Scientists, Naturalists & Inventors

A lot of Christians these days are increasingly uncomfortable with the word scientist. It isn't just the anti-intellectuals, either: in our man-centered society, the materialist idea that science can explain everything has led to a virtual naturalist priesthood for whom divine revelation is an old-fashioned pre-enlightened myth held onto by the weak and ignorant.

In one way, the naturalists are right. Paul said explicitly that Christ came to shame the wise and weaken the strong, that the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing. Christianity is for the weak and ignorant. What the naturalists don't realize is that, compared to God, we are all weak and ignorant and foolish, dependant on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for salvation.

Since we believe God created the world, we also believe it is our duty to understand and study that world as humans. Everything we learn about the universe He made is a little more we understand about Him, and to abandon that task just because some godless men and women with Ph.D.s do science for the wrong reasons is to claim defeat in a battle in whichGod has already awarded Himself victory.

Not every scientist or inventor is anti-Christian, either. Plenty of the greats from the earliest times until now have been earnest believers, motivated by their love of God and His works to try to understand the Earth and improve our lives upon it. One of the greatest inventors of all time, Johannes Gutenberg (whose printing press in many ways led to the explosion of humanist thinking), created his machine in order to print Bibles for the masses.

We aren't saying that only Christian scientists are worthy of our study. Insofar as secular scientists operate within reasonable limitsand limit themselves to what can be seen and felt and observed (not claimingEvolution as a field of scientific study, for instance), they are just as capable as God-fearing scientists to learn, discover and help us understandmore about our world.

Of course, knowing whether a given individual was a Christian or not can help us understand his studies and conclusions. It would be naive to think that one's faith had no influence over theideas they propounded, or even of theway they conducted research. We hope theselife storiesguide you not only to a deeper appreciation of science and scientists, but to a renewed sense of wonderfor God and what He has created.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

Did you find this review helpful?
57 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), In-Stock Books & Materials
AIO Imagination Station Book #21
by Marianne Hering
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-3rd grade
in Imagination Station (Location: SER-AIO)
$5.99
Albert Einstein: Young Thinker
by Marie Hammontree
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Always Inventing
by Tom L. Matthews
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin
by James Cross Giblin
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
2001 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
Benjamin Franklin
by R. Conrad Stein
from Rand McNally
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: Printer, Scientist, Author, and Diplomat
Spirit of America: Our People
by Ann Heinrichs
from Child's World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin: Young Printer
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Dear Benjamin Banneker
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
DK Biography: Marie Curie
by Vicki Cobb
from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Electrical Wizard
by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Five Notable Inventors
by Wade Hudson
from Cartwheel Books
in Scholastic / Hello Reader! (Location: EAR-SCH)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Giants of Science: Isaac Newton
by Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Boris Kulikov
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Girl Who Drew Butterflies
by Joyce Sidman
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-8th grade
2019 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Great Minds of Science: Galileo
Great Minds of Science
by Paul Hightower
from Enslow
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Ford
by Dina El Nabli
from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Henry Ford: Young Man with Ideas
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Hazel B. Aird
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
by Rosalyn Schanzer
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion
by Andrea Gianopoulos
1st edition from Capstone Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
John Glen: Young Astronaut
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Michael Burgan
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
John Muir: Young Naturalist
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Montrew Dunham
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$10.95
Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1997 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Leonardo da Vinci
by Norman V. Marshall
from Silver Burdett Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Norman V. Marshall
from Silver Burdett Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Librarian Who Measured the Earth
by Kathryn Lasky
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Listening to Crickets
by Candice F. Ransom
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (4 in stock)
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Marie Curie
by Ibi Lepsckey
from Trumpet Club
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Marie Curie's Search for Radium
by Beverley Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Michelangelo
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-4th grade
2001 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Neil Armstrong: Young Flyer
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Montrew Dunham
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes
by Beverly Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.50 (6 in stock)
Picture Book of Thomas Alva Edison
by David A. Adler, illustrated by John & Alexandra Wallner
from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Rachel Carson
by Melissa Stewart
from Ferguson Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Samuel Morse and the Telegraph
by David Seidman; illustrated by Rod Whigham, Keith Williams, and Charles Barnett
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Shark Lady
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Snowflake Bentley
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
from Houghton Mifflin
Biographies of Scientists and Inventors for 1st-3rd grade
1999 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Snowflake Bentley
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
from Houghton Mifflin
Biographies of Scientists and Inventors for 1st-3rd grade
1999 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Starry Messenger
by Peter Sis
from Square Fish Publishing
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1997 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Thomas A. Edison: Young Inventor
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Sue Guthridge
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99
Thomas Edison: Inventor
Spirit of America: Our People
by Cynthia Klingel and Robert B. Noyed
from Child's World
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Thomas Edison: The Great Inventor
DK Readers Level 4
by Caryn Jenner
from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$3.99
We'll Race You, Henry
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
We'll Race You, Henry
by Barbara Mitchell
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
What Makes the Light Bright, Thomas Edison
by Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.99
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Who Invented This?
by Anne Ameri-Siemens, illustrated by Becky Thorns, translated by David Henry Wilson
from Little Gestalten
for 2nd-5th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was Albert Einstein?
Who Was?...Series
by Jess Braillier
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$6.99
Who Was Alexander Graham Bell?
Who Was?...Series
by Bonnie Bader
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.99
Who Was Charles Darwin?
by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nancy Harrison
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was George Washington Carver?
Who Was?...Series
by Jim Gigliotti, illustrated by Stephen Marchesi
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Who Was Thomas Alva Edison?
Who Was?...Series
by Margaret Frith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-5th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.99
Wilbur and Orville Wright: Young Fliers
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Wildheart
from Yosemite Conservancy
for 2nd-5th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$12.99
Wright Brothers
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk
by Donald J. Sobol
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Writing Trails with Men of Science
by Laurie Barrie
from Logos School
Writing Curriculum for 3rd-6th grade
in Writing Trails (Location: WRI-TRAIL)
$15.00