Stupidity, Science, and a God Who is Bigger Than Both

Several weeks ago I had a conversation with someone about science and the Bible. This person wasn’t really sure what to think about creation vs. evolution, which honestly surprised me.

When I was growing up, I understood strict 6 day creationism to be a misconception of the past, like a geocentric solar system. My undergraduate degree is in biology from a large secular university. My particular interest was microbiology, but evolutionary biology was a large part of the curriculum, and never caused me to question my faith. I was actively involved in Christian ministry throughout my undergraduate years. The faith/science tension didn’t exist for me, and I didn’t believe it existed for others.

In the years since college I’ve discovered that creationism is holding good faithful Christians hostage today; “Believe in a literal 6 day creation, or you have no faith in God.”

Was this lie always lurking in the church, or has it been re-born in recent years, alongside the nonsense of gender roles?

Do we have Ken Ham and his ark museum to blame for the anti-science bent of modern evangelicalism, in the same way we can blame Grudem, Piper, and the theobros at CBMW for pushing women back a century?

Is our disillusionment with modern culture and politics pushing us to seek some mythical better time in the past, when creationism ruled our minds and women stayed home?

Probably yes to all of the above.

I haven’t looked into the history of the modern faith/science schism, but I know it’s here. And it’s stupid.

I know, stupid isn’t a nice word. But it applies.

Note: I’m not calling creationists stupid, I’m calling the tension between faith and science stupid.

Here’s a screen shot of the online oxford dictionary definition:

The tension is stupid, silly, or unwise because one’s view on creation and the early chapters of Genesis is not critical to one’s salvation. So if you want to cling to your 6 day creationism view, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. You don’t need to either. If this post upsets you, click the x and close the page. Go on your way and forget you were ever here. We’ll all be okay.

But if 6 day creationism is holding you hostage, if you are clinging to it out of fear, and if you are threatening the faith of others out of your own fear, or worse yet, ignorance, you should probably take a deep breath and pray. None of that is what Jesus wants for you.

Here’s why I think holding 6 day creationism as a measuring rod of faith is a problem:

1. There is an astounding amount of evidence that points to some type of evolutionary process over billions of years. Ignoring it completely is just silly. Closing our eyes and choosing not to see things doesn’t make them unreal. Plus, ignoring evidence of anything shows poor judgment in general. If new evidence arises, that should be considered as well.

2. Demanding an anti-scientific reading of Scripture is unwise for multiple reasons:

   1. Scripture, and particularly the ancient texts of Genesis, are not science texts. They were never intended to be science texts. They are stories about God and his relationship with his people written thousands of years ago, and handed down over generations for people today to understand who God is, who we are, and why it matters. Reading these texts as science misses the point, and frankly weakens their importance in redemptive history. It is a weak and tiny view of a text with massive theological importance!

   2. Holding Christians hostage to 6 day creationism unnecessarily shakes the faith of other believers. If a person believes in the saving work of Jesus Christ, why on earth would you say, “Ok, but if you don’t believe in this other thing that flies in the face of all accepted modern science, you aren’t really a Christian.” ???? That’s just…. well…. see the above definition.

   3. Believing science can somehow disprove God shows a greater lack of faith than believing in evolution ever could.

I won’t go into all the faith vs. science arguments here. Check out God's Word, God's World - BioLogos for a ton of great resources on the science side of things.

On the Bible reading side of things, I highly recommend this book by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart:

It isn’t a commentary and won’t tell you what the texts mean, but rather what the structure of the text is, what to look for, and how to read the texts in their historical and literary contexts. It helps a reader unfold the redemptive story of God from Genesis to Revelation.

I will end by saying this:

If your belief in God and the Bible depends on one particular understanding of ancient texts that tell the story of pre-history, then your view of God is very small. There is a lot we can’t know, but the things we can’t know don’t change the things we can.

Don’t fear inquiry, science, and evidence. God doesn’t fear them. God is bigger than that.