A couple of my favorite television shows are "House" and "Bones." The title characters in each of these shows are very highly educated, very intellectual people. Both of them are basically atheists. House is a cynic who believes that faith, love, or any other tender human emotion are just signs of weakness. Bones is a brilliant scientist but shows signs of being autistic in her inability to understand social and emotional aspects of human interaction. Both characters believe that since the existence of God cannot be scientifically proven, then He must not exist.

The other side of this are people of faith who believe that science and scientists are of the devil. Scientists, for example, like to use the words "evolved" and "evolution," and some seem to think the world was created by Charles Darwin instead of God.

Neither of these make a bit of sense to me. What does make sense to me is that God made our world and science gives us way to glimpse and measure just how He did it. An example of this is bread. I can make a delicious loaf of bread with nothing more than flour, water, and salt. That seems kind of magical, does it not? As a Home Economist who has studied the science behind cooking, I can explain that the water hydrates the carbohydrates and proteins in the flour providing a food source for the airborne yeast organisms that surround us all the time, the yeast grows in the dough and produces carbon dioxide, the protein web formed by working the dough traps the carbon dioxide bubbles and makes the bread rise. The salt flavors the bread, of course, but also helps regulate the growth of the yeast. The bread is put in the oven and the heat denatures the protein causing it to harden up and stay in place. On the outside of the loaf, the heat causes a Maillard reaction between the carbohydrates and proteins in the flours, leading to that nice brown color and toasty flavor.

Did my scientific explanation change the fact that I made bread out of nothing more than flour, salt, and water? Did the science make you doubt my existence, thinking maybe that the flour, water, and salt just got together on their own and evolved into a loaf of bread? Of course not! The science just explained the nitty-gritty of how it happened, demystifying the process. At the same time, however, the science deepens my awe of God’s creation because it illustrates the true complexity of seemingly simple things.

Science and God are not mutually exclusive concepts. In my opinion, science is of God, just like everything else. Bones and House represent two different sets of problems. Bones has made science her religion. She does not do well with things like emotions and social cues, so she clings to things that are concrete to make her feel safe and in control. House is too arrogant to believe in a higher power. He is also too arrogant for love, making him a very lonely and unhappy person. I cannot imagine living my life like either one of those characters. I like having God as my concrete, my truth. And I like going to museums of natural history and learning about the astounding elegance of God’s creations. It just makes perfect sense to me.

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