I am a Christian and I am a scientist. I am not a Christian first and a scientist second. My ability to do scientific work is not hampered by my Christian beliefs. Nor am I a scientist first and a Christian second. So my scientific discoveries don’t compromise my ability to read and understand God’s word. I am both a Christian and a scientist — the two are complementary and not in competi­tion. Yet Christianity and science haven’t always complemented each other in my life, and I know many people who feel that the two cannot function well together. Maybe you feel this way. Let me explain how I came to be a Christian sci­entist.

Maths and science were always my favourite subjects, and I earned my PhD in the branch of physiology known as neuroscience, the study of how nerves work. My work has been published in several scientific journals.

I studied the bowels of rats, looking at the nerves. As I made discoveries I grew more amazed at how complex rats are, not to mention humans. My wonder at the mind of God who designed all this grew. I saw the tiny nerve endings of spinal nerves connecting to the cells that tell the bowels what to do. I followed a nerve’s axon through the different tissues in the large intestine to see where it would end. I watched a segment of bowel contracting and relaxing when the nerves were stimulated with electrical pulses. And, using dif­ferent chemicals, I worked out which molecules the nerves activated to get the muscles of the bowel to work. To see God’s handiwork in action at such a level of detail stimulated awe and worship.

I read widely to see if my work could help explain how human bowels work. I was startled at how similar many species are but also how unique they are. Seeing the diversity helped me see just how cre­ative God is. His mind must be immense to come up with so much detail across so many animals. God lets us understand Him better through our scientific research. He also lets us understand our­selves better. My research challenged the understanding of the sympathetic nervous system and began to explain why people suffering from irritable bowel syn­drome get a hyperactive cramping bowel.

At that stage in my life I felt I had to fight to fit my science into my Christianity. I had to do mental gymnas­tics to fit my understanding of science into my understanding of the Bible. I was a Christian first and a scientist second.

At the end of my doctoral studies I decided to go to theological college. My research peers thought I had lost my mind! They feared I’d throw away my brain. But I had always wanted to study the Bible more deeply. When I got to col­lege my fellow students thought it odd — science to theology? After completing a Bachelor of Theology and Diploma of Divinity and Missions, I started work at Presbyterian Ladies’ College in Croydon, Sydney, as school chaplain. The staff and students were confused at how I could be a science teacher and the chaplain. Most people thought the two had to compro­mise each other. I was even more disturbed at the way that most students felt they had to choose — science or Christianity?

You don’t have to choose! Why not? Because the God who made the world and gave us the Bible is the same God who established and maintains the laws of sci­ence and gave us the brains to investigate this world using them. So it makes sense that what we learn of God through sci­ence should be consistent with what we learn about Him in the Bible.

To show my peers just how well I could be a theologian and a scientist I went through a phase where I began to put my science first. I started to let the philosophies that so often accompany science overshadow the great truths in the Bible about God’s role in the origin and design of this world. This was not right either! It took a year or so before I began to get it right: not a scientist first; not a Christian first; but a Christian scientist.

Don’t want to have to choose between science and the Bible? How did I find the balance? I think there are four traps we need to avoid. First, don’t let science say more than it should. Second, don’t fear the answers science gives us about our world. Third, don’t try to make the Bible say more than it actually does. Fourth, don’t try to explain more things than we have the answers for.

Trap 1: In scientific discussions there are usually three components: facts, theo­ries, and philosophical or religious state­ments. Facts are things like geological observations, genetic similarities between species, the speed of light, the shape of the galaxy. Then there are the various theories of evolution, and other theories like the Big Bang. The philosophical or religious statements include things like: “this hap­pened without intervention from God” or “this shows God doesn’t exist” or “this removes the need for God to have created us”. We must remember that these state­ments that so often accompany science are not scientific at all. Science investigates the natural world and can neither prove nor disprove the supernatural God. Take care not to let science say more than it should.

Trap 2: Christians should not fear the facts science has shown us, nor stress over the various theories which try to explain those facts. Remember, the God who gave us the Bible is the same God who gave us the laws of science. And if some of the assumed facts and theories turn out to be inaccurate, further scientific investigation will expose this. Science is not to be feared, but embraced for what it can teach us. Science cannot remove our need for God nor put Him out of a job. However, Christians need to regularly reject the pseudoscientific statements that are actu­ally belief statements. The Christian sci­entist puts the Bible’s statements about the supernatural together with the facts and theories of science.

Trap 3: When you read the Bible, take care that you don’t make the Bible say more than it actually does. Why? You’ll get yourself into a pickle trying to recon­cile the scientific record with your extended “biblical” record. The Bible doesn’t answer all our scientific questions. God doesn’t tell us how He affected Genesis 1:1-2 (by big bang or otherwise) nor how much time elapsed between Genesis 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3. And while He makes it clear that He created through spoken commands (“Let there be light”, etc), He doesn’t spell out how those com­mands were affected. So don’t add to God’s word.

Trap 4: There are many things the Bible is very clear on, but there are also many things it doesn’t explain. I want to know about the various species of prehu­man fossils. Are they in God’s image or not? Exactly how did God make us? Why is the universe so old and so large for one small earth? As our scientific investiga­tions advance, I may get some answers to these questions. Or I may have to wait until I get to heaven for my answers. Waiting, while frustrating, is always safer than trying to force an answer that satis­fies both current scientific knowledge and solid biblical studies.

Well, that’s my story. I can be a Christian scientist by avoiding these four traps. Maybe this is a way you too can embrace both science and the Bible.