From the VCC newsletter on 10/22:Science and Religion

I want to focus on how we deal with the relationship between science and Christianity.

For many years a biblical worldview worked to the benefit of science and engineering, giving western society an edge in the world. By believing in God’s created order, western civilization was confident that God had ordained the laws of the universe and given us the ability to observe and live in harmony with these laws. While there has always been the religious who rejected science and discovery (mostly out of fear), most of the foundational discoveries that propelled western society and science forward were discovered by men who had studied theology and were ordained members of the clergy.

For example:

• Sir Isaac Newton, the father of physics, was a theologian as well as a mathematician and scientist.  

• Sir Francis Bacon, the founder of scientific method, rejected atheism as “shallow.”

• Johannes Kepler, an astronomer who developed our modern understanding of a heliocentric solar system, was a strong believer in God.

• Galileo Galilei believed his ideas were not in conflict with the Bible, but in conflict with his friend, a pope whom he offended.

• Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist, inventor and theologian, was known for his work in geometry, invented the first mechanical calculator, and also authored  a defense of Christianity.

• Robert Boyle, who discovered Boyle’s law of gases, was also a theologian.  

• George Mendel, the father of modern genetics, wrote about the mathematical foundations of genetics and was also an Austrian monk and the abbot of his monastery.

• Lord William Kelvin, head of the Royal Academy of science and inventor and father of modern physics, was an old earth creationist.  

• Albert Einstein, the father of theoretical physics and the theory of relativity, believed in a personal God and was a defender of religious liberty.

Most of our top universities began as training centers for clergy (Harvard, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Yale, Princeton, and Boston College). These schools saw nothing incompatible between science and religion, and the early conflicts between these schools and the church had more to do with politics than religion. Today, there is a great divide between academia and the Christian church. Modern Christian colleges rarely do research or participate in the advancement of science and technology. There are very few Christian researchers and scientists. In fact, most complain that the church is who pushed them away. At the same time the  biligerence of academics toward Christian faith has escalated to the point that many Christian professors are under siege and afraid to speak their minds. Christian students complain about being intimidated for sharing their faith. The hostility between the church and the academic world has become intolerable, and in response the church has hastened into full retreat. Meanwhile films like Ben Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed have not made the environment any more receptive. But here is the question: whose job is it to be more civil?

My point is three fold. Firstly, science, logic, technology and the Bible are not incompatible. We have nothing to fear, even when they seem to contradict, because today’s cutting-edge science may be next year’s joke. Today’s scientist mock medical technology from 100 years ago, and astronomers are still fighting about whether or not Pluto is a planet. When we fear science and react negatively to scientific discovery, we reinforce the idea that Christians are not intelligent and close-minded.  Instead, build up a basic knowledge of apologetics (defending the what you believe). It is reasonable to know the basics of the origin of the Bible, scientific flaws with macro-evolution, the merits in micro-evolution, as well as proofs from genetics and other scientific disciplines so we can have assurance that science and technology are not incompatible with our faith.

Secondly, we cannot expect the world to change and “play nice.”  They have no motivation to be less mean (in math, the mean is average, and in society the average is mean).  So how do we enter the world of science and technology? How do we engage scientists, engineers, and the technological with the gospel in meaningful ways? A few years ago I had a person with a science background come to church and during a discussion on Genesis.  He asked a few innocent questions. He wanted to understand, but instead of simple answers he was scolded by several people. I had to defend him for even asking the questions. He has never attended our church again. Many scientists I know are afraid to go to church because they feel unwelcome. Those who attend church tend to disguise their vocation when asked to avoid being ostracized. This should not be the defensive nature of people whose prime directive comes from John 3.16. A confident people of God ought to be the most willing to hear other opinions and respond with grace and mercy.   

Thirdly, how we interact with the world is as important as what we say we believe. Don't feel the need to win every discussion as if every conversation is an argument; Sometimes people are just processing their own beliefs.

While these articles on Sages for the Religion of None are not exhaustive, the primary point is: don’t try to be the expert. Be the voice of wisdom and experience for those who are traveling this journey of life alongside of us. Help those looking for answers, those who believe  most of the questions being asked are not a rejection of God, or even religion, but a rejection of old systems and authoritarianism.