Dictionary definition: “adv. For what purpose, reason, or cause; with what intention, justification, or motive: Why is the door shut? Why do birds sing?“
Skydiving Poster
I was listening to Brains On, a way cool kids’ science podcast, the other day and ran into this quote in their episode on gravity:
“So, understanding the origin of gravity, yeah… is certainly important for knowing why we’re here- why anything is here.”
That kind of got under my skin. We can find out “why” we are here by understanding gravity? It’s not the first time I’ve noticed something odd about the way scientists use the word “why”, so I got to thinking what’s going on.
First, is what this guy says wrong? Is gravity important for understanding how the world, which keeps us alive, works?
Sure, but is this what he means?
If my kids ask me, “Why can’t we go to the library today?” I often say, “Because it’s closed today.” Which tells us the fact blocking the action from happening.
But let’s think about this question:
Why do you love me?
Is anyone in their right mind going to say, “Because you have two eyeballs and breathe”? No, because it’s a different kind of question from the “why does this thing happen”. Now we’re getting to the motive for something.
Motive, definition 1. Something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act
Can examining something scientifically tell us what the “need or desire” causing an event to happen is?
Sometimes. ‘Why the animal was hungry was because it hadn’t eaten in six months,’ would be a good example of this.
But let’s try this on the idea the guy at the beginning stated:
Why are we here?
This is a question anyone who stops to think about life asks by the time they’re grown up. It’s a question every worldview has to answer. Can science tell us the “need or desire” causing us to be alive? It can tell us there’s an observed instinct to have children, but it can’t possibly tell us the “need and desire” that brought the first parents into being.
But we know the answer to this, don’t we?
We exist because it brings God pleasure to make us!
Stop and think about this truth for a while….
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So a Christian has an answer for the big “why”s of life.
Does this mean they don’t need to do science to study things like gravity?
No. We understand the universe was created by a Super Genius. We know God likes to invent and follow his own laws. We know if God made something at the beginning, it will still obey the laws God set for it today and every day. We know God likes to share his great ideas with his children.
Being a Christian makes us even more excited to understand HOW God set up his universe and keeps our home in such amazing working order.
Science is an awesome way to connect with and worship our Creator, God, and Savior.
The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. Psalm 111:2
