Science and the Supernatural
Wallace (Shaun) Shaunfield Copyright 2013
Posted February 5, 2013
Often in scientific research we encounter things out of the ordinary which appear to be supernatural or the result of intelligent design (ID) or as some might say is the work of God. Critics often refer to these unnatural events as God-of-the-Gaps. However, there is a big difference between the supernatural and Go-of-the-Gaps. If the theistic God really does exist, then He has been active in the universe and we can expect that He has intervened on various occasions, and that being the case, we should expect to see evidence of supernatural events. In events describe as the result of ID we see intricate and complex designs which are well beyond natural events. In these cases the most reasonable answer is ID rather than being just a natural phenomenon which we do not yet understand.
However, it is fairly common for many scientists to dismiss anything supernatural as an answer to scientific investigation. This seems to be the most reasonable position and for many scientific fields of study that seems to be an adequate position without any negative consequences in the results. However, there is absolutely no proof that the supernatural does not exist – it is just their biased opinion without any basis. If you are an atheist like many scientists, then a purely naturalistic answer is the only possible answer to any scientific investigation.
I can sympathize with the atheist view, as I was a non-believer for 50 years, until I took an analytical approach to the question of the existence of God. I also would have rejected the supernatural as a possible answer to any research investigation. However, now I have specific evidences of God, as outlined in my recent book, GOD Exists!. Given that, I fully expect to see the evidence of God at key points in the evolution of our universe and they are there just where you would expect them to be. The three key events which are discussed in the book are: 1) the creation of the universe with the Big Bang, 2) the origin of life about three billion years ago and 3) the introduction of Homo sapiens, 200 thousand years ago. As discussed in the book it was extensive logic which led to the conclusion that an intelligent designer such as God was involved. It was much more than just a lack of understanding of the observed phenomena as in God-of-the-Gaps.
I submit that in any scientific investigation, you should not exclude any possible outcome, including the supernatural, based on opinion. I believe that a scientist that approaches his investigation with such a bias is a poor scientist. If there really is God then we should expect to see supernatural events. If there is no God then good scientific investigation should result in no supernatural events. We do not need to help the investigation with a biased opinion.
In my career of investigating semiconductor physics, I do not recall ever encountering a supernatural event. There were times when results sometimes did not make sense, but the cause was usually traced to experimental error. Keep in mind that semiconductor physics is in the physical sciences and I think it is normal that the supernatural is not observed. My belief is that God set in motion the laws of physics and has not had to intervene for things to go as He intended. However, with the life sciences such as the study of evolution the situation is different. I believe God has a special interest in life and evolution of the creatures. It could be described as His pet project. I believe that God has intervened in evolution to cause things to come out as he desired. I believe it started with the origin of life where there is profound evidence of God’s intervention. This is discussed in Chapter 9 of my book, GOD Exists!, which is reproduced in the Excerpts from Books section of this website. I also show there is strong evidence of God’s intervention in the bringing about Homo sapiens and is discussed in Chapter 10 to the book. These two examples are just where you would expect God to have intervened in our world. I suspect there are more examples, but that investigation will be for a later time.
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