As a private school, Jamestown College offers professors the opportunity to bring God and Christian ideals into the classroom. That’s possibly the only thing Dr. Anthony Amaro and Dr. Bruce Jensen agree on when it comes to God in science.

For Jensen, the topic of faith comes up frequently when he teaches evolution.

“I try to make students aware of different views,” he said. “It’s not either, or. Occasionally a student will come to me one-on-one, and I’ll give them something to read.”

Faith in chemistry is less obvious, but Amaro said it’s there.

“I get to see [God’s] handiwork every day when I work out reactions,” he said. The molecular force in both DNA and water is one similarity that has Amaro believing there is nothing random about science.

“It’s causality,” he said. “How can you not see the creator in the design?”

Amaro wasn’t always this certain in his faith. He said he was not a Christian when he came to JC in 1998, and after a tough first year he realized there was nothing wrong with the college, but that something wasn’t right with him.

“I gradually recognized that I have no problem giving God recognition for his creations,” Amaro said. “It doesn’t impact the way chemicals react. God is the ultimate chemist. I don’t know anyone but Jesus who has turned water to wine.”

The reluctance of scientists to give God credit for his creations is what Amaro said causes most of the trouble between institutions of God and science. Also, he said, scientists can sometimes have agendas that lead to faulty science.

“Whether or not you understand the answers, strive for the truth,” he said. “[This philosophy] coincides with religious faith.”

For Jensen, it’s not about credit; it’s about being informed about religious views. He became interested in the space program in third grade and has been interested in science ever since. In the seventh grade Jensen decided to write a paper about human evolution, despite his Catholic schoolteacher’s worries that it went against church teachings.

“I knew that the Catholic Church had never had a problem with evolution,” Jensen said. “For that reason, I can’t accept a literal interpretation of Genesis.”

He went on to say the opposition between God and science is exaggerated, but the reason there is some conflict is because some findings of science conflict with some interpretations of the Bible.

“The approach to science is, by nature, doubt everything. Test everything. There is no element of faith in science,” Jensen said. “Science is mostly non-theistic.”

Amaro would disagree.

“Science is an opportunity to study what God already knows,” he said. “I’m a chemist. I’m a Christian.”

-- Tricia McCann