Recently, I was interviewed for a project that focused on the relationship between faith and science. I answered questions based on what I’ve observed from fellow pastors, young people, those who love science, faith and from my own vantage point. I was honored to have participated.
As one who takes Scriptures seriously (yes, I mean Genesis 1-3) and as one who thinks science has something to say about origins and life in general (yes, I mean the theory of evolution), I’ve always been bothered by the strenuous relationship between the two. Now we know this is not exhaustive as there are many people who have found a wonderful balance between science and faith but we have seen too much unnecessary tension between the discipline of science and the pursuit of faith.
I was asked during the interview what was my favorite part of the faith and science conversation from a pastoral perspective. Well, I love it when I hear the phrase, “Oh wow, so science and faith can coexist.” There’s usually a “Hmm” that follows that I take to mean a beginning in a shifting of paradigm. That’s the best part.
Now my absolute favorite thing to hear as a pastor or as a Christ-follower is “I put my trust in Jesus and am following Him” but I am a fan of just about anything that moves us closer to knowing the true and living triune God.
Further, I believe that God is good and more understanding than we give Him credit for. I do not believe He is threatened by the idea of science. I imagine He is humored by our theories and every now and then, I wonder if He is grieved by the obstacles that we have unnecessarily placed before Him. And I believe He is angered by our pride, manipulation and foolishness. But I believe the Father is eager to be known and so I believe in the gift of Jesus and the mystery of His Spirit.
As I have blogged before, should God tell us in heaven that He did in fact create all things in six, twenty-four “days,” I’ll run to my Macbook and post a retraction here. Or if God tell us, “Come on people, it was all metaphorical… for six milliseconds …I created everything in six milliseconds …” admittedly, I’ll be perplexed but probably won’t protest His revelation. He is God, let the Almighty do His thing, I’m ok with that.
Which is why I am not threatened by what science has or will discover. I may politely disagree or even be annoyed by the conclusions made by some but I am not threatened. Frankly I am very curious.
We are all committed to our presuppositions, that is until we feel the need to change them. And lately, one of my favorite things to hear is “Oh wow, so science and faith can be coexist … Hmm …” I believe it to be true – to God be the glory.
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