However hard materialist and atheist circles may try, there is a clear truth: it is God Who created all the beings and systems that science investigates. Thus it is a plain truth that, when applied sincerely and intelligently, religion and science will always be in harmony. One indication of this evident harmony is the "scientists who believed", who lived in the past and live in our time, and who have rendered important services to humanity through their discoveries.
A scientist who is engaged in science, makes new discoveries and tries to unlock the secrets of the universe is in fact a person who studies in depth the artistry created by God and tries to understand its details and grasp its meaning. For this very reason religion and science form an inseparable whole, and the scientist is a person who reveals God's infinite power, His artistry and the matchlessness of His creation. Therefore scientists, as the individuals most interested in the artistry created by God, are among those who can most quickly comprehend God's existence and oneness.
Indeed, for centuries there have been many scientists who made great contributions to science by using the free intellect and the boundless capacity for thought that religion gave them. These people both showed that science is in complete harmony with religion and made important contributions to science and to humanity. Famous scientists who shaped the course of the history of science, such as Newton, Kepler, Leonardo da Vinci and Einstein, upheld, as a result of the observations and research they carried out, that God created and ordered the universe and that everything is under God's dominion. Moreover, the basic principles of science were put forward by people of faith, and religion played an important part in the emergence of modern science.
The view of the universe held by Isaac Newton, recognised as the greatest scientist of all time, is expressed very clearly in the following words of his:
"This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets could only proceed and continue through the power of an intelligent and powerful Being. This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; He is God."52
Likewise, it is known that the scientific activity of the famous scientist Kepler was also directed by his religious belief. Arno Penzias, who received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1978 for his work in physics and on cosmic background radiation, said the following about Johannes Kepler:
"It goes back, in fact, not to Copernicus but to Kepler's success. Because the notion of epicycles and so on goes back to the days when scientists traded ideas. All this continued until a true believer came along, and that was Kepler... He sincerely believed in God the lawgiver... He believed there had to be something simpler and more powerful. Maybe he was lucky, or maybe there was something deeper, but Kepler's faith was rewarded with the laws of nature he discovered. From that day on it was a hard struggle, but centuries later we see simple laws of nature at work. That is why scientists still have this expectation, and it really comes from Kepler; Kepler got this hope from his faith."53
In this section of the guide we will speak of the believing scientists who, from the past to the present day, laid the foundations of modern science and developed it, and of the contributions these people made to science. All the scientists mentioned in this chapter engaged in science in the belief that the universe and the systems in living things were created by God. A statement by Francis Bacon is a fine example of the fact that believing scientists looked at all created beings from the right perspective. Bacon said:
"These are the works of God, showing that the Being Who made them has the power and the wisdom to do all things; the world is a being created by God..."54
Indeed, God has revealed in many verses that "possessing knowledge" is one way of being able to reflect on created beings, of fearing and revering God as is due to Him, and of comprehending His greatness and majesty. Some of the verses on this subject are these:
"The metaphor of those who take protectors besides God is that of a spider which builds itself a house; but no house is flimsier than a spider's house, if they only knew. God knows what they call on apart from Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. We make these metaphors for people, but only those with knowledge understand them. God created the heavens and the earth with truth. There is certainly a Sign in that for the believers."
"Among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the variety of your languages and colours. There are certainly Signs in that for those who know (those with reason and knowledge)."
"God bears witness that there is no god but Him, as do the angels and the people of knowledge, upholding justice. There is no god but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise."
"But those of them who are firmly rooted in knowledge, and the believers, believe in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down before you; they establish prayer, give alms and believe in God and the Last Day. We will pay such people an immense wage."
