With school starting back next week in Cabell County, I’ve been thinking about which careers hold the most promise for young adults—science & mathematics seem to be the clear consensus. There may be some arguments about whether biomedical engineering will be in more demand than geological engineering, or whether computer game development or actuarial mathematics will be a better-paying career, or if pharmacology will have a greater impact than energy engineering, but there is one thing completely clear: science and mathematics lead the way.

The demand for workers in these fields is not simply expected because the challenges before our nation and the world are creating this need, but also because so few young people are following the career pathways of science or mathematics. Attendance at just about any college graduation will reveal the fact that an overwhelming number of engineering and science majors are either foreign students attending college in the US or Asian immigrants to America. There are several causes for the decline in the number of native-born US citizens entering the field of science as a college major or a career. The Christian Church, though, directly affects one of them.  

For several decades, many American churches have been at war with science. From denouncing biological evolution and the Big Bang theory in physics to decrying the scientific data on Climate Change, many preachers and churches have been telling people in the pews that science is against faith. Is it any wonder that many Christian teenagers never consider the sciences as a career?  

But science and faith are not opposed to each other. They are simply two different paths of seeking truth in God’s universe. The faithful have nothing to fear from science and can only learn more about the wonders of God’s creation when they explore the sciences. God won’t send down the cure for cancer or a breakthrough in clean energy like a flash of lightning. God will inspire it through the work and study of scientists. So, pray for scientists. And encourage your children and grandchildren to tinker in the garage, explore nature, play with Legos, and fiddle with numbers. Tell them that to study science is another way to search for the mind of God.

~ Dr. Tim Moore