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.
