Day 16: On a fin and a prayer
It’s a Sunday, and I haven’t been to church. I did pray, though, and I did invite God — the God, any God — to show me how to be of service today. That’s pretty much it for me, as far as a spiritual routine. But I have one; I do that much almost every morning.
Also, I believe in science — including its findings about climate change and evolution. And apparently, that statement, “I believe in God, and I believe in evolution,” puts me in a group of people that doesn’t get much air time in the mainstream media or the blogosphere. The atheists might say I’m no better than a fundamentalist Christian; a small step away from witchcraft in the world of woo-woo. The hardest-core Christians tell me I’m actually more like an atheist as far as they’re concerned, a non-believer. Too often, the middle doesn’t seem to be good enough for either camp.
Am I actually part of a silent majority? If so, I think it’s high time we speak out, because I think our society needs us.
Particularly in the blogosphere, I see great scientific minds wasting time and energy on Christian-bashing, gathering crowds of fellow Christian-bashers like blood-thirsty intellectual rioters — preaching to their own choirs. The fundamentalists have their own radical sites, where they giddily pass around anti-evolution propaganda and dismiss scientists as heathens. The diatribes on both sides are not for the faint of heart, which I suppose I must be; the meanness and disrespect pain me viscerally. More importantly, I’m concerned that the people on the fringes — the angry atheists and the judgmental Christians — are getting in the way, distracting our society from the real work, the worthy and important work, of moving ahead.
I think the risk is two-fold. First, the Christian prejudice against science is being painted with a very broad brush. If science is behind it, it must be false and in fact immoral — from evolution, to climate change and the discoveries of species extinctions. And that’s a shame, because we need the gentleness of the people who seek to emulate Jesus’ love as we try to be stewards of this exquisite global creation.
And the scientists, when they spend so much time indulging their anger and defending their right to not believe, are depriving us of their intellect, of their reason – of the gifts they have for illuminating our understanding of this world.
I’ve decided it’s a good idea to start looking for people and groups who bridge the gap. I’ve found several, and I’ll list them here. I’m also going to promote this post shamelessly, and see if I can generate some solution-oriented dialogue.
Lord, I hope so.
So far: A Hindu-oriented discussion about how that very open-minded faith sees the relationship between religion and science.
Caring for Creation, a Christian-based group that may or may not still be kicking. The Evangelican Environmental Network takes a Biblical approach that’s a refreshing departure from a focus on dominion. There are others.
A friend forwarded this document to me from the Episcopal Church. It appears to be part of a catechism class, and I find that it’s refreshingly open-minded as well.
Know of more such efforts? Let’s talk!
10 Responses to “Day 16: On a fin and a prayer”
Leave a Reply
Larry Ayers on February 8th, 2009 2:35 pm
Hi, Anne! Welcome to the blogosphere. I’m an atheist blogger from Missouri, but I try not to be dogmatic and I enjoy reading other points of view. Anyhow, I’ll be back!
James F on February 8th, 2009 2:42 pm
I highly recommend The Clergy Letter Project, which has united over 12,000 Christian and Jewish clergy members with over 600 scientific consultants to support the coexistence of science and faith, especially where evolution is concerned. The National Center for Science Education also maintains a list of religious perspectives on evolution. The silent majority is starting to find its voice, I think, and it should be promoted!
Michael on February 8th, 2009 2:49 pm
I suspect you’re more of a deist than anything. You have a belief in god(s) but don’t accept religion. It’s not uncommon.
Gerry L on February 8th, 2009 4:58 pm
Anne,
No need to believe in evolution. Or in science. The goal of science education is to understand, to look at the evidence and try to understand what it tells us. We need for people to understand evolutionary biology. Doesn’t really matter whether they “believe in” it.
