Astronaut Jeffrey Williams inside the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft

Religion and Science

Astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams (Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.) recently spoke at the opening of an exhibit featured at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., called “Scripture and Science: Our Universe, Ourselves, Our Place.” The exhibit is an exploration of “the Bible’s role in the historical relationship between science and religion.”

Williams told Christian Headlines, “I get the question all the time—‘How can I be in the business that I’m [in] and be a Believer at the same time?’”

The question is understandable. Williams received his Bachelor of Science in applied science and engineering from the U.S. Military Academy in 1980, a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and the degree of Aeronautical Engineer from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1987, and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 1996. He is a bonafide scientist.

On top of that, he has an extensive military career. From competitive parachuting as a cadet, to becoming an Army aviator in 1981, followed by a three-year assignment in Germany in the 3rd Armored Division’s aviation battalion. By 1992, he was an experimental test pilot and by 1996 was selected to be a NASA Astronaut, spending 534 days in space and 32 hours in spacewalks.

Notwithstanding his background in science, after Williams retired, he went on to release a faith-themed book with pictures he took from space called The Work of His Hands: A View of God’s Creation from Space.

Discussing the apparent dichotomy between science and religion, he told Christian Headlines there is a “public perception that science and the Bible are in conflict.

“So early in my career, even back in the 90s, I spent a lot of time studying the theme.… Modern science as we know it, really came out of the conviction that the Bible was true and that God is the Creator, as He has revealed Himself in the Scripture. And in that creation, He provisioned it and ordered it.”