The Nature of the Problem

"Do you think there is a conflict between your Christian faith and science, and if so what kind of a conflict is it? That is the question I want to discuss. Let me begin in this way. Because of the impact of science on all our thinking most of us today have developed a certain habit of mind. We tend to t­hink that, if a statement cannot be proved by the methods of natural science, it cannot be accepted as reliable. If we cannot think about a thing scientifically we doubt whether it is worth thinking about at all. But although most of us have this habit of mind, I suppose that we should all admit that many of our deepest convictions are about things that cannot be proved in this way. We all believe that health is better than disease, we believe that peace is better than war and that honesty is better than falsehood. Beliefs such as these cannot be scientifically verified, but they none the less constitute the very foundation of life as we know it. Take these away and society would disintegrate."