A lot of people may think that science and religion, including Christianity, are incompatible. However, science is actually telling us the same story with the bible: live in love, and you will be free from fear and sinning. 

Let’s look at what the Bible tells us first. According to the Bible, if we live in love, then it will cast out the fear and sins that we commit. The Bible tells us that “[a]nd so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (New International Version, 2011, 1 John 4:16). And it also explains what it means to live in love and live in God, and what happens if we live that way. It is also mentioned in the Bible that if we live in love, then “[t]here is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (New International Version, 2011, 1 John 4:18). Also, the scripture, which tells us that whoever lives in love lives in God, says that if we live in God, then we “should no longer be slaves to sin”(New International Version, 2011, Romans 6:6).

Now, let’s see what science tells us, and surprisingly, it tells us the exact same story: live in love, and you will be free from fear and sin. When we fall in love or form social bonds, a neurotransmitter called oxytocin(C43H66N12O12S2) is secreted (Harvard Medical School, n.d.; Xiao, 2025). And when oxytocin is released, it plays a function to balance the level of cortisol(C21H30O5), while the imbalance of cortisol creates fear (Li et al., 2019, 165; Battaglia et al., 2025, 835). Just like what the Bible tells us in 1 John 4:18, science also proves that love drives the fear away. Not only that, the release of oxytocin enhances our empathy, which allows us to “embrace another human’s suffering with an emotional bond of support” (Geng et al., 2018, 1; Esch & Stefano, 2011, 66). This is important because it is our lack of empathy that makes the amygdala consider the suffering of the people that we hate or fear as something pleasurable or rewarding (Lantos & Molenberghs, 2021, 81 – 82). This also tells us the same conclusion with the bible: live in love, then you will be free from sin. 

A lot of people think that science will disprove the Bible, or the Bible is correct and more accurate than science. However, if we study science, we will be able to know that it tells the same story with what the Bible says: live in love, and you will be free from fear and sinning.

By Hangyul Park

References

1. Battaglia, S., Fazio, C. D., Borgomaneri, S., & Avenanti, A. (2025, January 23). Cortisol Imbalance and Fear Learning in PTSD: Therapeutic Approaches to Control Abnormal Fear Responses. Current Neuropharmacology, 23(7), 835-846. https://www.eurekaselect.com/article/146050 
2. Esch, T., & Stefano, G. B. (2011, March 11). The neurobiological link between compassion and love. Medical Science Monitor, 17(3), 65-75. https://medscimonit.com/abstract/full/idArt/881441 
3. Geng, Y., Zhao, W., Zhou, F., Ma, X., Yao, S., Hurlemann, R., Becker, B., & Kendrick, K. M. (2018, July). Oxytocin Enhancement of Emotional Empathy: Generalization Across Cultures and Effects on Amygdala Activity. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 1-14. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2018.00512/full 
4. Harvard Medical School. (n.d.). Oxytocin: The love hormone. Harvard Health. Retrieved May 20, 2026, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/oxytocin-the-love-hormone 
5. Lantos, D., & Molenberghs, P. (2021). The neuroscience of intergroup threat and violence. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 131, 77-87. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763421004073 
6. Li, Y., Hassett, A. L., & Seng, J. S. (2019, April). Exploring the mutual regulation between oxytocin and cortisol as a marker of resilience. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 33(2), 164-173. https://www.psychiatricnursing.org/article/S0883-9417(18)30022-0/abstract 
7. New International Version. (2011). BibleGateway. http://www.biblegateway.com/ 
8. Xiao, S. (2025, February 18). Oxytocin – The key to social bonds? Stockholms universitet. Retrieved May 20, 2026, from https://www.su.se/english/divisions/department-of-psychology/news/articles/2025-02-18-oxytocin—the-key-to-social-bonds