"No doubt it is true that science cannot study God, but it hardly follows that God had to keep a safe distance from everything that scientists want to study"

Phillip E. Johnson's quote provocatively takes a look at the boundaries in between science and faith, challenging the idea that they should stay completely separate domains. The very first part of the declaration acknowledges an extensively accepted view: science, given its techniques and empirical basis, is not geared up to study God, a transcendent being frequently beyond physical measurement or observation. Science deals mostly with the natural world and depends on testable hypotheses, evidence, and reproducibility. God, in doctrinal discourse, usually exists beyond such empirical confines, putting the divine outside the scope of clinical scrutiny.

The interesting turn in Johnson's quote includes the provision "however it hardly follows that God needed to keep a safe distance from whatever that researchers wish to study". Here, Johnson recommends that, although science can not take a look at God directly, this does not indicate God is absent or uninvolved in the natural world or in phenomena studied by scientists. This part of the declaration welcomes reflection on the possibility of divine interaction or presence within the natural world, raising questions about how one may acknowledge or interpret signs of God's influence or design in deep space.

This viewpoint lines up with particular theological views that propose God as a sustaining force or prime mover, whose hand can be discreetly perceived in the complexities and laws governing the universes. The remark challenges the compartmentalization of science and faith, suggesting they might intersect at specific conceptual crossroads. It critiques the presumption that scientific inquiry naturally omits the divine or that God's existence necessitates a completely different realm from the scientific domain.

In general, Johnson's declaration functions as a driver for discussion. It encourages a nuanced assessment of how science and faith might complement instead of contradict one another, promoting a more integrated understanding of existence that acknowledges both empirical questions and spiritual belief.