The Christian Origins of Science

What if the real story isn’t science versus faith—but how faith helped give rise to modern science? That question sits at the heart of this episode of Thinking Things Through.

Rather than rehearsing familiar culture-war arguments, we invite you to rethink the relationship between science and Christianity from a historical, philosophical, and deeply human perspective. Ron makes the provocative claim that modern experimental science did not arise despite Christianity, but within a culture shaped by it.

For most of human history, people from every culture on every continent observed nature, but they did not conduct experiments to test their explanations. What changed around 500 years ago was the belief that the universe is not only orderly, but intelligible—and that humans are permitted, even encouraged, to understand how it works. The European Christians began to believe that God wanted the faithful to understand the universe to alleviate suffering. This led to modern medicine and pharmacology.

Science refines and deepens theology. Charles Darwin was an example of how rigorous science and deep faith can coexist. Ron’s own faith is stronger because of science.

If you’re shaped by scientific thinking but curious about Christianity—or if you’re a believer trying to make sense of faith in a scientific age—this conversation is for you.

Let’s think it through.