“Give Us Your Heart Lord” featuring The London Touring Cast – Risen! The Musical at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth

“The Fire of Sacrifice” featuring Lucy Stimpson- Maynard from the album “Precious” recorded and produced by Ross Gill

When looking at this question I finished last week by saying that I would take a look at Christians that are scientists- of course the fact that some scientists are Christians does not prove there is no conflict in the same way the fact that some scientists are not Christians does not prove that there is. Nevertheless it would be still be interesting to see what notable scientists are also Christians.

Let’s start with Mr Hodge – For many years Head of Science at Crofton School and a great friend who recorded and produced the early Mustard Seed songs- he is a Christian.

Nearly as famous is Isaac Newton (1642- 1727) who in addition to giving us the famous laws of motion also wrote theological books wishing to share his Christian faith with others.

Robert Boyle (1627- 1691) well known for his “Boyles Law which describes the behaviour of gases – he also wrote “The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of Creation.”

Michael Faraday (1791- 1867) Pioneer of electromagnetic induction

Louis Pasteur (1822-95) the French chemist who gave his name to pasteurised milk

Sir James Young Simpson (1811-70) the first surgeon to use the anaesthetic properties of chloroform

Lord Joseph Lister (1827- 1912) who established antiseptic surgery.

In more modern times notable names include Frances Collins, currently the head of the US National Institutes of Health; Gerhard Etrl who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (2007) William D Phillips who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. Brian Heap (born 1935): biologist who was Master of St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge and a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion. Keith R Fox: British Professor of Biochemistry at Southampton University. William B. Hurlbut: physician and Consulting Professor at the Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Pamela L. Gay (born 1973): American astronomer, educator and writer, best known for her work in astronomical podcasting. Larry Wall (born September 27, 1954): creator of Perl, a programming language.

A more comprehensive list can be found by visiting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology

So what again is the significance? It simply shows that science and Christianity are not opposed for “If two teams really are in conflict against one another no key player can be on both sides at the same time” (John Young “The Case Against Christ.”)

But what about the really big names – the household ones of Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein and yes Richard Dawkins? Next week I’ll look at what they say and what is said of what they say.