Anti-Science

"Science and religion do not mix."

Common knowledge, right? I mean, ask a scientist and they say that, ask a theologian and they say it as well.

Let's look at the facts: Religion says the Creation was formed in seven days, but science says billions of years. Religion says God formed man, science says evolution led man to come to be as we know him. Religion taught for centuries the flat earth/earth center of the universe theories- science disproved them. Science can't explain miraculous healings or a man dead several days suddenly alive, religion is founded on those kinds of ideas.

And so, the war between religion and science has raged. Each getting defensive, each biting back at the other in sometimes petty ways. And the church has been labeled by many as being anti-science.

And the label sticks. Religion is anti-science. At it's very core, it must be. If the resurrection of Christ could be scientifically explained, then the central miracle of the Christian religion is not so special. The Cross, the Tomb, and the Resurrection must be as far from science as possible- for it to be what we followers of Christ profess it to be, it must be beyond the realm of science and human possibility. For one to follow Christ, they must accept this episode of Christ's life and death and resurrection not on scientific fact, but on faith- purely on faith.

It's now 2000 years after those events, give or take. Religion is largely unchanged in it's core elements, but science has evolved and exploded. At Christ's time, science was the fringe thing and religion was the dominant power. Our commonplace items like cars, TV's, the internet and smart phones would be labeled witchcraft and sorcery by the contemporaries of the Messiah. Now, science is the dominant power and religion is increasingly on the fringe. And that's even true among Christians.

Barna Group's research shows that around 52% of 13-17 year old active church attenders plan to go into a science related career field. Young people who have questions about faith are increasing turning to Google over theology books, mentors, or even the Bible. Young people are seeking to know why they believe what they believe ( a good thing, in my opinion), but they seem to be increasingly basing that decision on cold hard facts. They don't want to take things on faith, at least, not very often. And religion is fighting back with fear and sometimes anger at a lost generation. And they are in fact losing a generation.

As it has been from the beginning of the conflict, it is now:

Science and religion do not mix.

But science and faith can.

Consider for a moment that some of the great scientific discoveries- like that the sun was the center of the galaxy, not earth- were discovered by Christians. Galileo was devout, and bucked the church's authority when he proposed his theory on the sun-centered galaxy. He was one of many Christians who embraced both science and faith, and changed the world because of it.

At the heart of how science and faith can co-exist while science and religion cannot is the nature of the things themselves. I said earlier that religion is largely unchanged in 2000 years, while science is always changing- not unlike our personal faith. Religion is often rigid ( And to be fair, science is as well. Once an idea is accepted as law -or even theory, it's nigh impossible to change minds, even if the law or theory is wrong.). But faith is fluid. Faith is willing to trust in things, even if they don't make sense. I'd even argue that faith is necessary to be a good scientist. Scientists must have faith in their methods, in their practices, in their theories and in the scientists that have come before them.

I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a scientific approach to Christianity. I think there is room for debate on some of the seemingly immovable precepts like Time for Creation and Evolution. The reason I say that is that no matter what one believes in regards to them, one can still be saved by Christ's sacrifice.

I look at it this way: Everyone is trying to build a bridge to cross the chasm of seperation from Man to God. You use your knowledge, experience, opinions, advice of others and even science to build that bridge. Any tool available should be used. For some, the bridge is long and the construction is hard. For others, the bridge is small and the labor light.

But no one's bridge will ever complete the chasm fully. There does not exist in this world enough proof in science, experience, opinions or advice to fully bridge that gap.

Everyone comes to a point where if they want to believe in Christ, they must take a leap from the belief system they've carefully constructed to the actual presence of God. Science cannot get you there- only the Cross of Christ and His Resurrection can, and it makes no scientific sense. I'd even argue that if you believe in it based on science, you're missing the point. It MUST come down to faith.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. --Ephesians 2:8-9

I think Faith and Science can and should work together. I think the fact that 52% of young Christians want to pursue the sciences as a career is great- we the Church need to encourage their pursuit of that dream as a chance to share and discover the glory of God in new ways. A well designed bridge or a marvelous tech tool or a skilled surgeon can be just as much an act of worship to God as a praise song- if the maker of those things is intent on honoring God.