-gfl
John DeRussy on February 8th, 2009 9:08 pm
Anne,
I really enjoyed today’s blog. And I love that you’re striving to find a balance, a common answer that bridges the gap between the two extremes. For me, having been brought up in a religious family- I was brought up in the Christian Science religion, and no it’s not “Scientology” as that’s the first question I always get. I may be able to offer one area to help in your quest. I have two links to share. In my religion, one of it’s followers is an astrophysicist who works at the SETI Institute in California. Here’s one of his his writings, so it gives you background on him, there’s more if you google his name, Laurance Doyle. http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_wobble_method_010523.html
The next link is to a website where Mr Doyle had an article published in one of my religion’s magazine on his thought on creation and the common fight between science and God, and this coming from a scientist. http://www.christianscience.com/blogs/articles-journal/choose-the-unlimited/
This second website might help give you more ideas to ponder in your search. If not, that’s fine.
Thanks again! You definitely are an extremely talented and balanced writer that desires to find a common good and I really enjoy reading your perspective.
John
Cannonball Jones on February 9th, 2009 6:20 am
Anne, I’m curious as to why you think society needs people who believe in gods and evolution.
Also you seem to have an odd view of scientists who vocally oppose creationism and ID. It’s not as if they’re spending all their time ranting against irrationality instead of working – indeed the targets they aim at are so easy that firing off a couple of volleys against them needn’t take more than a couple of minutes.
Personally I’m not much interested in bridging the gap you speak about. Of course evolution doesn’t rule out the possibility of gods existing but it does further shrink the areas in which such a being may be hiding. It seems the Christian god’s role in the universe is now down to the possibility of him have created life and/or the universe in the first place. We’re already looking into how life could have arisen naturally and doing our best to probe what happened in the earliest fractions of a second after the big bang. On the other hand the best theologians seem to be able to offer is “But the Bible says…”. I just can’t bring myself to respect that kind of thinking too much so I’m not that bothered about trying to persuade them.
Good luck with the blog though, seems you’re at least against the vitriol that seems to drench the subject. I can definitely get behind that although not behind any kind of supernatural thinking.
Raima on February 9th, 2009 5:00 pm
Great post, Anne! I very much like your call for those of us who believe in God AND science to speak out. Count me among those who do. I’m not sure it’s correct to say we “believe” in evolution, though — or any scientific result, actually. I like to say I believe that science is a way to know truth – maybe not the whole truth, but some interesting parts of the truth – and I believe in scientific results until somebody does an experiment or test that disproves those results. Evolution is a fact as any microbiologist will tell you – we can see it occurring everyday in the bugs who evolve to get away from our pharmaceuticals! Thanks for your thoughtful contribution to this important discussion.
MacThistle on February 10th, 2009 8:53 am
Anne,
How do you reconcile the scientific imperative for evidence with acceptance of a god? I was raised in a religious home, surrounded by religious relatives (including several clergy). They had every opportunity to present me with concrete evidence that their god was something more than a cultural invention, but they never did. I asked several times, nothing ever came. I’m still waiting. Do you have evidence? If not, how can you “believe?”
Antonio Manetti on February 11th, 2009 3:49 pm
More importantly, I’m concerned that the people on the fringes — the angry atheists and the judgmental Christians — are getting in the way, distracting our society from the real work, the worthy and important work, of moving ahead.
The judgemental Christians are not on the fringes. Since 76% of Americans believe in a literal interpretation of genesis, I think these folks represent the mainstream. What’s more, the atheists aren’t the ones trying to pollute the teaching of science with their own views.
Of course, it’s easier and safer to bash a small group of noisy atheists rather than engage in the substance of their arguments or rationally defend one’s own beliefs.
People who claim to accept science and profess to believe would do better to explain to their co-religionists how to credibly reconcile the two without tossing science under the bus. I have yet to see anyone walk this tightrope successfully without resorting to some scientifically dubious variant of the Strong Anthropic Principle.
Lawn on March 17th, 2009 11:32 am
Are there more testimonials around the site?