You might say, “Don’t do it, Amy. Don’t go there.” I know, it’s gonna be shocking, but, yes, I am going to use the words science and religion in the same blog and not to contradict each other.WAIT! Don’t leave yet! I promise this will be good. I know what your thinking. “Seriously, Amy, why? WHY? What kind of nerd writes stuff like this?” I know, it’s hard to believe myself, but I think it just might awaken those old, rusty brain cells that may or may not have been dormant since high school…or middle school.First, let’s just get it out there. Science. (Deep breath, we got that word out.) Faith. (Exhale.) Good, good. I propose that science and faith in God go hand in hand. Like ice cream and cones. Or like snakes and screams. OR like thunder and lightening. Faith and reason can and should go together. Hang with me….
There has been some talk throughout the centuries that Christians hate science. You haven’t heard that? Well, it’s true. Apparently, rumor has spread that Christians bolt away from science faster than a KU fan bolts away from KSU football stadium after a particularly bad thrashing. (My KU friends, please forgive me, it was hard to resist and being as football season is so close, it’s the only analogy I could come up with. I love you.) But, Pope John Paul II said, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” These are very wise words. Because it is through science that we can better understand God and come to grow in our faith.
Let’s tackle a biggie. This is hard for me, too, seeing as my science mind is, shall we say, not as developed as my reading and writing mind. But, let’s go there together. The biggie to tackle–the creation story. (GASP!!!!) It’s okay to read on, I’ll try not to be too sciency or preachy.
So, did God create the world in six days or what? Some say, “Absolutely.” Others say, “You are out of your mind.” While even a third may say, “It doesn’t really matter to me.” What if we can apply science to the six day creation story in the Bible? Just walk with me here. I’m not asking you to believe me, just asking for your thoughts.
Back in the time that the creation story was written, they did not have the technology or understanding of our universe and cosmo like we do today. Most people were uneducated and even the educated ones did not have an understanding of things being counted up into the billions. Thousands and thousands of years ago if you would have told someone that the earth was billions of years old, they would probably have stared at you with a blank look on their face. So, what if, the inspired writer of Genesis wrote the Bible in a way that could be understood by all? The really cool thing that we find when we combine science and the Bible together is that the order that the Bible says things happened, is the same order that science finds. There is just a lot of years separating the two.
For example: ( I take this from a book called The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder a PHD from MIT)
Pretty cool, huh? I think it is. Now, of course, it’s more involved than this, but I didn’t want to scare you off. There’s Einstein’s law of relativity thrown in the mix, which always makes for light conversations, right? WRONG. I know, I have to try and teach this stuff to my 7th grader and come off sounding like I half-way know what I’m talking about. But, I think it’s important to see that either the writer of Genesis was one lucky dude to have gotten the order of things correct having no knowledge of what we know now OR he was inspired by God. Maybe God had him write six days so that the people of Old Testament time could understand. Or maybe God just likes to make us use our minds and He knew that we would enjoy the mysteries and marvels that He weaved into His Word. I don’t know. But, I do know that science is not something that Christians should fear. We should embrace it, because it points to the awesomeness, powerfulness, and awe-inspiring characteristics of God.
See there, we did it! So, what do you think?
