“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Roman 1:20)
“How great thou art” is one of my favorite hymns:
O Lord my God, When I, in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Although God didn’t stamp all His creation with the label “Made by God,” the intricacies and beauty of the world suggest the presence of a designer. Consider the sign at a train station that reads “San Francisco”. However, it’s theoretically possible for the wind to randomly arrange the 12 letters to look like a sign; if you’re heading to San Francisco, you understand that the sign isn’t there by chance but has meaning behind it. Even when something can be explained by chance, a designer is likely involved if there’s meaning behind it. Similarly, many indications point to God’s existence; we need to pay more attention to see them. Perhaps, we can use science to enhance the signs to see them more clearly.
Natural theology attempts to prove the existence of God and His divine purpose through observation of nature and the use of human reason without referring or appealing to any divine revelation. Saint Thomas Aquinas presented five ways to prove God’s existence, known as the Quinque Viae (Latin for “Five Ways”). Still, it can be reduced to two main arguments: the cosmological and teleological arguments.
The concept of the cosmological argument can be traced back to ancient Greece, predating the birth of Christ. According to Aristotle’s philosophy, anything that moves must have a mover. And that mover must have another mover that causes it to move. If we trace this chain of causation, we eventually reach a non-movable prime mover, or unmoved mover, which lies outside the chain of causation. Aquinas later argued that this prime mover is God.
The teleological argument is commonly known as the design argument. The world is so wonderfully made that a designer must be behind it. A classic example is a watch. Imagine one day you walk alone on the beach and find an object that resembles an old-fashioned mechanical watch. On closer examination, you don’t see any markings telling you who the object’s maker is. The arms are moving at the same rate as the watch in your arm, and you can hear the ticktock sound. There is no need to do any scientific study on the object, and you know immediately that it is a watch. It was not created by the random movement of the sand on the beach but was designed by someone.
Some problems with natural theology include the following:
- Criticism of the cosmological argument: Modern physics has shown that genuinely random quantum fluctuations can occur without any discernible cause. This means that the chain of causation that the cosmological argument relies on is broken, and there may not necessarily be a first cause that led to the universe’s existence.
- Criticism of the teleological argument: Many people believe that the theory of evolution has provided evidence that apparent design in nature can result from natural selection rather than an intelligent designer. The idea of a “blind watchmaker” suggests no rational mind behind the universe. We will delve more into the topic of evolution in future posts.
- Limitations: While natural theology may lead some to acknowledge the existence of a higher power, it falls short of revealing the nature of God. Scientists can believe in a God without accepting a personal God who is worthy of worship. Natural theology does not offer insight into God’s love, mercy, or judgment. Therefore, it may not lead us to the personal God that Christians worship.
Due to the above problems, natural theology has been outside the mainstream of theology since Darwin. In the past 50 years, many Christian scientists like John Polkinghorne, Ian Barbour, and Arthur Peacocke tried to revise natural theology and create a dialogue between science and theology. Instead of proving God exists, they sought to provide insights into the existence of God. They seek to understand how God interacts with the world and point to a personal God rather than a distant God. As a student of Polkinghorne, this website is written along the same theme: how to have a meaningful conversation with science and find some new insights that science can bring. As St Augustine said, “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand,” and we call it faith seeks understanding. This blog is written for those who have faith and seek more profound understanding.