Recommended: 21 Great Scientists Who Believed the Bible (#2)

The ninth of the twenty-one scientists who believed strongly in God spotlighted in this book is Charles Babbage (1791-1871). Yes, he invented the cow-catcher and the speedometer, but his best contribution related to computers. Unfortunately, people ignored his work in that area like they ignore speed limits. His notebooks were discovered 66 years after his death and gave rise to the development of the computer in the 1940s (116). Matthew Maury (1806-1873) called God “the omnipotent Architect of the Universe.” Maury discovered where the ocean currents were (the “paths of the sea”). His meticulous charts aided in laying the transatlantic cable in 1858, which was supervised by Lord Kelvin. Maury was greatly honored for his discoveries; one message he wrote really stands out: “The Bible, they say, was not written for scientific purposes, and is therefore of no authority in matters of science. I beg pardon! The Bible is authority for everything it touches” (131).

James Prescott Joule (1818-1889) has a law named after him (P=I2R) and developed the first law of thermodynamics (136-37). He also set forth a principle which led to the development of refrigeration (139). Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) commented: “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator” (143). Yes, he’s responsible for the Pasteurization process—but also for beginning the field of microbiology (147). He demonstrated that life does not spontaneously generate; life comes from life. Joseph Lister praised Pasteur for having proved to him truth of germ theory, adding that surgery was indebted to him (150). He also developed vaccines and a cure for rabies.

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) is the father of genetics. He never accepted Darwin’s arguments made in Origin of the Species; in fact, “Mendel’s work does not support the evolutionary idea that one species can evolve into another” (168). William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) (1824-1907) advanced the work in thermodynamics, set forth the absolute temperature scale, and oversaw the laying of the transatlantic cable. Kelvin concluded: “Overwhelmingly strong proofs of intelligent and benevolent design lie around us…the atheistic idea is so nonsensical that I cannot put it into words” (173).

Joseph Lister (1827-1912) noticed in the hospital where he worked, nearly half of the “surgery patients died from infection” (191). Although it took a while, his methods were eventually used. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) memorized all 176 verses of Psalm 119 (201), and he still found time to introduce probability into physics (206) and refute successfully Laplace’s nebular hypothesis (206-207). Sir Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945) invented the thermionic valve (the vacuum diode), which allows radios to transmit.

Everyone knows the work of George Washington Carver (1864-1943) with peanuts (250 products) and sweet potatoes (100), but how many are aware of his idea of crop rotation, thus saving the economy of the south? When cheap peanuts flooded the market, he went to Washington to plead with the Senate to put tariffs on them, which they did. It kept southern farmers in business (226). “When asked by the senators how he had been able to discover such a variety of uses for the peanut, Carver explained how God’s word in Genesis 1:29 guided him” (225). Carver sought no patents on his work, or he might have been very wealthy. He worked for low wages at Tuskegee University for 47 years, even though Thomas Edison once offered him 60 times his salary (yes, 60 times) to join his research team (227).

Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville Wright (1871-1948) are among the few scientists who never went to a university. They were inventors of lesser things, but they became enamored with flying. Their first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, only lasted 12 seconds, but the second one (the same day) took 59 seconds (237). The 21st scientist was Werner von Braun (1912-1977), who asked of evolutionists “what random process could produce the brain of man or the system of the human eye?” (241). Additionally, because of Von Braun’s extensive research both in Germany and here, the United States was soon prepared to respond to Sputnik (launched by the USSR in 1957) within four months with Explorer I. One thing that these 21 scientists proved is that no one should feel compelled to believe in evolution, considering the marvelous achievements made without that heresy.