Originally Posted by sastark

Steven, I highly recommend The Soul of Science by Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton.

But, in the meantime, here are some points to raise with your friend:

Christianity provided (and continues to provide) the philosophical framework necessary for scientific investigation. Traditional "Creation Theology" (as Christopher Kaiser refers to it as) provided the following basic precepts:

a. Comprehensibility of the World. That is, since man is made in the image of God, he is able to investigate the world and "think God's thoughts after Him." Going along with this, is the idea that only God is infinite and the world is not. Since the world is finite, we can know it and comprehend it.
b. Unity of Heaven and Earth. The Bible makes no distinction between the sub- and super-lunar realms, which is how the Cosmos were divided in Greek thought. In contrast to this, Creational theology teaches that the heavens are made of the same substance of the earth, subject to the same laws. Thus, we can hypothesize about the nature of the heavens by forming theories fro earthly experiments.
c. Relative Autonomy of Nature. By this, I mean the self-sufficiency nature possesses by virtue of the fact that God has granted it laws of operation. We can study these laws and by doing so, gain more knowledge about creation. If nature did not operate by law(s), how could science ever develop?
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Christianity and science, and I would be glad to provide you with more info, if you like.

BTW - The above three points come from Creational Theology and the History of Science by Christopher B. Kaiser, Brill, 1997.