We now arrive at the third and final installment of our series on what Christian Deeper Learning looks like in the science classroom. After exploring how to help students see themselves as “people of God’s story” and considering the critical role of “real work,” this month, we focus on the ultimate connection: how the intentional practice of science can profoundly form our students spiritually. 

The Spiritual Discipline of Scientific Inquiry

Scientists and Questions

Most students can recite the scientific method, including the crucial first step of “ask a question.” But a deeper look into the history and practice of scientific inquiry shows that this act requires the cultivation of specific formative habits of mind. 

Scientists Ask Questions Fearlessly

Sometimes these questions are obvious; sometimes they challenge long-held assumptions; and sometimes, from the outside, they appear simple or even foolish. Yet, in science, there are no taboo questions (so long as they remain within the discipline’s empirical boundaries). Consider Rosalind Franklin. Her simple query, “How does DNA interact with water?” was not a complex theoretical challenge, but an investigation into a fundamental interaction. This fearless focus led her to the key insight necessary for understanding the structure of the molecule that builds every living thing.

Scientists Patiently and Actively Seek Answers

Asking the question is only the beginning. The true work of inquiry demands years of slow, meticulous labor, even when the reward is distant. Before Johannes Kepler could fundamentally restructure the cosmos by shifting the Sun to the center of planetary motion, Tycho Brahe had to spend decades laboriously charting the precise positions of stars and planets. Without that disciplined, patient data, Kepler’s revolutionary insights into heliocentrism would have remained impossible.

Scientists Spend Significant Time in the Unknown

Our modern world, dominated by search engines, trains us to expect instantaneous answers. Science, however, operates at the speed of discovery. Scientists must often inhabit the uncomfortable middle space between question and answer, sometimes for years or even decades, holding contradictory pieces of data without yet understanding their full meaning. For instance, by the mid-1800s, scientists realized that Newton’s theory of gravity couldn’t fully explain how planets move, especially the unusual way Mercury’s orbit shifts over time. The mystery persisted for over fifty years, until Einstein developed his theory of General Relativity, eventually resolving the longstanding disagreement.

Scientists Seek Answers in Community

Though we often romanticize the image of the lone genius (and yes, this article has already contributed to that myth), science is fundamentally a communal endeavor. Discovery occurs when teams collaborate, when differing opinions are used to sharpen ideas, and when peer review holds every scientist accountable to rigorous and scrupulous methods. When Louis Pasteur first proposed that diseases were caused by microscopic organisms transferred between people, his colleagues were deeply skeptical, favoring the long-accepted theory that disease arose spontaneously from “bad air.” Yet, through rigorous testing, extensive communal debate, shared analysis, and the contributing insights of others, Pasteur’s views were eventually refined and accepted as the accurate foundation of germ theory.

Parallel Foundations

All the habits of scientific inquiry—fearlessness, patience, and communal effort—rest upon a singe, profound belief: Trust in an underlying order. The scientist operates with the conviction that the universe is rational, coherent, and that its secrets are both discoverable and worth the arduous search. This trust is the fuel for the courage and patience required to persist.

Similarly, as Christians, we rest our entire spiritual journey on one profound belief: that God is good, sovereign, and loving. Much like science, the spiritual journey will inevitably be filled with many questions. When we examine Scripture and, in particular, the life of Jesus, we find that these same virtues of rigorous, patient inquiry are powerfully at work.

Jesus and Questions

Jesus welcomed all questions, whether they were clumsy, deeply earnest (like Nicodemus attempting to grasp spiritual rebirth), or hostile traps set by the Pharisees. Crucially, he never dismissed a question.

Yet, while he welcomed the question, he rarely offered a neat, pre-packaged answer. Instead, Jesus consistently invited the questioner to actively participate in the process of discovery. For instance, when walking with the two grieving disciples on the road to Emmaus, he allowed them the space to slowly process their loss and theological confusion before revealing himself in the breaking of the bread. The answer wasn’t given instantly; it was earned through an active journey of wrestling and searching.

Furthermore, Jesus modeled the ultimate act of sitting in the tension of the unknown. His agonizing prayer in Gethsemane shows how he held in active tension his very human desire to avoid the pain before him and his ultimate desire for the Father’s perfect will.

Finally, the life of the disciples and the growth of the early church make it plain that following Jesus is a communal act. As Paul later made clear, the church is a body strengthened by its many distinct parts. We need this community to sharpen our faith just as scientists need peer review to sharpen their hypotheses.

Though faith and science seek different truths and employ different methods, the underlying virtues they develop—courage, active participation, patience in the unknown, and reliance on community—are profoundly connected.

Forming the Faithful Seeker

And so we come back to our original idea: that the practice of science can form our students spiritually. The life of faith is defined by a constant stream of questions. How we choose to engage with these inquiries fundamentally shapes the nature of our Christian journey. What if students brought the same fearless curiosity and unflinching persistence so valued in science directly to their relationship with Jesus?

As teachers, we can remind students that God not only permits questions but invites them. There is no question too big, too complex, or too taboo to bring before Him. We want students to demonstrate the same bold, eager inquiry into their faith that Alexander Fleming displayed when he paused his cleaning and asked, “Why?”

Yet, asking is only the beginning. The next stage is the often-long and demanding process of active seeking—wrestling for God’s answers through prayer, the deep study of Scripture, and careful discernment. Just as there are no shortcuts to scientific insights, students must learn to “get their hands dirty” with spiritual questions.

Throughout this journey of seeking, they will inevitably encounter tension and unknowns. We encourage students to embrace this uncomfortable space, to willingly sit in the mystery and wait patiently for God to meet them there, rather than rushing toward overly simplistic answers merely for the sake of comfortable certainty.

Finally, we emphasize the communal necessity of this seeking. We are not meant to explore spiritual questions in isolation. We need the insight, challenge, comfort, and encouragement of others. By learning to collaborate, debate, and share knowledge in the science lab, students are building the skills to engage with their Christian community as they seek after Jesus together.

The Persistence of Discovery and the Call to Action

Every successful experiment, every profound scientific discovery, begins with a question and is fueled by hard work, patience, and collaboration. When we model these processes and invite students to participate in them in labs and beyond, these assignments become more than scientific inquiry; they become powerful tools for spiritual formation, shaping our students into both rigorous thinkers and faithful seekers.