I want to close with this thought: In your faith, always strive to understand why you believe what you believe. Seek answers, allow your doubts to drive you to hope. Never settle for what religion tells you when God is the one who truly has the answers- even if He's holding out on them from time to time. And in your science, do likewise. Never simply believe in the atom or gravity or climate change or biology or evolution or intelligent design because of who proposed it or how long it's been upheld or how many people believe it.

Seek answers.

Finding Jezebel and Losing Hope

 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.  So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”



Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.  
                                                                                 1 Kings 19:1-3a

I know Jezebel.

Although, in my life, I call her disappointment, or financial difficulty, or lust, or insecurity.  She is waiting around every victory, hiding behind every rising hope.  She is waiting to pounce, waiting to crush my dreams and my good feelings.

You know her, too.

I don't know who or what she is in your life- maybe one of the same things she is in mine, or maybe something or someone else- but she is there.  She is as real to us as she was to Elijah, and we fear her and run from her just the same.

It seems that for every victory in life, something wants to tear us down.   Have an awesome time of worship and come home to find an earth shattering email.  Finally commit to giving God more of your time and love, and then lose your job.  Have a great conversation with someone about Christ then hear the news from the doctor and its not good.   I mean, it's almost like we're being opposed!

Elijah certainly was.  He had prayed to God and seen fire fall from heaven, just killed 850 false prophets, just prayed for rain to end a multi-year drought and seen the water flow.  The next day, he gets that message.  He had beaten her, he had proven her gods to be nothings.  Yet she threatens him and he runs.

God pursues Elijah, like he does us.  He sends an angel to feed and encourage him.  Then God speaks to him, not in the wind, or in an earthquake, but in a gentle whisper.  Elijah's response?  "I'm lonely and people want to kill me.  I'm done."

Elijah made several mistakes.

1.  He listened to Jezebel.  She had his attention, and she didn't deserve it.  I'm not saying we ignore the issues in our lives, our Jezebels, but we do not need to give them our devotion.  We do not need to give them a hold or power over us.  Elijah had just seen God prove Jezebel a nothing, but still Elijah fears her.  He stood up against a nation, 850 prophets, their 'gods' and the king.  But the queen?  That's just too much.

2.  He lost hope.  Because he listened to her rather than God, Elijah failed to hear and see what God was doing.  He lost sight of God because all he could see was Jezebel.  It's easy to lack hope when you can't see it.  He had endured much, he had faced the enemy and won.  He thought it was over, but it wasn't.  When the battle seems never ending, it's hard to hope in a good end for you.  Even if our enemy is defeated, the battle still goes on. 

3.  He didn't listen to God.  Twice, Elijah says, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."  Both times in response to God asking him why he was at Mt Hebron throwing a pity party.  God tried speaking to Elijah, but he wasn't listening.  He only wanted to see the bad.  That's key.  He WANTED to see the bad instead of the good.  There are times we don't want to see the good.  Why?  I really don't know, but it's true.  We just want to wallow in our mess.

So, what does God do?  He tells Elijah the plan.  The plan is to keep on going as planned, but Elijah is being replaced.  Elijah is to appoint a new king in Aram, anoint a new king over Israel.  Oh, and name Elijah's own successor- Elisha.  The moral is, if you lose hope like Elijah did, and refuse to see what God is trying to show you, you can be replaced.  God will find a way to accomplish His will, and He wants to use you, but He will not let you sabotage the good He intends to bring about.

Now, Elisha's appointment doesn't meant the end for Elijah (there's grace and restoration at work here).  But take a lesson from Elisha.  He is farming when he is called.  He goes back, and slaughters his oxen and burns his farming tools.  He essentially says, "My past is done.  Let's move forward."  Compare that to Elijah in his pity party who can't look past an enemy already defeated.  Perhaps that is a lesson for us as well- learn from and grow from our past.  Good and bad.  But never dwell on it.  Never leave an opening for return to it.

Sometimes looking back over our shoulder at our defeats as well as victories is how we miss the hope right in front of us.

Elijah Part Three: Rain of Fire

If there is a scene from the Bible I'm dying to see on film this is it.  Honestly, Elijah on Mt. Carmel is easily one of my top favorite stories, not just for the big finale, but for the subtle way in which God begins calling His people back.

Picking up where we left Elijah, telling Obadiah he'd meet Ahab that day, we find Elijah keeping his word.  And Ahab is clearly excited to see the prophet.

