Review: “On the Seventh Day, 40 Scientists and Academics Explain Why They Believe in God”
Ed, John Ashton (by Master Books, P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638, USA, June, 2002, 275 page paperback, £10.99). From any Christian Bookshop or through the Internet. Review by Islwyn Rees.Over 40 PhD’s in this book explore and share the linkage they have found between science and faith. It is the editor’s intention that if the reader wants to introduce a scientist friend to God, then they have found the perfect gift with . On the Seventh Day. In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins gives the impression that no academic or scientist would ever think of becoming a Christian! This is a book which the editor thinks God may be able to use to reach the sincere doubter. “Those with PhDs are just as hungry for the same thing the rest of the population seeks: peace and spiritual fulfilment.” “The scientific mind is eager to find truth; indeed, the very pursuit energises scientists from a plethora of disciplines and backgrounds. This book was compiled for them.”
There is another interest the editor may have mentioned, it is affirming for the non-professional to read the testimonies of scientists from their various disciplines speaking of their individual journeys to their goals in science and to the God they see behind the universe, and with whom they enjoy a personal relationship.
And if Richard Dawkins gives the impression to his readers in The God Delusion that few scientist believe in God in the Preface of On the Seventh Day Ashton informs us differently. “In 1997 the leading science journal Nature published a survey of religious belief among scientists in the United States. The authors found that nearly 40 per cent of the 1,000 scientists surveyed said they believed in a personal God – ‘a God in intellectual and effective communication with humankind, i.e., a God to whom one may pray in expectation of receiving an answer.” This figure of 40% is supported on the website ‘All About Creation’. On the Seventh Day was not intended to be just another book; as with In Six Days, it is a challenge to atheism and a valuable resource for the genuine inquirer.
Featured in the Preface (and featured prominently in the Preface of his third book, The Big Argument: Does God Exist?), Dr. Benjamin Carson is represented as an example of a scientist who puts his trust in God for his everyday work. Profiled in Wikipedia, Carson is presented by Ashton in contrast with Dr. Richard Dawkins’ denigration of belief in the supernatural. For Dawkins faith in God is essentially irrational. As in his previous volume, “In Six Days,”, it is the anti-Christian posture that appears to have inspired John Ashton to call on science and academic colleagues to defend the Christian faith; this time the reader sees Richard Dawkins being directly addressed by Ashton. The editor contrasts the evolutionary beliefs of Richard Dawkins with the Christian faith of Ben Carson. In the publicity over operations on con-joined twins, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Director of Paediatric Neurosurgery at John Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, has been claimed in British newspapers as a world leading Paediatric Neurosurgeon. Having read several of the many results produced by Google from keying in Dr. Ben Carson, one can understand why Ashton has drawn attention to Carson with his contrasting faith and disposition to what we come to know about Professor Dawkins. Where Dawkins argues that religion is irrational, Carson’s faith has helped to save lives. In holding Dr. Benjamin Carson as an example Ashton “suggests belief is not excluded by the findings of science.”
The final essay in the book from Andrew G. Bosanquet is an example of someone who put his Christianity before material gain. He is a biochemistry graduate of Bristol University with a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge in New Zealand and at the time of publication Director of Bath Cancer Research Unit and honorary senior lecturer in the School of Postgraduate Medicine at the University of Bath. He was responsible for the birth of Bath Cancer Research, unsupported by any grants. Today, there is a growing volume of requests to him and his team of scientists from cancer specialists worldwide to be taught the now recognised valuable work he and his small team have been doing. “Bath Cancer Research, with a staff of seven and a turnover of just £150,000 a year, had achieved what companies with 60+ staff and $10 million annual turnovers had not. The difference – the God factor.” On the Seventh Day is full of insights into the lives of over 40 academics and scientists who have made spiritual as well as scientific discoveries and are pleased to share their lives for the purpose of encouraging others in their search for God. The richness in the variety of disciplines and backgrounds and experiences of the authors of On the Seventh Day finds something in it of appeal for everyone, professional and lay.
The book is divided into two sections: Reason and Faith and, Faith and Experience. In both books, each essay is preceded by a brief profile of the author. There is at least one sample essay from the book on the Internet but perhaps it too may one day be available as a download as is, In Six Days, by the same editor, which is currently available for reading online or limited downloading on the Answers in Genesis and Creation Ministries International web sites.
Revised 8/05/07
