Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?

Reviewed by:

Tim Pietz from Rubicon, WI, a Professional Writing student at Taylor University in Upland, IN.

INTRODUCTION

Title:

Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?

Author:

Ian Hutchinson

Publisher:

InterVarsity Press

Publication Date:

2018

Format:

Paperback

Length:

254 pages

OVERVIEW

Can reason support Christian belief? Do scientists have faith? Is God’s existence a scientific question? How did the universe begin? These and dozens of other questions are tackled by MIT professor Ian Hutchinson in Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?

Hutchinson’s scientific credentials are impressive, and it’s clear he has ample experience in dialoging on these questions. He treats subjects with academic rigor, yes, but not with cold detachment. While the writing reflects the style and vocabulary of a scientist, it is also personal, conversational, and readable for laypeople. What’s more, his passion for his faith in Christ is evident throughout.

Ultimately, Hutchinson’s book focuses on the limitations of various disciplines—how each is asking different questions, yet all those questions together contribute to what we can call “knowledge.” For instance, science may answer “what” and “how,” but without religion, it can never answer “why.” Thus, Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles? is a very interdisciplinary book, covering such broad areas as physics, biology, biblical interpretation, and philosophy. This is where some of the book’s own limitations come into play.

It’s unreasonable to expect anyone to definitively answer every scientific, theological, and philosophical faith question in slightly over 250 pages. It’s also unreasonable to expect anyone to be fully equipped to do so—even a thoughtful, thoroughly credentialed Christian physicist such as Hutchinson. Readers should view this book as one Christian scientist’s concise, informed opinion on a vast number of interdisciplinary questions. Not every Christian, scientist, or Christian scientist will agree with its entirety. Still, its combination of intellect and heart holds appeal for anyone interested in the intersection of faith and science.

ASSESSMENT

Rating:

4 out of 5

Suggested Audience

Anyone, Christian or non-Christian, who is interested in the intersection of faith and science.

Christian Impact

Apologetics, understanding faith and science