Some people question how others believe in things that you’ve never seen. That belief is defined as faith. Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity and other religions. We’ve never seen God walk in front of us, but we know that He exists. Coincidentally, the same idea exists in science. Scientists have never seen a neutron or electrons, but they know that they exist. Nobel Prize winner Dr. Vernon Smith believes that having faith is necessary when it comes to science. If you don’t have faith that electrons exist, you can’t use them in your experiments or equations. Faith is essential in everyday life.

Dr. Vernon Smith is a very accomplished man. He teaches economics at Chapman University and is widely considered the founder of experimental economics. In 2002, Dr. Smith won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He’s knowledgeable in everything from neurobiology to quantum physics and theology.

He’s written lots of other books, but Dr. Smith’s new book, “The Evidence of Things Not Seen,” is based on a lecture at the Acton Institute and of Hebrews 11:1. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we don’t see. It says that there is a contradiction between the laws of physical science and science itself.

Equations are ideas that aren’t necessarily real, but the real world follows them. Dr. Smith goes on to say that the work of Adam Smith especially enthralls him. Adam Smith is most known for his work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Dr. Smith says this piece is a model of the order we find in our families, extended families, neighbors, and friends. Adam Smith observes a large amount of charge in day-to-day relationships and wonders where it started. He saw God as the origin of all directions and the author of nature.

Adam Smith says that these directions come from our religious beliefs, but that doesn’t necessarily explain them. The question remains: how do humans become aware of this order? That was the challenge, and Adam Smith didn’t see religion as explaining, just as the source of morality and beliefs that become a reality through our experience. Although he believed in God and saw Him as the source of all order, there’s still the question of how humans learn rules.

Dr. Smith says that Hebrews 11:1 essentially defines faith as confidence in something we cannot see. This belief applies directly to science. Science involves leaps of the imagination and theories that you hope are valid. However, evidence in science is indirect. We don’t necessarily see the proof, but we still know it exists. Some may argue that faith in God is the opposite.

Christians have never seen God, but there is evidence that He exists. That proof is the world around us; the sun, the stars, and nature. They could also say that the evidence is in what they’ve seen God do in our lives. Faith and science are bound together. To believe in science, you must have faith.