At my church, we've been working through a series in the early chapters of Genesis considering some of what this work says about what it means to be genuinely human. Now, inevitably, one of the questions that comes up when we turn to Genesis is the relationship between the Creation narrative and Science.
What's the relationship between modern biology and ancient literature?
Are Evolution and the Christian Faith incompatible?
If it can be proven that the world is not 4,000 years old, does the Bible unravel?
Where are the dinosaurs!?!?!
Ok, so we all have different sorts of questions, but those are a few that I hear on a semi-regular basis. I can't answer all the questions, but if you have some, feel free to send them my way.
What I can do is offer a framework for how to think about such questions. So here's one way that helps me to think about these things: All Truth is God's Truth.
That's a great starting point, and here's what I mean: Jesus is the Man of Truth (John 14:6); the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17). Everyone who stands with Jesus stands on the side of Truth (John 18:37).
So if something is objectively true, it belongs to Jesus. Now, how does that relate to Science? If something can be shown to be objectively and empirically true by the Scientific Method, then it belongs to Jesus. Of course, very often our problem in Modern Science is not the method of discovery itself, but deeper human issues of pride and arrogance that espouse as True conclusions which are at best still hypotheses. We have a complicated relationship in our world with Truth at the moment and that only muddies our waters.
But that's point 1: All truth is God's Truth.
And this is really important for reasons that Augustine, writing in the 4th century, noted here (and this is no short quotation):
“Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show a vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of the faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men.”
Disciples of Jesus must be very careful not to impose their own culturally informed perceptions on those of the Biblical Authors. Take for example, the idea that the writer of Genesis intends us to accept a 168-hour creation period. Such a view is problematic for a lot of reasons. First, why would we assume the Author of Genesis is concerned about a 20th century debate that hadn't crossed his mind yet? Second, if the Sun does not appear until Day 4 of the Creation account, how then are we to mark time? Because of course, we mark time by the Earth's Rotation on it's axis and around the Sun and all sorts of other things which do not appear when "days" are ticking off the Creation Calendar. Third, is the Trinity subservient to Time? If we accept that God is Eternal, then we must accept that he is outside Time itself. Which means, logically, that Time serves him (The Son of Man is Lord, after all, even of the Sabbath).
All of which brings us to Point 2: The Bible must be taken seriously and it must be seriously understood. If such issues don't trouble you, then far be it for me to cause mental anxiety for you. But too many people get hung up on false dichotomies like Faith or Science when no such problem exists. As a matter of fact, it is in the context of a Christian Worldview that modern science is able to flourish at all. If the world around us is Divine (trees, plants, animals as in much of paganism), then it cannot be dissected, studied, and analyzed. The growth of science over the years owes a debt to men and women of many faiths (or none at all), but not least to scientists like Gregor Mendel (An Augustinian Monk who pioneered work in Genetics) or Georges Lemaître (The Catholic Priest who worked in Theoretical Physics and developed the Big Bang Theory).
But if the world is given to Human Beings to steward wisely, then do we not have something of an explorative mandate? What is Adam's first task if it's not basic biology? “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 2:19, NIV)
Which somewhat leads us to Point 3: Science is an important means of knowing what's True, but not the only means. The problem that many of us face in the Modern World is what we might call Scientism, or the belief that Science can explain everything. But that misunderstands and exalts a method of examining reality and discerning Truth (which is what Science is after all...remember the old Scientific Method?). Science is a means of using empirical observation and analysis to make conclusions. And it cannot logically be the only way of knowing Truth. For example, how can I empirically observe and assess the claim that Science is the only means of knowing Truth? Is that not a Philosophical argument? And if we're talking Philosophy (specifically, epistemology which is the study and theory of knowledge itself), that's an entirely different discipline and field. Science is a way of discovering Truth but it isn't the only way.
As Dallas Willard wisely observes, the real problem with much of the modern or post-modern objections to Jesus is that they fail to provide an adequate foundation for everyday human life. Which brings us to Point 4: Jesus - His Life and His Teaching - deal with how to live as a human being.
I could riff on this point for a long time, but I'll keep this especially brief. Jesus deals with Truth, Reality, and with living as a Human Being in normal, every day life. He did not come to make religious converts or Christians, but Disciples (which means students in the Greek). Students in what, you ask? You could say, as a Jewish Rabbi, students in Torah. But that's only partially correct. He seeks students of Life, his Life to be specific. He is the Light and Life of the World after all, and He came to bring Abundant Life to all who will receive it - that's the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God is what Jesus lived, proclaimed, died for, and rose to new life to display.
Alright, so my main point here was to speak to those of us who struggle with the relationship between Faith and Science. I'm not really interested in Christian debates on this - where internal church dialogues often betray a level of shocking animosity. Rather, I'm concerned for those folks who wrestle with making sense of the Old Truths that are, in fact, still true but are under constant barrage from a world that doesn't know what to do with them. Far from being exhaustive (or even good), I just wanted to offer a few ways that I personally approach these questions and some things I've learned over the years. Is this overly simplified? You bet it is. I didn't have time to write the book today. So, if you've got questions, objections, comments, or feedback, let's hear it! And we'll inquire into the Truth together from there.
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