Gingerich argues that an individual can be both a creative scientist and a believer in divine design-that indeed the motivation for scientific research can derive from a desire to trace God's handiwork. He carves out "a theistic space" from which to contemplate a universe where God plays an interactive role, unnoticed yet not excluded by science.

Taking Johannes Kepler as his guide, Gingerich argues that an individual can be both a creative scientist and a believer in divine design--that indeed the very motivation for scientific research can derive from a desire to trace God's handiwork.