Faith and Science: A Primer for a Hypernatural World

Christ in Everything

by Kenneth D. Keathley, Benjamin Quinn (Editor)

Kenneth Keathley’s Faith and Science demonstrates how science is a providential gift from God and why Christians should enter scientific vocations with enthusiasm and confidence. This work spells out what science is, explains its origins, and guides believers about the best ways to engage with science.

Genres: Science

160 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2024

Reviews

[R L Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Thoughtful Exploration of Faith and Science

Kenneth Keathley’s "Faith and Science: A Primer for a Hypernatural World" is an engaging and thoughtful examination of the relationship between Christianity and modern science. As a Southern Baptist theologian, Keathley brings a fresh perspective to complex issues at the intersection of faith, science, and philosophy, offering a well-informed and nuanced discussion that is particularly relevant to conservative evangelicals.

The book begins with a clear explanation of how faith and science relate to each other, followed by a fascinating historical overview of Christianity's relationship with the scientific revolution. Keathley dives into profound theological topics, such as divine action, before addressing major scientific issues that intersect with Christianity. These include the Big Bang, the fine-tuning of the universe, the rare earth hypothesis, and the origin of life. His exploration of these topics is thought-provoking and enriched by a perspective he calls the "hypernatural view," which provides a unique lens through which to understand divine action in the world.

One of Keathley’s strengths is his ability to engage with modern science without sacrificing his theological convictions. He effectively demonstrates the importance of Christians having a coherent and informed worldview when engaging with the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). His book would be an excellent resource for high school and college students, their parents, pastors, and those involved in homeschool and Christian school courses, especially in conservative evangelical circles where the integration of faith and science has often been overlooked.

Keathley's inclusion of philosophy and metaphysics is another highlight of the book. He navigates these disciplines carefully, recognizing that these are areas where the tensions between faith and science often converge. While he doesn't shy away from controversial topics, he presents his arguments in a manner that invites readers to seek truth and engage in open-minded discussions, rather than rigidly adhering to inherited dogmas. His ability to summarize the history of science and Christianity is excellent, and the book is filled with memorable quotes from both scientists and theologians.

Although I do not agree with all of his conclusions, Keathley’s humility and openness about what he knows and does not know are refreshing. I have two main critiques: first, some of his arguments are presented as more compelling and less speculative than I believe they are, although they are still worth considering. Second, the term “hypernatural,” which is central to the book’s concept of divine action, is not defined until page 39, despite being referenced multiple times earlier.

Keathley also includes moments of humor, which adds to the book’s readability. While I haven’t met him personally, he comes across as someone you’d enjoy having an in-depth conversation with over lunch. He draws from various sources, especially Old Earth Creationism and Intelligent Design; however, he presents different perspectives fairly while clearly aligning with a conservative theological stance. His scientific claims are generally accurate, though they are understandably framed with some skepticism given his background.

Ultimately, this is a primer, and as such, it scratches the surface of many topics without delving deeply into any single one. However, Keathley’s work serves as an excellent starting point for curious and thoughtful individuals who want to explore the rich intersection of faith and science further. I believe this book will deepen a Christian’s sense of awe and wonder at God’s complexity and can enrich worship by offering a glimpse into the divine mind through the lens of scientific discovery. Even those without a scientific background will find it accessible and thought-provoking.

As with any author, Keathley brings his own philosophical and theological commitments to the table, and Christians with extensive scientific training may come to different conclusions on some points. Nevertheless, this book is an invaluable introduction to the conversation between faith and science. I wholeheartedly give it five stars and believe it should be widely promoted in evangelical circles. I only wish a book like this had been written 20 years ago—but better late than never!

[Mackenzie Piccinelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now, I definitely don't hate this book, but it's definitely not my favorite. The formatting and all was interesting, but just not for me I guess. To put it simply, for anyone who hasn't read the book, there are nine chapters and each chapter is built of different sections. Smaller collections of paragraphs about little topics. Some are bigger than others, but all are going back to the main point. That's probably the biggest thing for me: does he circle back to the main point? If you asked me, after a lot of thought, I'd say no. I wanna say... about ninety percent of the sections were mainly focused on science, leaving only a few designated to the faith side. There's never really an in-between, and yet the book is about and titled "Faith & Science," and is literally about how they go together. Either a section was about science or faith, with little references to the other. At least, that's what it felt like as I was reading. Circling back to my point from before, there were only a few sections where he actually circled back to the main point. Also, I just kept loosing track of what was happening and what we were talking about. It's like, it spews a bunch of science facts for like four pages, then in like, the last paragraph, says something about faith. And even then, I often struggled to see the correlation between the things it just said. I should add, not all of the book was like this, but ninety-eight percent was.
Another thing that wasn't my favorite is the book was summed up in literally the first paragraph. One sentence summed up the whole message of the book. One sentence summed up the whole message of the book and yet, I felt no relevance to the statement in the rest of the book. I don't think I've said this already, but I would like to state this is just my opinion and you could read the book and have a completely different one. I don't want you to just not read the book because my review makes it seem so horrible or anything. I'd recommenced this book for anyone interested in this topic- maybe you'll get something out of it that I missed.
In closing, some questions the book raised for me are: How much should the creation of the universe matter to Christians? Why does it matter at all? Is it almost like one of the "fundamentals" of faith, or only for people interested?

[Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great work from Dr. Keathley on how faith can inform scientific inquiry, and how scientific investigation can shape our faith. Keathley’s book is ultimately a call to awe and wonder in the God who created and sustains the universe, and how God’s workmanship is evident in scientific study. Specifically, Keathley focuses on astronomy and biology to show how theological beliefs in fine tuning and an Intelligent Creator who generated life sheds light on some of science’s biggest mysteries. Keathley also introduces us to the terminology of “hypernaturalism” for understanding how God governs and works through this world—a type of action in the world that sits between natural occurrences and miraculous events. I think this category is very helpful for a nuanced discussion of God’s involvement in the world, even if some may feel like it is a splitting of hairs over God’s supernatural or miraculous work. Keathley also takes an “Arguendo approach” throughout the book in which he desires to approach issues as if he is a proponent of different sides of the subject for the sake of fair representation and to breakdown arguments from the inside out. I don’t feel like he implemented this Arguendo approach consistently throughout the book, but I saw it in his discussion on theistic evolution, young earth creationism, and progressive creationism. Keathley also closes the book with an extremely helpful discussion about Concordism or Congruence in the Faith-science relationship, as well as a Christ-centered reflection on the pursuit of science as a worshipful way to learn more about Christ’s world. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the faith-science relationship or apologetics.

[Jordan Litts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for an intro.