The idea that Christians are inherently anti-science is not only common but persistent, echoed in conversations and cultural commentary for as long as I can remember. I often hear claims that Christianity has historically repressed scientific progress, sometimes citing stories of Christians burning scientists at the stake or actively inhibiting scientific advancement out of dogmatic stubbornness. But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the very opposite is supported by history if we care to examine it closely, step by step.
When you chart the history of scientific progress on a timeline, it moves along steadily, with incremental developments across the centuries. But suddenly, things start ramping up—with a surge that becomes unmistakable during the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, a period we now call the Scientific Revolution. If you plot the life of Jesus on that same timeline, something fascinating emerges: Jesus stands right before this explosion of scientific discovery. Is that a coincidence? I don’t think so. The worldview that Jesus initiated served as a powerful catalyst for what became an unprecedented age of scientific achievement.
Why? First, Christianity introduced a way of seeing the universe that was absolutely critical for science to flourish. Instead of a world ruled by a disordered, chaotic pantheon of gods (as was common in the ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome), Christianity described the universe as the creation of one singular, orderly God. This God was not part of the creation, but separate from it—rational, consistent, reliable. Under the older pantheons, why would anyone investigate “why lightning strikes” when it could simply be attributed to Zeus’s anger? But in a Christian worldview, lightning, like everything else, was understood as part of a creation governed by consistent natural laws—discernible, rational, and worthy of investigation. That belief alone changed everything about how we approached the natural world.
This worldview didn’t just stay in theory; it quickly found institutional expression. The first modern universities—Bologna, Paris, and Oxford—were Christian institutions, conceived and sustained by a distinctly Christian commitment to intellectual formation. From these three sprang dozens of “daughter” universities, and from these seats of learning emerged most of the pioneering minds who drove the Scientific Revolution. These were individuals shaped by a deeply Christian educational tradition, whose curiosity and inquiry were supported, not stifled, by their faith.
If you make a list of the figures who founded the great scientific disciplines—whether biology, astronomy, or quantum mechanics—you’ll find, again and again, that they were Christians. Not only did Christians dominate the birth of new scientific fields, but a staggering number have been awarded Nobel prizes in the sciences, more than all other groups combined. So, what made the difference? It’s a particular view of science, rooted in our faith. If you make a list of the figures who founded the scientific disciplines, you’ll find, again and again, that they were Christians. Share on X
For Christians, science isn’t just about cataloging facts or engineering new technologies; it is an act of worship. When we investigate the natural world, we are reading the “book of nature,” another volume authored by God. We are worshiping Him not just in church, but with our hearts and our minds, discovering more about His nature as it’s reflected in all creation. If you believe your scientific work is revealing not only the “how” but something of the “who”—the character of the Creator Himself—that brings an entirely different level of passion and intensity to the work. And history shows this to be more than empty rhetoric. Many of the founders of scientific disciplines wrote about Jesus in their journals, books, and correspondence. If all you had to reconstruct the life and teachings of Jesus were the letters, journals, and books of these pioneering scientists, you could recover the story of Jesus with even more detail than from the early church fathers’ writings.
The impact is profound. To erase the person of Jesus from history, you’d not only have to erase the pages of the New Testament but also obliterate the personal writings and scientific heritage of centuries of Christian scientists. Christianity didn’t stifle scientific progress—it was the soil from which modern science grew. That’s a truth we need to remember, celebrate, and share as both scientists and people of faith.
For more information about the impact Jesus and His followers had on science, read Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World That Rejects the Bible. This unique and innovative book makes a case for the historicity and Deity of Jesus from history alone, without relying on the New Testament manuscripts. It contains over 400 illustrations and is accompanied by a ten-session Person of Interest DVD Set (and Investigator’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.
