On "Why I Am A Creationist"

            I find it embarrassing to be identified as a Christian. This is rather unfortunate, seeing as how I am a minister in a decidedly Christian church, which means part of my job is to advertise my faith to others in the hopes of creating more Christians.

            When Virginia Heffernan posted her reflection on Yahoo News, Why I Am A Creationist, I found that she had summarized the reason I find being a theist so embarrassing. Heffernan was careful to acknowledge that people might think she was stupid, which is good, because I found her rationale stupid.

            In the post, an otherwise intelligent woman concluded that living in a world where God exists feels better than living in a world without God. Rather than engaging in the intellectually arduous task of making sense of apparently contradictory truth claims, she simply chose to disregard one in favor of the other. Whatever gets you through the night, I guess.

            What continues to bother me about this position, one that is held by millions of Christians in the US, is that it is so illogical. It completely disregards the possibility that belief in a creative God might be consistent with discoveries fostered by following the scientific method. Heffernan is perfectly content to compartmentalize her life into sections that do not interact. In doing so she is able to enjoy the benefits of modern scientific discovery – in the form of technology – while completely dismissing anything else such inquiry might discover that explains the world.

            Heffernan is not the only person I know who dismisses the theory of evolution because it doesn’t mesh with her belief in a creator. She is, however, the first I’ve come across to state so baldly that she chooses to live this way because it is more comfortable than the alternative. She freely acknowledges that she is not interested in trying to make all of the pieces fit together.

            The source of the problem for people like Heffernan is that they all tend to read scripture scientifically. By this I mean that they believe that the Bible is not just theologically true, but factually true throughout. In other words, they believe the facts of the Gospel, that God raised Jesus from the dead. Since this is factually true, they expect the Hebrew Scriptures to be factually true as well. Therefore, when Genesis describes a six-day creation story, this must be the facts of how God created the world. As such, when creationists hear of discoveries that do not fit their preconceived understanding of the world, they cast them aside as Heffernan does. Quite frankly, it is easier. Unfortunately, it’s also stupid.

            Reading scripture in this way is stupid precisely because scripture itself does not claim such scientific precision. In his movie Religulous, Bill Maher talks with a Catholic scientist who points out how far removed the world of the scientific method is from the world of the Bible. To expect scientific reporting of the sort we are now accustomed to from the authors of scripture is quite simply senseless.

            Furthermore, individuals who accept the overwhelming evidence in favor of the big bang, et al, see how ludicrous a young earth understanding is. They assume that to be a Christian you must have to turn your brain off and, as a result, are not interested in what Christians might have to say. Yet it is the creator God who gave us minds that allow us to discover the means by which God created the ever-expanding universe. In the very act of shutting off our brains we deny God’s creative goodness to humanity.

            The laws of physics in their most advanced and fantastically intricate mechanics, which human beings are only beginning to understand, can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. Neither the big bang theory, nor the theory of evolution proves God does not exist. Such is beyond their capacity. Scientific discovery simply explains how things act and appear to be, but cannot explain why. “Why” is the purview of the psychologist, philosopher, or theologian.

            I am a minister precisely because I love the Triune God who has pursued me and has placed upon me a vocational call that I cannot shake. I want others to know the fullness of life available to all people as mediated and facilitated in the power of the Holy Spirit through the atonement of Christ. I just wish Christians would stop putting up so many barriers that keep people from coming to faith.

            The Church has generally done a disservice to people like Heffernan. Of course, to blame “The Church” for failure in this way is to suppose that it is monolithic and speaks with one voice on all topics. Even looking at one specific denomination, such as the ironically named United Methodist Church as it wrestles with issues such as homosexuality in its general conference should demonstrate how naïve this idea is. Still, The Church needs to do a better job of fostering the life of the mind, of scientific inquiry, and thoughtfulness.