Ahab calls him the troubler of Israel.  I can see where Ahab would feel that way, what with the king being so narcissistic and totally under the control of Jezebel.  I mean, Ahab, who had turned his family and the whole nation away from God couldn't be the root of the problem, right?

Elijah calls him out, because Elijah isn't impressed with the king or his threats.  Or the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah.  Who, by the way, apparently belong to some sort of Breakfast Club with Jezebel.  Elijah calls for a Battle Royale- he'd stand up for Yahweh like Mickey to Rocky, and the 950 prophets of Baal and Asherah would play cornerman to their Ivan Drago.  (Rocky 4 reference for the un-initiated).

Mt. Carmel is the place of showdown, a hilltop near the sea.  The two sides will each prepare their altar, then call their deity, and the one who lights the fire is real.  Elijah allows the other prophets to go first, they set up their sacrifice, and begin to call on the two deities of fertility.  They call.  But no one answers.  So they begin to dance.  Nothing.  Like attention hungry kids begging for the parent's eyes to fall on them, they get more dramatic.  They start cutting themselves.  Silence.

Well, sort of.  See, Elijah is off to the side mocking them.  Yep, a prophet of God is saying things like "Yell louder- he may be sleeping!" and my personal favorite "Maybe he can't hear you because he's in the bathroom."  Elijah does, in the original Hebrew, actually make a potty joke.  Seriously.

Now, the crowd- aka the nation of Israel en masse- has lost interest in the Baal and Asherah prophets.  Elijah makes his move.  One line, "Come here to me." (1 Kings 18:30)  Israel has run from God and all his ambassadors for years.  They've tried to kill them, in fact.  They have pursued a god(s) that was just called out and proven impotent.   Now, a gentle, quiet call to repentance is offered.  I like to think that God is speaking through Elijah here, and the call to come here is God calling his people back- not with show, not with the works of man, but with grace.  And Elijah shows that as he repairs the altar of the Lord- 12 stones that had fallen into disrepair due to lack of use.  I imagine a loving and gentle action of setting the stones right with care, and a sense of brokenness that this was even necessary.

With the altar set, he does something...odd.  He orders the altar soaked with water.  Gallons upon gallons of water.  A)  Three years of drought- I guess the water came from the ocean.  B)  He could have done this to discredit any allegations of an incendiary device -provided they knew what that was back then.  C) This took guts.  Faith of a mountain mover.

An altar set up and soaked.  A nation watching with anticipation.  And Elijah prays this:

“LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”  (1 Kings 18:36-37)


It's beautiful.  It's simple.  It breaks my heart.  God as the rescuer, God as the redeemer, God as the winner of our hearts.  Elijah wants validation- not for his fame, but for God's.  Don't we all want God to answer us sometimes?  We've laid out our lives for people who refuse to believe time and time again.  So we ask God to show up.  No, we beg Him.  We must want the restoration of others as much as we desire our own, and we need faith that He is true to His word.


Elijah doesn't have to wait.  Fire falls from Heaven- consuming not just the wood and the sacrifice (soaked with a multitude of gallons of water), but also the stones and the soil.  How passionate is God for His people?!?!  (FYI Stone melts at 1500 degrees Celsius.  That's 2732 degrees F. )  The people who had rejected God fall on their faces- out of fear, probably, but also with a reverence for the revealed God.  They cry out, "The Lord, He is God!"

Then, because of the Law, Elijah orders the nation of Israel to kill the other 950 prophets.  The people do, because, well, they saw the fire.

Elijah tells Ahab to grab a snack, and go, because heavy rain is coming.  Remember, Elijah said it wouldn't rain for unless he said.  And for around 3 years, it hadn't.  Then Elijah goes to the peak of the hill, and looks out over the sea.  He prays.  Each time, he looks for rain clouds.  Seven times.  Finally,  a tiny cloud appears on the horizon.  He sprints down off the mountain, as rain begins to pummel the parched and dry earth beneath his feet.  Ahab, who had lolly-gagged a bit, watches from a chariot as Elijah runs- and I imagine laughs and cheers- ahead of the king.


It is Elijah's crowning achievement.  The nation is looking to Yahweh again.  Ahab is humbled.  The prophets of Baal and Asherah are dead.  One man stood for God.  All he did was seek the Lord with reverence, and trust in Him.


What if we were more like that? 

Elijah Part One - Learning to Trust

I like Elijah.

