Can Scientists Be Christians?

The Pathfinder of the Seas, Matthew Maury (1806-1873)

Throughout history, many learned scientists have believed in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 NKJ). One of the many scientists who have believed this truth is Matthew Maury (1806-1873).

Maury was a scientist and an officer in the U.S. Navy. One day he read in Psalm 8:8 a reference to the “paths of the seas.” Being a committed Christian, he believed if God said there were paths in the seas, it should be possible to find them, and he dedicated his life to doing just that.

As Maury searched for these paths, he found what are now known as ocean currents. During the rest of his career with the U.S. Navy, he charted the winds and currents of the Atlantic Ocean. He later became professor of meteorology at Virginia Military Institute.

Today Maury is known as the founder of the modern sciences of hydrography and oceanography. On his tombstone at the U.S. Naval Academy is inscribed Psalm 8:8: “…whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.”