How Should We Then Live? by Francis A. Schaeffer
Week 6: Chapter 6 — The Scientific Revolution and the Shift in Science
Read Chapter 6 of How Should We Then Live? Key figures discussed: Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin; the movement from science as the study of God's creation to science as an autonomous, materialist enterprise.
Previewing Week 6 of How Should We Then Live?
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
Science was born in a Christian worldview, but Schaeffer traces how it gradually cut loose from that foundation — and what happened to science, and to Western culture, when it did.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Schaeffer argues that modern science was made possible by the Christian belief that the universe was created by a rational, orderly God who made it intelligible to human minds. How does this historical claim challenge the popular narrative that science and Christianity have always been in conflict?
2.He traces the shift from a science that operated within a Christian framework (Copernicus, Galileo, Newton — who each saw their work as exploring God's creation) to a science that sought to explain all of reality without reference to God. What philosophical change drove this shift, and when did it begin to accelerate?
3.Darwin's theory of evolution is a flashpoint in Schaeffer's analysis — not primarily because of the biological claims themselves, but because of the philosophical conclusions that were drawn from it (that everything, including human consciousness and morality, can be explained by purely natural, material processes). Do you agree that there is a crucial difference between the scientific data and the philosophical worldview often attached to it?