We have developed, over time, this concept in our modern culture that assumes Christians who believe in a single God who created all that is seen (which is a very diverse group in and of itself, not simply the extreme Ken Hamm Creationist) are uneducated and ignorant and “hate” science.
To be clear, the issue is when these individuals question the scientific validity of cross-species macro evolution and evolution as a creative event. They are believers in a “flat earth” and “closed minded,” despite the evidence to the contrary.
While I will not excuse how religious authorities have suppressed certain movements either in the past or currently, I will say that some of the stories surrounding these issues are so exaggerated as to be legitimate propaganda tools more than reasonable and balanced explorations of how the very preponderance of education in the west is directly due to Christian evangelical influence, not to mention how Christianity is more involved in raising the educational level and living standards of the poor throughout the world than any other group.
None of this is the general point of this article. I am not attempting to debate how right or wrong Christians are in their beliefs or even evolutionists. The point is to help people understand why Christians, despite the propaganda, love science more than any other group.
Christians follow Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God and His Son, together, created the world and the universe through an act of word and will. Not only do we follow Christ, we believe that we are born of the Creator. We do not only have an intimate relationship with the Father through the Son and the Spirit, we are born of Him. We were born again upon repentance and God is our Father.
So when we discover the design of this world, how things work, or when we see the beauty and the amazing things that we discover as we explore (Christians are, by nature, educators and explorers since knowledge and truth are paramount in Christianity), we smile in a sense of awe but also feel a personal connection to creation since our Daddy did it.
I am a creative person. I will not say what I create is good, for several reasons, but I write songs and books. I create series for church discipleship, make them my own. My point is this – my children see me create things all the time.
And it interests them. They feel a connection to what I create. “Daddy, is that your book?” “Daddy, did you write that song?” “Daddy, I like that song.” Whether or not it is quality work, my children feel a sense of pride in something their daddy made.
I have a friend on FB, and his father passed away not long ago. His father was a blues guitarist and made a record back in the 60’s. The record is rare and goes for $2k or more online, if you can find an original. He is willing to pay top dollar for this record. Not because it is good, even though it probably is … but because his father made it.
My grandfather wrote a book called Struggle in the Coal Fields, a book which is used at universities to help study the issues surrounding the coal industry and unions in the early 1900’s. I own a copy for one reason. He was my grandfather. I bought a copy for my father for one reason, his father wrote it.
Now if you go to my children and point to a book I wrote, and you say, “Your father didn’t write that.” Of course they will argue with you. They will say, “No, he wrote it. He told me he did.” They will point to my name on the cover. They will tell you how they see my character in every line.
(As an aside, it was interesting when people read The Living Stone, they continually said, “I could hear you saying all this.”)
One reason Christians have been at the forefront of science through history is for this reason, the discovery of the design of this world and the wonder within is deepened within us, further than someone who doesn’t have a relationship with God as their Father can understand. In effect, we love science more.
I am not trying to establish that Christians are more correct or incorrect in their scientific or religious assertions, only to help those who use name calling as an argumentative device to understand instead of demonize.
When we see a sunset that takes our breath away, it is personal for us. It is our Father who took our breath away. We see His hand in the way things work, in the good science can do. Ironic that a culture that increasingly accepts someone’s self-identity as legal reality, in fact celebrates it, despite all the evidence to the contrary, will so easily dismiss a whole group of people that seek to further love their Father.
Or perhaps not so ironic after all. Our Father told us about that, too.
Peace.
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