“We are so used to the notion of our own inevitability as life’s dominant species that it is hard to grasp that we are only here because of timely extraterrestrial bangs and other random flukes.” (p. 309)

Reading Bill Bryson’s new book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, was, for me, a profoundly disappointing experience. After digesting his 420-odd pages of scientific ‘history’, I can only assume that he is an atheist. From such a gifted writer, I admit I had hoped for much more.

Bryson, an acclaimed travel writer, recounts mankind’s greatest discoveries, ponders the mysteries of the universe, and analyses what has motivated the greatest minds throughout history. But he does so with literally no more than a few passing references to God along the way, replacing him with science and human achievement.

This is not to say that A Short History is without redeeming qualities. It is a fabulously well-written book, full of absorbing insights into not only what we know about the world, but how we know what we know. The aim is to make science accessible and interesting to the average reader, and with his trademark panache and wit Bryson combines careful research with wonderfully personalised tales of the famous and often quirky characters who figure in the history of science.

From the Big Bang and the breadth of the entire cosmos, right down to the most microscopic level of life, the book is filled with fascinating facts and eye-popping statistics. Who knew that one tenth of the weight of a six-year-old pillow is ‘sloughed skin, living mites, dead mites and mite dung’?

But A Short History also offers much cause for concern. Granted, religious history is not his topic. But reading the book through Christian eyes, it’s impossible to miss the holes and half-truths in Bryson’s analysis. For example, in his astonishment at the dimensions of the known universe and our discoveries about its origins, he marvels:

“What is extraordinary from our point of view is how well it turned out for us. If the universe had formed just a tiny bit differently … then there might never have been stable elements to make you and me and the ground we stand on.” (p. 14)

While recognising that even the slightest change to conditions would mean that ‘the universe as we know and need it would not be here’, what is remarkable is that Bryson offers no hint of even the possibility that a higher power is responsible for creating and sustaining the universe. It would make so much sense of the rest of his analysis, but it seems the thought never even crossed his mind, or if it did was quickly suppressed.

Bryson also maintains that human beings are ‘just flukes’, the latest but not necessarily the greatest in the evolutionary chain. “[L]ife just is,” he writes. “As humans we are inclined to feel that life must have a point.” He doesn’t spell it out, but clearly in his view there is none. For all its bravado and glory in its own greatness, the hopelessness and weakness of scientism is in sharp contrast to the Christian worldview – where human beings are created for relationship with God, to love and serve him and to rule the world under him.

To his credit, Bryson at points admits the limitations of scientific knowledge. “The remarkable position in which we find ourselves is that we don’t actually know what we actually know,” (p. 321) he writes. Finding the personal stories behind science, he also conveys the truth about the eccentric, deceitful and downright selfish behaviour displayed by some scientific ‘heroes’.

But at other points, his awe at the achievements of modern science is palpable. His willingness to accept modern theories and repeatedly claim that “We now know…” often leaves aside important questions and sits strangely alongside his recognition of past errors.

There is nothing wrong with science in and of itself. That God enables us to investigate and understand our world is a great blessing. But in some ways, A Short History is the kind of work to which Christians must offer a thoughtful response informed by the Bible’s worldview. It represents the secularist trend that, subtly yet decisively, tries to push God to the fringes of modern life. It’s a trend that we must fight against.