(Not necessarily contradictory.)
They're both concerned with Truth - one from a 'Let's figure it out ourselves' perspective, and the other from a 'Stuff we need to be told, because we wouldn't know it otherwise' perspective.
Here's a link to a page with some mp3s of provocative talks exploring the relationship between science and the Bible. If you've never considered it before, I urge you to! Bishop NT Wright's talk on 'Can a scientist believe the resurrection?' is a good starting place. It's available as a pdf or an mp3, among other formats. And as everything in Christianity really hinges on the resurrection of Jesus, it's sort of a critical idea to be able to accept.
I heard Richard Dawkins speak at the Cambridge Union a year ago or so... and despite his flaming rhetoric bashing people who take the Bible seriously, I was struck that he seemed to respect John Polkinghorne, the eminent quantum-physicist-turned-anglican priest. If Polkinghorne believed it, there might be something in it.
I heard this sentiment echoed this week, as I was at a going-away party for my dear friend Sharlene, who's just passed her viva with flying colors (Really! She passed with no corrections at all! This is completely unheard of!!) and is now back in South Africa. Her supervisor, a dyed-in-the-wool atheist, after much conversation with brilliant academics who live their Christianity, has slowly been coming round to the idea that 'there might be something in it.'
I was challenged to be more open about my Christian faith. Not in an obnoxious way (hopefully!) but in a very real way that takes seriously the questions and objections that others have. This is actually the most important thing to me (I keep reminding myself, in the midst of the pressures of thesis-writing!!) and really, it's too important to keep to myself.
If you're a Christian, how do you find the balance between sharing your faith and not being obnoxious?
If you're not a Christian, and you've been Bible-bashed at one time or another, what advice can you give me about adressing this area of potential conflict?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!!
~Annie
It seems you are addressing two different areas: the relationship between science and Christianity; and sharing your faith in a hostile world. For you, those two questions are probably more intermingled than for most.
ReplyDeleteAs for Christianity and science. I just don't see them as contradictory, or at odds, or mutually exclusive or what have you. Of course, if your first scientific assumption is that the "cosmos is all there is, was, or ever will be," than yeah, that's a problem. But that's a philosophical statement, not a scientific one. If science is the study of how things work in the universe, well, why can't it be a study of how God made things to work? Anyway, I'm trying to summarize libraries into a paragraph, but that's just a couple thoughts.
But as for being open about your faith and sharing the gospel, well gee, I struggle plenty with that and I'm in an environment with lots of Christians, lots more people with similar values, and strong encouragement to be "inclusive." Of course, maybe that's part of the problem, Christianity isn't really inclusive. I really do a poor job of sharing my faith, but I have been trying to do things such as acknowledging that it is God who has provided for me and reveal my true motivation for my actions. But yeah, I'm up for suggestions too.
But is it o.k. to be a Christian and an Autumnophile?
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