On the news the other night, in relation to some churches in the United States meeting together in violation of a government quarantine, the reporter said that science must be put above faith. This highlights the confusion many have between science and faith.
Science is not a savior. Science, according to the scientific method is a process of reasoning, observing and experimenting.1 This process is not meant to take the place of faith or to be put above faith. It is meant to be a method for either proving or refuting a hypotheses. Science does not create cures, treatments or vaccines; people do, using the process of science.2
On the other end of the spectrum, faith is not God. Faith is a belief, trust or confidence that one puts in something, someone or God. From a Christian perspective, faith is a human reaction to what God has done and is doing. We do not serve faith for the sake of faith.3 Because of and through our faith we worship and serve the persons of the triune God.
I quarantine not because of science (or governmental mandates). I quarantine out of love for my neighbor, which is a result of my faith in God, expressed in not spreading COVID-19 especially for the sake of the sick, weak or elderly. The scientific method (used by those in the field of infectious disease) has helped me to understand how COVID-19 is transmitted so that I can make intelligent decisions in executing how I love. Faith and science in harmony.4
Notes:
1 This process is not always as exacting as scientists make it out to be. Reference my blog on The Unpredictability of Predictions to see how inaccurate science can be.
2 There are those who place their faith in the process of science. Unfortunately, many of these people cannot distinguish where science ends and their faith begins.
3 Faith for the sake of faith happens when people lose the distinction between faith and God (the object of one’s faith).
4 There has never been a conflict between Christian faith and reasoning (be it scientific, philosophic, apologetic, logic or any other rational thought process). Augustine (354-430 AD) said: “I believe in order to understand.” Anselm, the archbishop of Canterbury (1092-1109) more succinctly expressed the relationship between faith and reason: “Faith seeking understanding.”
This is not a claim that Christianity has all the answers: it does not (nor does any other philosophical, religious, scientific or logical system). Rather it offers a system where faith and science/reason/logic are not in conflict, plus much more.