Why do we believe what we believe? This is a very important question. If your beliefs are based on your parents or on society, how do you know they are right? Some Christians think you can't base your beliefs on science, reason, or sight, that is where faith comes in. Others say they can't believe anything that doesn't have hard evidence supporting it.
As a Christian myself, I actually think the second position is correct! Those who say you "just gotta have faith" misunderstand what faith is. It is not blindly believing something in spite of the evidence (or lack of it). It is being open to where the evidence leads, and being willing to rearange your life around the truth you are led to, even though there may not be 100% PROOF. There is solid evidence supporting the Christian faith, so much so that I can't imagine being so stubburn as to not believe it. Yet I have faith when I make Jesus the Lord of my life and work to follow his teachings the best I can even though I lack 100% physcial proof for Him.
But do I base my beliefs on science? That depends on what you mean by science. Sometimes people use it to mean a rational examination of evidence that leads to a logical conclusion of the facts. "Science" in this sense simply means to refuse to believe things on blind faith. If that is what you mean by science, then by all means, base your beliefs on science.
However, science normally refers more narrowly to an examination of physical evidence to support a theory or idea. It also seeks natural explanations for any observable event. In this definition, science can be very useful, but by itself it is not a way to go about seeking truth. Why? First, little can be known about historical events using science. Was George Washington the first president of the United States? We might be able to substantiate historical arguments for Washington's presidency using science by doing something like linking DNA to certain documents or dating the documents with scientific methods. But the main way to support Washington's presidency is to read what the documents say and verify that they are truthful by using certain historical tests. Science alone can't do this.
Second, since science always seeks natural explanations for things, it will NEVER conclude that God was behind something, NO MATTER HOW MUCH EVIDENCE supports God doing it. Therefore, even if there was overwhelming evidence for God acting in history, to the point that you would have to be an idiot to not believe it, science alone could never support the conclusion that God was involved. By itself, science leads to very limited knowledge that is not a good way to go about searching for truth, especially about God.
I think it is best to use science WITH other evidences to seek for truth. When you combine science with history, reason, logic, and arguments from common human experiences, you can make an almost undeniable argument that there is a God who became a man (Jesus) and who wants all people to follow him. I will be making that argument in future posts.
