Does a Scientist Need Faith? In this connection, a very fascinating and remarkable stipulation is imposed upon mathematics by the famous theorem of Kurt Godel. The “…formal systems with which Godel worked are sufficiently rich in syntax for the derivation of all of classical mathematics (and presumably of much of mathematics yet to be developed).” (1) Godel’s theorem proves that for a system to be consistent it must contain “undecidable” propositions; i.e. the scientist has to have faith — even the atheist! Faith in what? Hopefully, most would say, “That which works well and brings about good in the world.” Einstein said, “…the deeper that I delve into the sciences of the universe, the more firmly do I believe that one God, or force, or influence, has organized it for our discovery.” Clearly, Einstein was a believer in his own right and had faith.
Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton—the greatest scientist in recorded history—studied religion more than science and came to know the Creator of it all. Unfortunately, his religious writings have never been published. Fortunately, my good friend, Steven Jones—Emeritus Professor of Physics at BYU—went to the Cambridge library where Newton’s writings have been archived and he, his wife Lezlee, and their daughter copied down significant portions of Newton’s religious writings. Steve prepared a power-point presentation and shared it in a fireside in our home. I took copious notes and Steve let me borrow his slides. I have used these significantly in preparing an Isaac Newton religion Principia in Chapter 3 of my new book, Time & Eternity: The End-Times & Beyond Revealed. Steve’s material has been most helpful in writing the Chapter in that book on, “Where We are in God’s Time.”
Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), considered the greatest natural scientist in his day, declared, “It is the job of prophets and scientists alike to proclaim the glories of God.” He was greatly respected by his contemporary, Charles Darwin. In fact, Darwin shared his feelings with the poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “What a set of men you have at Harvard! Both universities put together cannot furnish the like. Why, there is Agassiz — he counts for three.” All of Agassiz’s peers knew he was a giant intellectually and spiritually, and he had proven Darwin’s concept of natural selection invalid at the time based on fossil data, showing that there was direct evidence of intelligent design behind the “explosion” of the several different species coming forth, which could not have evolved. Agassiz’s goal was to understand the mind of the Divine–to have faith.
W. H. Murray
W. H. Murray profoundly stated:
Until one is committed
There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
Always ineffectiveness.
Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
There is one elementary truth,
The ignorance of which kills countless ideas
And splendid plans:
That the moment one definitely commits oneself,
Then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
That would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision
Raising in one’s favor all manner
Of unforeseen incidents and meetings
And material assistance,
Which no man could have dreamt
Would have come his way.
God is in the details for those who have eyes to see and who have faith.
When powered by faith Goethe’s couplet can bring forth exciting results:
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
I have seven major inventions the Lord has given me powered by faith that have been a blessing to many and have affected the world community for good.
Gustaf Stromberg
In 1961, Gustaf Stromberg of the Franklin Institute proposed a fifth dimension based on some experiential information. He suggests that this fifth dimension called the “eternity domain” gives to time elasticity while maintaining sequence. He further explains that this eternity domain can…
“...be described as an Almighty, Wise and Living Person, the Creator of all things, physical, mental, and spiritual. In our mind, we have an “image” of this Person and an idea of His existence and nature. We are created in His image,… We can also understand that this Person in His wisdom may select one or more souls to carry important messages and admonitions to other human souls,… Some of these messages we can also hear directly when we listen to the voice of the “Cosmic Conscience.” They tell us unequivocally that the essence of Divine law can be expressed in the simple admonition: “Love ye one another!”
In our Unified Field Theory research, we discovered a fifth dimension and we used Stromberg’s name for it–the Eternity Domain–and learned about diallel-field lines. This is how prayer works. We each have a diallel-field line connection to God. Not limited by time and space, the Eternity Domain is where God and His angels do their Divine orchestration where the Kingdom of Heaven is perfectly organized and each of us have been given angels to help us in our mortal journey. It is up to us to have faith and to pray; God loves you and is there for you (Matt. 7:7-8).
Truth Against the World
With eight billion people on this planet, we have eight billion world views. Living the Law of Love means that we respect each view. Be humble and love and learn from others as the opportunity arrives. My goal is like the Druids, “TRUTH against the world”–exposing Satanic deceits and finding and enjoying the glories of God’s infinite goodness. Life gives us challenges and choices to follow our conscience, which is the Spirit of Christ to do good, or not.
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
I love the French translation from this verse: ‘les met en pratique’–be a wise person and put His sayings into practice. Be a doer of His Word. In our day, we have the extremely important prophecy: “they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people.” (JS-H 40) The logical equivalent of that prophecy is: “If you want to be with Him at His coming, hearken to His voice.”
The Book of Mormon – Lehi
The Prophet Lehi said it most profoundly in Second Nephi Chapter 2:25 – 27 “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
“And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
“Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”
Regarding faith in the Book of Mormon–Alma shares:
Alma gives us his fundamental definition of faith, “faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” (Alma 31:21) Hence, you cannot have faith in something which is not true. All things that are true come from Christ. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). As we ask, seek, and knock, (Mt. 7:7-8) He is there for us to find the TRUTH. Then He gives us the great promise in John 8:12, 32, 36: If we follow Him we will not walk in darkness, and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free; then when He sets you free, ye are free indeed. But, it is our choice.
Whether the world wants to believe it or not, all truth is found this way, and religious truths cannot contradict scientific truths. We move to a grand harmony between true science and true religion as we come to Christ, who is the author of and knows all truth. This is my experience. God is the grand Creator; He created us to be creators also. In so doing, as we look to Him who is the Way, (John 14:6) we find joy in fulfilling our missions in mortality.
Wisdom Society
Much of this article is extracted from one I wrote years ago for the Wisdom Society in San Diego. That article can be viewed at this link. The references are available there as well.
David W. Allan
Reference:
(1) Frank DeSua, “Consistency and Completeness – a Resume'” American Mathematical Monthly, 63 (1956); 305
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