by Greg Tidwell

A bitter dispute has engulfed Cosmology, the scientific study of the universe. The universe, baffling the scientists, gives every indication of having been planned. In particular, looking at life on earth, it appears that the world in which we live was made for us.

To make sense of these apparent facts, some scientists have embraced the "anthropic principle." This theory holds that life in general, and human beings in particular, are more than accidental byproducts of time and chance. The anthropic principle puts forward that the universe is designed with us in mind.

Keeping God Out

This line of thinking is not welcome by all researchers. Dr. David Gross, recently addressing "The Future of Cosmology" conference at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, warned his compatriots not to embrace an approach that opens the door to religion. Such a path, he claimed, is "dangerous."

Most nonbelievers treat religion with a passive tolerance. They view the faith of others as quaint superstition –- eccentric, perhaps, but not dangerous. Reflective atheists, however, those who have seriously considered their position, are a different story.

A Faith that Matters

Atheistic scholars, men of the caliber of Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, or Bertrand Russell, are often quite militant in attacking faith. Perhaps these misguided intellectuals can help Christians refocus our attention to a central truth: belief in God matters in every area of life.

Dr. Gross rails against the athropic principle because it opens the door to belief in God, a belief Gross holds to be dangerous. Gross, in actively opposing belief, highlights the truth that belief does matter in scientific study.

Those of us accepting the existence of God as the foundation of all truth should be equally passionate in our position. Belief in God matters in academic work, just as it matters in all of life.

Editor's note: More information on this conference can be found here.