How can science and our faith work together to help us see the God of creation? Is that even possible? It often seems that the information and experimental results presented to the public point away from a Creator.

However, there is a growing number of scientists who are dissatisfied with the naturalism (all things result from chance, energy, and time) explanation, because it doesn’t fit the results of experiments and our modern understanding of how nature works. The fourth Sabbath of October is a time for Seventh-day Adventist churches around the world to stand up and recognize that all that we see is the result of a Creator. This is called Creation Sabbath. Yes, every Sabbath is a reminder of God’s creative work, but the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has designated this special Sabbath to highlight the Creation story in a special way. I believe this Sabbath is a great time to highlight scientific information that strongly points to a loving, caring, and thoughtful Creator. There are many ways to celebrate this day, and it is up to your creativity!

As a chemist, I have encountered numerous examples of situations that point to a Creator and away from the workings of time and chance. It has helped me to look at the chemicals in the world and see if evidence exists to point towards the working of a Designer versus those of natural forces. We can follow the advice that God gave to Job in Job 12:7-10:

“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you, And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?”

The challenge awaiting us in following these verses is to learn how the birds, air, Earth, fish, breath, and life communicate. In each of these things are chemicals and biochemicals that operate to bring life to lifeless chemicals. How is this done? What is so special about the chemistry in the air, Earth, and living systems that points toward the workings of an all-intelligent Designer? It is up to us to learn to recognize how chemicals work in natural and spontaneous ways to generate other molecules. What is normal and natural for chemical behavior? What is not natural and needs intelligence to accomplish these feats?

This is why many scientists, including myself, have been dedicating much time to understanding natural and unnatural chemical behavior. By studying what time, energy, and natural forces can do on their own, we can see where intelligence and foresight are required to produce what we see all around us. I highlighted a number of these amazing lessons from the molecules that make up life, air, and the Earth for Creation Sabbath at the University of the Bahamas, Bahamas Academy, and will talk more about it at the Hillview Seventh-day Adventist church this weekend.

The molecules have much to say about our Creator’s design!

--This article was written by Ryan T. Hayes, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, Andrews University.