Was Christianity guilty of impeding science and critical thinking? No — authentic Christianity supports scientific inquiry

Winger insists the question must distinguish between authentic biblical Christianity and the behavior of those who claim the name. True Christianity does not hinder science — it provides philosophical grounding for it: (1) God created the world with consistent laws, enabling repeatable experiments; (2) a highly intelligent Creator implies the universe is rationally structured and discoverable. The Galileo narrative is largely a myth — it was the scientific establishment, not Scripture, that opposed Galileo. The church got entangled with a prevailing scientific theory, not biblical teaching. Winger advises believers in science to approach their work as worshipful discovery of God's glory, maintaining integrity to follow evidence where it leads. He declines to address young-earth vs. old-earth debates as outside his expertise.