Science is good

The BioLogos Foundation is a Christian faith and science organization founded by Francis Collins, who later served as the head of the American National Institutes of Health (NIH), serving for 17 years under three presidents. For many years, BioLogos was led by Debora Haarsma, formerly of Calvin University. Recently, BioLogos released an open letter to people of faith about science titled “Science Is Good.”

In a time when science is under attack by the American government and measles is returning to Canada because people are not vaccinated, it is important to point out that God has given us the ability to learn about his world so that we might address the many problems we face. Christians should not see science as an enemy but rather use it for the betterment of all.

Three parables

BioLogos’s letter is built around three parables of Jesus found in Matthew 25. These parables do not directly speak about modern science, but they do provide insights about living faithfully in God’s creation.

The first is the parable of the wise bridesmaids, showing the need to prepare and accept challenges by listening to and acting on advice from others, in our case scientists such as climate experts.

Then the letter mentions the parable of the servants who received talents and the need to use the tools God has given us and not bury them. The parallel with scientific gifts is clear.

Then, working from the parable of the sheep and the goats, the letter calls on us to use science to build compassion and help the most vulnerable.

While science can be misused (think of the weapons of war we have built), this is true of much of creation. Sin is everywhere, and good things can be misused. But it is essential, especially now, to recognize that science has improved the lives of most people.

Contagious choices

I heard Francis Collins speak about his experience with the covid crisis and the work people did at the NIH (many of them Christians) to develop the vaccines that prevented the most serious consequences of that pandemic. His very painful regret is that, in America, about 300,000 people needlessly died because many would not accept the vaccine, Christians among them.

Today, in Canada, we are on track to have measles permanently reestablished in our country. While measles may not be deadly for many of us, and while we might think we and our children can safely remain unvaccinated, the reality is that this disease will be catastrophic for many of our neighbours. Some are unable to be vaccinated, being immuno-compromised, and others are bound to suffer immensely from the secondary effects of measles.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, and our vaccines for preventing it are safe and very effective. Over 95 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to prevent measles from spreading (so-called herd immunity). It is un-Christian in our current situation not to be vaccinated against this disease. Let us use the vaccine, one of the God-given good products of science, to care for one another.