During a recent BBC Radio 4 programme, Professor John Lennox explored how scientific understanding can inform faith.
The Oxford mathematician and Christian apologist challenged the notion that faith and science are disconnected, arguing that the language and discoveries of scientific enquiry can stir wonder and worship.
Speaking with service leader Andrew Roycroft during Sunday Worship, Lennox said that one of the things that leads him to worship God is the very fact “that science can be done”.
‘Word-based universe’
Lennox explained that “the workings of the universe are describable in the language of mathematics, whereas the workings of the biosphere are describable in the language of genetics. Wonderful circumstances that tell me that this is a word-based universe.
“These facts resonate deeply with the opening statement of the fourth gospel: ‘In the beginning was the word’. ‘All things came to be through him’.
“So, the very languages of science lead me to worship God as the Creator”.
Human dignity
Reflecting on Psalm 8, he observed that the scientific study of Astronomy enables him to appreciate the “awesome beauty” of the created universe and makes his “mind and heart sing with the psalmist that the heavens really do declare the glory of God”.
Lennox noted that space exploration demonstrated “how small we humans are as we whirl through space on our beautiful blue planet. And it should produce in us a healthy humility.
“However, size is not necessarily the measure of value. A diamond is worth a lot more than a lump of coal, although they are essentially the same stuff. And Psalm 8 points out that God is mindful of us.
“And it is the fact that we humans have been specially made in his image that gives us dignity. The heavens show God’s glory, but they were not made in his image. We were. And it is that awesome fact from which our true value derives and which determines our place in the universe.”
AI
Lennox drew a clear distinction between the controversial area of scientific research in artificial intelligence (AI) and human identity: “Apart from having a material base as machines do, humans are distinct from AIs because they are living beings which AIs are not.
“They are conscious of the world and other humans around them which AIs are not. They have an aesthetic sense which AIs do not. They are moral beings which AIs are not and they have language that enables them to communicate with each other and with God. In short, they are made in the image of God with the capacity to know and worship God which AIs are not.”
He added that “human beings are so made that God could become one. And he did. The transhumanist homodeus agenda is that our salvation will come through bioengineering and merging with machines to become super intelligent gods.
“The Christian good news is the polar opposite of this, that we can have salvation as a free gift of God’s grace because God has become man to effect that salvation and bring us back to himself.”