As I commented yesterday, the Church has often had a hard time knowing how to respond to advances in cosmology. There has been a tendency to go to one of two extremes. One extreme is that most often cited by the news media, the Galileo trial and the Scopes trial, one by the Roman Catholic Church and one by fundamentalist Protestants. In each case, the church people involved claimed to be defending Scriptures against the ravages of a secularizing science. And, in each case rather than Christianity being defended, it was damaged by the actions of those two groups.
The other extreme is that of a complete capitulation to anything labeled “science,” that is an unquestioning acceptance of any and every theory that goes by. This extreme is found most often in “liberal” Protestants, although nowadays it is also found as an unthinking attitude among many Christians who have simply do not think about the subject or who are reacting against Young Earth Creationists. When the attitude is held by liberal Protestants, it is often associated with a superior attitude towards anyone who might argue with any of the conclusions of “science.” But, I have a soft spot for those who hold that attitude in reaction to the YEC people.
Because of the extremes, it is difficult for Christians who do not see modern science and religion as being at loggerheads. Attempts to form a reasonable philosophical structure that allows for interaction between science and religion are often attacked from both sides. Young Earth Creationists often engage in a modern Inquisition that accuses any who disagree with them of destroying Christianity, and accuses them of not really believing the Bible. YEC’rs have silenced thousands of Christians who go to church but dare not express their philosophical framework because they will be attacked and mocked.
On the other side, the Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawkins types are found both within the fields of academia and science research institutions. They try to silence any scientists who try to express any type of religious conclusion as a result of their cosmological studies. A couple of years ago a major scientist publicly changed his mind and went from atheist to a believer in the existence of God. (Please note that he did not necessarily believe in the Biblical God, but rather in a Creator God.) The attacks against him were ad hominem arguments that simply accused him of old age and of emotional instability. They are the science version of an inquisitional approach.
Not surprisingly, both sides love to use each other as the boogeyman against which they are fighting. Thus YEC’rs are extremely adept at citing any and every example of a professor or a teacher who “tries to destroy faith.” This is used to justify their aggressive campaign. Meanwhile the Carl Sagan types are quick to cite the attempts of YEC’rs to legally force their belief to be taught as the reason why they also must engage in aggressive tactics.
So, what is a moderate Christian to do?
===MORE TO COME===
“They try to silence any scientists who try to express any type of religious conclusion as a result of their cosmological studies.”
Do you seriously think somebody is trying to silence religious scientists? They can believe whatever childish nonsense they want. There’s only a problem when they invoke god, also known as magic, to solve scientific problems. That’s not doing science. It’s called preaching. Competent scientists don’t say “Then a miracle occurs” when they can’t answer a question.
“If the history of science teaches us anything, it is that what conquers our ignorance is research, not giving up and attributing our ignorance to the miraculous work of a creator.” — Jerry Coyne
darwin-killed-god dot blogspot dot com
Childish Nonsense? Because someone believes something you do not believe, it is childish nonsense? To find fault with someone’s lack of research is one thing and I am the first one to say that one must not slip in the God card when the research doesn’t add up, but to make a blanket statement that those who believe are automatically believing in childish nonsense is rather harsh. I am not a white lightening sort of believer. I see no grand visions and dream no grand dreams, but I do believe that there are things that cannot be measured by scientific instruments. The feeling of love that a woman feels carrying a beloved child and the sense that one is somehow participating in the awesome work of creation resists quantification. Most feelings do. One can measure hormone changes and changes in respiration and heart rate and other physiological signs, but the feelings move beyond physiology. I have stood at the bedside of the dying when my medical knowledge could do no more and I have seen the comfort a quiet voice and a loving hand can bring the dying. I don’t think these things can be measured. The differences between what can be measured in terms of physiological changes and the depth of the soul’s response is one of the places where God lives.