It shocks me that this is still an issue that persists. As a person of faith I see no reason that one can not both believe in God and also believe in science. I accept Darwin's Theory of Evolution the evidence is overwhelming. I was shocked when I read in Collins article that only 24% of regular church goers believe in evolution. This saddens me a little because as humans I think we are called to use the great gift of reason that we have been given. My faith tells me that the processes of nature are much more beautiful when we learn about them through science. If we simply say God commanded and boom it happened, God is turned into nothing but a simple magician. I don't wish to reduce God to nothing more than another David Blaine or Chris Angel. I find the idea that God may have used natural processes to be more reasonable.
People who have faith need not to be afraid of the teachings of science, it gives us greater understanding of the world we live in. I would ask someone who says that science is a danger to faith the question, "how strong is a faith that can be swayed so easily?" I would advocate for people of faith who are also thinking people. As Christians we have moved beyond the idea that the earth is the center of the universe, can we not also take a second look at the rest of the ancient cosmetology. We must recognize that the Bible is NOT a science book and should not be used as one.
Faith and science can become a social issue as well. I think what we know about the human genome is not only fascinating but has the possibility of saving many, many lives. Stem cell research can give hope to people with many conditions that otherwise have no hope.
Now that I have spoken a great deal about why faith should not fear science I want to talk a little about a speech I heard the other day from a scientist who was arguing against faith because it caused people to simply accept the things that they can not understand. I would like to refute this point by saying that it is because of my faith that I want to learn as much I can about the world around me. I think that God has given me a brain to explore the world around me. So I believe that faith can spur interest in science and not just detract from it. I think it is ok to recognize the mystery that exists in the universe while still trying to learn more about it.
Faith and Science are not mutually exclusive because they ask different questions. Science answers how and faith attempts to answer why. I believe one can be and I try to be a person of both faith and science.
Great post! I look forward to more.
ReplyDeleteSome opponents of Collins being the director of NIH worry that his religious beliefs will prevent him from making good science decisions at a certain level. Specifically, the argument is that anyone who thinks science and religion answer different questions will not respond in the interests of science if there comes a time when science can answer a question that has traditionally been in the realm of religion.
Any thoughts on this? I'm not sure what I think about it yet.
Well said Chris! I must say however, that I think Gallup's Poll (which Collins references) is overly simplistic. There are many Americans, Christians, and weekly church goers who believe in evolution, but not necessarily the evolution of human beings from monkeys. And I think that's fair position to hold. As you stated, I do hope that all folks will be able to see that "faith and science are not mutually exclusive."
ReplyDeleteI don't know a lot about Collins but I think from what I know of him is committed to intellectual honesty and I have to believe that his faith would not hurt his ability to be a scientist. I can understand people who are skeptical of Christians who are scientists because of some of the pseudo-science that has been done by "new earthers" but there are committed scientists who are also christians. I like to think that personal belief would not effect someone's ability to follow science where it leads.
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