A Reflection on Faith and Science on Darwin's Birthday

Celebrate the Eucharist, then give some of the consecrated elements to a scientist. They will tell you that there is nothing there, save bread and wine. Yet we believe that Christ is truly present. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.  

Take a human being, then give him over to a scientist with a goal of finding a soul. They will look at you puzzled, do what they need to do, and will determine that the individual has a physical body and a mind that works it and comprehends the world around it. They will not find a soul. Yet we believe that the soul is a reality. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.  

Take the story of Joshua stopping the Sun and Moon in its tracks, and give it to a scientist. They will ask you if you are just trying to get them to parrot that e-mail from a few years back that said that NASA proved it occured when, in fact, they had not. They will then do a bit of research and will let you know that if it had happened, we'd all be dead due to tidal forces and gravitational issues. They will declare it impossible. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.  

Go back even further to the Exodus. Give the basic parameters to a scientist. They will spend forever trying to determine where it happened, will proclaim that -if it happened at all- it was a crossing of a shallow lake, and they will go on to tell you all kinds of things about how Israel wasn't in Egypt, that there weren't enough Israelites to make the kind of journey the story tells, etc. They will declare it either improbable or impossible. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.  

How about the Tower of Babel. Take it to a scientist. They'll tell you that the societies of the earth split apart far too long ago for the Tower of Babel to account for the world's many and varied cultures and ethnicities. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.  

Yet again, the Flood. It was, at best, a local flood... that's what most scientists will tell you, because they contend that there isn't enough water on the earth to result in a flood of the magnitude that the Bible describes. They will declare a global flood impossible. Yet we believe that it happened. We do not rely on science to prove it; we accept it on faith.  

So why is it that we can accept all these things on faith, but when it comes to the age of the earth, we have to compromise with modern scientific theories that have changed again and again over hundreds of years. If we cannot accept the Creation account on faith, than we must disregard every other belief we hold fast to until we have concrete proof...  

And yet, even if we had proof of creation, many would still not believe. 

Even if we had proof of a global flood, many would still not believe. 

Even if we had proof of the Tower at Babel, many would still not believe. 

Even if we had proof of the Sun and Moon standing still, many would still not believe. 

Even if we had proof of the existence of a soul, many would still not believe. 

And yes, even if we had proof of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, many would still not believe.

Creation Museum Drawing Large Crowds

My thanks to Bishop Chuck Huckaby for forwarding me a link to a story in USA Today (click on the post title to view the article) on the overwhelming success of the new Creation Museum near Cincinatti, Ohio.

Kristen and I had the chance to visit the facility back in late August, and we really enjoyed ourselves. The only real complaint I have is that the planners underestimated the popularity of the facility and thus the path through the exhibits is far too tight. My suggestion: go early (and, if possible, on a weekday), see the entire museum first, then go to the not-to-be-missed planetarium show.

I'm not much of a museum/exhibit person, so I don't know that Kristen and I would ever tour the entire museum again (well, not before we have kids, anyway), but I would go back for the Planetarium show and the gift shop.

The Creation Museum is run by Ken Ham's "Answers in Genesis" ministry, an Evangelical Protestant group dedicated to "defending the Bible from the very first verse." The museum, thankfully, shows little Evangelical bias (save for the blurb about the Reformation in the tour). Their most recent edition of "Creation" magazine, however, had about as much to do with the Reformation as it did with Creationisim.

Just a side note to the editors of "Creation"... Catholics (yes, even Primitive Catholics!) and Orthodox Christians believe in a literal six-day creation too! Perhaps you might want to tone down some of the Protestant rhetoric in your articles. I would wager that if we compared the ancient Church to both Catholic/Orthodox and Protestant worlds, the former would come closer to the theology of the ancient Church than the latter.