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God of Science

Some look at science and see a discipline that is in opposition to faith. The church takes a position, and if science disagrees with it, then science is either mistaken, or is said to be the instrument of the devil. 

Before modern astronomy and earth exploration came on the scene, people believed the earth was flat, and that the sun and stars revolved around it. With telescopes and large ships we discovered that the earth is round, and that we are the celestial body in motion. But isn't the earth unique? The Bible says that God created the "heavens and the earth". Surely then, we cannot be just a small part of the heavens. In 1616 AD Galileo was sentenced to house arrest by the Catholic Church for his claims that the earth was not the center of the universe. He saved his life by recanting his scientific views. The church wrongly felt that if it was proven the world was not earth-centered, all of faith would fall apart.

Today some believe that the earth is 6,000 years old. By tracing back lineages in the Bible, it must be so. So then, what of the dinosaur bones, and the ancient leaf fossils? And what about the light that has traveled for millions of years from distant stars? What follows is the need to believe that God placed those bones underground for us to find, like one might hide Easter eggs around the yard. And perhaps the light was given a head-start, or perhaps the stars are not so far away.

When in seminary, I had a professor who discussed two reported ways that Judas died after the betrayal. One Gospel reports that he hanged himself. Another states that he was dashed into the rocks. My professor, whom I dearly loved and respect to this day, said that the solution to this contradiction was clear. Since the Bible cannot be in error, then Judas probably hanged himself, the rope could have broken, and he fell into the rocks. WOW! What a stretch! Is it not enough that Judas ended his life in remorse? One Gospel writer heard it one way, and the other heard another version. The truth comes through. My faith does not rise or fall on the medical examiner's report on how Judas died.  

Is God expected to have done things in a way that only makes sense to us? Is our faith destroyed by proving that land animals climbed out of the seas a few million years ago? Is the Bible a fraud if the days of creation are not measured in the length of time it takes the earth to revolve one time on its axis? Especially by a God who transcends time and space?

Do we see our God as too small?  Are we created in His image, or do we try to remake him in ours?

Do we have doubts in our own faith caused by the claims of science banging heads with claims of the church? Remember that "God works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform". Some "wonders" I think I understand, and some I seek to discover. For me, science is the tool God has given us to uncover the miracles he has done in his creation.

Tonight the History Channel has a show called "How the Earth Was Made". I fear that some Christian families will tell their children to turn off the TV. If they want to know how the earth was formed, read Genesis. I will watch the show with a sense of awe, wondering if this is really how God did it. I'll bet I will see Genesis in the show, and the show in Genesis.

Prayer: Our Father, we stand in awe before your miraculous creation. Give us the eyes to see and the ears to hear. As we explore it, we come to know you more fully. Amen

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