invisible realities. We’re talking about logic and math here. You assume without question that “one plus one will always equal two,” and that a statement can’t be both true and false at the same time.
Now stop and ask yourself: why do those things make sense? They're non-physical, unchanging, universally true, and knowable. In other words, they reflect the attributes of God:
Immaterial (John 4:24)
Unchanging (Malachi 3:6)
Everywhere present (Psalm 139:7–10)
Knowable (Ezekiel 33:29)
So for the Christian, logic and math are no mystery—they’re baked into reality by the God who designed it. But if you’re an atheist? You’ve only got matter and energy. And logic isn’t made of matter. Math isn’t made of atoms. So where do those laws come from?
They don’t fit in an atheistic box.
And so, what happens is this: non-believers are forced to borrow from the biblical worldview in order to function in the real world. They steal capital from the Christian worldview while denying its Source.
Jesus, the Lawgiver
At the center of this biblical system is Jesus Christ. He is the bridge between the invisible and the visible. The unchanging and the temporal. He’s the Lord of all.
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” —Colossians 1:17
“He upholds all things by the word of His power.” —Hebrews 1:3
So, math and logic point to God. And God has revealed Himself in Jesus. Science needs these laws. And those laws need Jesus.
2. Uniformity in Nature: The World’s Built to Be Reliable
Science assumes that nature is uniform. That is, the future will behave like the past. Drop a bowling ball from a building today, it falls. Do it tomorrow, same result. That’s the principle behind repeated experiments.
It also assumes that unobserved cases will be like observed ones. That’s how you can do science without testing every single blade of grass or bacteria cell in the universe. This assumption is what allows us to do science in the first place.
But where does that assumption come from?
It comes from God.
“[He] works all things according to the counsel of His will.” —Ephesians 1:11
Why is the future like the past? Because the God of yesterday is still the God of tomorrow.
Induction Needs Jesus
The method of reasoning that takes specific instances and generalizes them is called inductive reasoning. But here’s the kicker: inductive reasoning only makes sense in a world governed by a God who is faithful and intentional. In a random, chance-driven cosmos, there’s no basis for expecting any kind of consistency.
And yet…
“In him all things consist.” —Colossians 1:17
Jesus is the glue that keeps the cosmos from going full Thanos-dust. He holds it together, and He earned the right to do so by obeying the Father perfectly, dying for sinners, rising from the grave, and ascending to the throne of Heaven (see Hebrews 1:2, Matthew 28:18).
So when we trust science to work, we are—whether we admit it or not—trusting in the faithfulness of Jesus.
3. The Human Mind: Designed for Discovery
Ever stop and marvel at your own ability to think? Your mind can:
Apply logic,
Do math,
Engage in empirical investigation,
Remember, feel, analyze, and design.
There’s a correspondence between the world, the laws that govern it, and your mind. That’s no accident. That’s divine design.
Evolution + Atheism = Ignorance
If naturalistic evolution is true and there is no God, then our brains are the result of random, unguided processes. And that means we have no reason to trust any of our beliefs—including the belief that naturalism is true.
That’s the Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism, made famous by Alvin Plantinga (but hinted at earlier by C.S. Lewis and even Darwin himself, who called it his “horrid doubt”).
“Would anyone trust in the convictions of a monkey’s mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind?” —Charles Darwin
And as Vern Poythress put it:
“If it were the case that Chance ruled, science would have irrationality as its foundation.” —Chance and the Sovereignty of God, p. 129
So much for intellectually fulfilling atheism.
Limited Knowledge = The Need for Revelation
Here's another problem: you and I don’t know everything. That means any belief we hold could, theoretically, be overturned by some unknown fact.
So how can we know anything for certain?
Only one way: revelation from Someone who does know everything. God.
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us...” —Deuteronomy 29:29
God has revealed truth to us, and He designed our minds in His image (Genesis 1:27). He even wants us to do science:
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out.” —Proverbs 25:2
Science Needs Jesus
Let’s sum this up.
Math and logic are immaterial, universal, and unchanging—just like God.
Uniformity in nature presupposes a faithful God who governs the world.
Inductive reasoning requires a rational, ordered universe created by God.
The human mind reflects God’s image and was made to discover His truth.
Limited human knowledge demands revelation from an omniscient Creator.
Put it all together, and you get this: Science needs Jesus.
And this isn’t just theoretical—it’s historical. Modern science arose in the Christian West, because Christianity gave us the framework to believe the world was worth studying. It gave us minds designed for truth and a world designed to be explored.
“If you value science, thank a Christian. Or better yet, thank Jesus Christ.”
So, Is There a Conflict?
No—there’s not a conflict. There’s a foundation.
Christian faith is not science’s enemy—it’s the presupposition that makes science possible.
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10 Ways Science Obliterates Atheism
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