- Series:History, Transcript English
Daniel 1:20
“And in all matters of wisdom [and] understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians [and] astrologers that [were] in all his realm.”
He lived in the last half of the nineteenth century. He was a strong believer in the Creator God, and that made him very unpopular in some circles. As he pursued his scientific studies in Paris, he became a thorn in the side of his contemporaries, the followers of Charles Darwin. They argued that life arose spontaneously long ago from non-living material, but Louis Pasteur believed that life was created by God. He decided to apply his scientific expertise to Darwin’s claims.
His careful experiments, conducted 150 years ago, showed that life could only come from pre-existing life. He effectively put out of business the claim that life could arise from non-living chemicals. His research also showed that fermentation was caused by tiny yeast cells. This led him to discover that many diseases were caused by living organisms too small to see. As a result of his scientific work disproving important evolutionary claims, Louis Pasteur developed vaccines to combat diseases like rabies, diphtheria and anthrax.
Today, millions of people enjoy better health and safer food because Pasteur sought to show that true science does not disprove the Bible. We can thank God that Pasteur did not sit back and quietly accept the atheistic, materialistic claims of his day. He once commented that the more he learned in science, the simpler his faith in the plain words of Holy Scripture became.
Prayer:
I thank You, Lord, for the blessings You have given to us through the service of those scientists who faithfully believe Your Word and apply its truths to their research. Grant us more of these workers and the witness and blessings they provide. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Notes:
Photo: Louis Pasteur, photographed by Pierre Lamy Petit.
