Dr. Don Winget describes himself as a former “fire-breathing atheist.” The University of Texas astronomer once adorned the family van with a Darwin-inside-a-fish image that mocked Christians.
“When I was an atheist I felt a very strong need to argue with people about God,” he told a group of 170 Cru students at the University of Texas. “I had 50 talking points that I would use.”
Dr. Winget chronicled his college-aged journey away from his childhood faith, then his family’s eventual return to Christianity. “Ours was really an intellectual journey,” he told the students. As they explored Christianity, “Each one of these 50 points was proven to be false. Every single one.”
His astronomy colleague, Dr. Sarah Salviander, told of her voyage to faith through her astronomy research. “I had an appreciation for how ordered the universe is, how logical. As a kid who had grown up with zero religion, all of a sudden I realized that I believed in a Creator. A universe that is this beautiful, makes this much sense, could not just be an accident.”
Organized by Faculty Commons’ staff Karen Ness, the event was titled “What I Can’t Say in the Classroom.” Karen and her husband Dave (who emceed the evening) drew on the relationships they have built over 20 years of ministry to faculty at UT to recruit the three professors who spoke to the students.
Over the course of the evening, these professors exploded the myth that it’s impossible to be a serious scientist and a Christian at the same time.
Cell biologist Dr. Martin Poenie acknowledged, “We live in a post-Christian world, and everywhere you look there’s Christian bashing. Professors will scold Christians in class, saying if you want to be a scientist, you’d better think twice about this Christianity thing.”
Referring to the multitude of books by atheists who aggressively challenge the existence of God, Dr. Poenie said, “I’ve read these books and what I see is a lot of deception; willful distortion. When you pursue and want to know the truth, these things tend to dissolve. Hold on to your faith, and don’t be easily shaken.”
In all, 90 professors are involved with Faculty Commons’ ministry at UT. The Nesses, along with fellow staff Steve and Betsy Sternberg, serve these professors and equip them to minister to their colleagues and (as in this instance) UT students.
