I remember sitting in Chemistry with my friends the day I found out our teacher believed in Evolution. Initially, I was startled. “Impossible! He’s a Christian!” It didn’t make me think any less of the man, but it did confuse me. “How in the heck could you possibly believe both?!”
I’m realizing my ignorance. I mean, it wasn’t really my fault. I was taught by virtually every religious leader around me that evolution couldn’t possibly true because it directly contradicted the Genesis creation story. The Big Bang and Evolution were wishy-washy scientific theories with no real credibility that were only believed by atheists, agnostics, and Christians without a backbone.
This whole thing is a mess, really. I was hoodwinked. Am I finally siding with the atheists who claim evolution itself is proof that God doesn’t exist? Nope. They are hoodwinked too. Contrary to what I believed sitting in my chemistry class, one can most definitely be a Christian and believe in Evolution. Do I think it’s THAT big of a deal? No, no. I’ve always thought it was a blown out of proportion argument. It’s crazy to think that so many claim to base their faith (or lack of it) on this one issue. Who am I to say that evolution is void of God? Couldn’t the intricate development of human kind through crazy natural processes reveal and glorify God as much as (or more than) a literal six day creation? “But what about Genesis?!” you gasp. Well, I’ve been learning some stuff about the Scriptures and about Jewish tradition too. Turns out the Hebrews were really big on parables and metaphors and imagery. We see this all through the New Testament with how Jesus himself spoke to the people. “So, Genesis is just a fairy-tale, is that what you’re saying?!” Eh… It’s possible that it’s literal, sure. Science, however is pointing at something different and the evidence is stronger than my evangelical youth pastor would’ve liked me to believe. The story of creation in Genesis is more about revealing the nature and character of God. He’s creative and the source of life. We were made (or developed) into His image, and we carry within us the breath of God. Genesis says we were made from the dust. But who’s to say that we weren’t made from the dust of exploded stars, like the Big-Bang Theory suggests?
I’ve never heard this term before these past few days, but we Christians are hardcore guilty of committing the “God-of-the-gaps” crime. Wherever there are holes in our knowledge and understanding, we stick God in there. It’s a part of what started this war between science and religion. And it’s dangerous because as scientific discoveries start to fill in the gaps, God gets pushed out and Christians either loose faith or fight against truth (aren’t we supposed to be pursuers of truth?). If, like the Church did during the Scientific Revolution, it is discovered that the earth actually revolves around the sun, instead of everything revolving around the earth, then our belief in God shouldn’t be demolished. Look around you. The intricacies of the world are vast and beautiful. When the theory first came out, it was the atheists who hated the Big Bang, because it pointed to a starting point. I’m not going to necessarily tie God down in that gap, because maybe scientists can discover more about pre-Big-Bang, but no matter what, I can’t look at this world and not see a divine creator behind its development and existence.
Christianity, which was once a strong ally to science, seems to have found an enemy in science. There will always be conflict, because there can be strong ethical issues as we step closer to manipulating life itself. But, science isn’t our enemy. The conflict itself is our enemy. Science and religion answer different questions. Science looks at the “how?” Religion asks, “Why?” When scientists start making claims about God, and when religion starts making claims over science, things have left their jurisdiction. God can be found in science, but He cannot be proven or disproven by it. We walk in FAITH. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what is visible” (Hebrews 11:1,3) (emphasis mine).
So I guess, just take this as a warning and a reminder to look at what you’re fighting against. Are you really fighting against the enemy? Or have you let yourself get too wrapped up in the issues and sacrificed your call to be a peacemaker? Don’t misunderstand me. Christians shouldn’t be complete pushovers, but we should exercise our intelligence and rational thinking. Otherwise we end up working out of the basic principles of bullying: tearing others down simply to make ourselves feel better. Don’t fear things, like science, simply because it might challenge you. Instead, learn from it and let the challenges make you stronger and more in tuned with truth.