He dresses funny ( camel skins),  says bold things, does even bolder things, and loves to buck the system.  He's also a bit of loner, which I kinda dig.

The main reason I like him, though, is that he is human.  He is given to fits of pride and ego, depression and mania; he does good, but makes mistakes.  He doesn't care if he offends, but deeply desires that people listen to what he has to say.  So, I want to take a look at his life- I think there is much to learn from this mysterious prophet of God.

Man From Nowhere


Tishbe is the hole inside the hole in the wall.  As such, it is not a place that is easy to find on a map.  Any map.  Not even a map that existed in Elijah's time.  Scholars aren't sure exactly where Tishbe is, of if that is the real name of Elijah's hometown.  Yet, it is how we are introduced to one of the most important prophets of all time.

In 1 Kings 17, we get his story's beginning.  He comes from Tishbe- aka Nowhere- and his first words are addressed to no ordinary person.  No, he speaks to the King of Israel.  Ahab.  Husband of Jezebel and general bad dude.  Ahab had, with his wife, led Israel into idolatry with Ba'al and Asherah- regional 'gods' of fertility and stuff.  So what Elijah had to say was a pointed attack on not just the monarchy, but on the gods they clung to so tightly:

"As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."  (1 Kings 17:1)


Elijah called out Ahab and Jezebel, but he also called out the god of fertility and crops:  no rain = no fertility for farming.  Needless to say, Elijah becomes public enemy number one.

So, what does one do when one has a bounty on their head?


Birds and Brooks


You and I might find an army.  Or at least a strongly fortified hiding spot.  Elijah listens to God, and he goes and grabs a spot of land by a brook.  A small little flow of water, trickling over rocks.  I'm guessing its not well hidden.  And for the next period of time, Elijah has water to drink and is waited on by ravens.  They bring him his food.  Now, I'd be reluctant, what with bird flu and all, but not Elijah.  


He is learning to trust God.


This little episode is pretty uneventful, but it teaches us this:  trust God.  The rest of Israel, remember is in the beginning throes of drought.  Food is becoming more scarce, water even more so.  Yet Elijah wants for none of that.  God is providing for his needs.  How often have we had just enough to get by, yet complain that its not more.  For me, that's pretty much daily.  Yet God has yet to let me go hungry or without water.  And I even have shelter- something Elijah probably didn't.  Not that he needed it- what with the drought and all.


Miracle Jars


As is likely to happen with droughts the water dried up.  But then God told Elijah to go find a certain widow woman and ask her for water and bread.  He does without question.  See, he'd learned to trust God, even when the command or promise seems...odd.


She is found, and Elijah asks for water.  As she goes to get it, he asks for bread.  She informs him that the last of her flour is about to be used for hers and her son's last meal.  Then they will die.  This means the drought is real bad.  Elijah tells her that if she first makes him some bread, God will keep the jar of flour and bottle of oil full.


See, this is not about Elijah learning to trust God- he's got it.  It's about the widow.  Once we learn to trust God, it becomes our obligation to teach others by modeling it with our lives.  The widow listens to Elijah, and the jar and bottle stay miraculously full.  


Supernatural CPR


Not too much later, the widow's son become mostly dead (ref. to Princess Bride, for those in the know).  Irate, the widow begins attacking Elijah and God over bringing this tragedy upon her house.  She responds as most of us would when pushed too far.  But that's just the case, God pushes us to see if we really do trust Him.  Some of us need only to have our needs met like Elijah at the brook.  Others have to be brought to the brink.  They have to be willing to give it all.  The widow has to be willing to trust God with the thing most important thing in her life- her son.  Elijah says he can save the boy, she has to trust him AND God to keep their word.


Elijah takes the boy, lays him down, and then lays on top of him three times.  Weird, right?  But you know what, the boy gets up.  He's alive, restored and better.  And you know what, the widow is as well.  She praises Elijah and God, saying:

“Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” (1 Kings 17: 24)


Trust Me, Trust God




We ask people to trust us, so that they may some day trust God.


I would wager that more people turn from God because they don't trust the ones who bear His name- you and me.  We need to learn to earn people's trust- not so we can be liked or popular or win their approval- but so that they will be willing to hear us out on God.

Ultimately, a persons choice to choose or reject God has nothing to do with me, I realize that.  But they are on a journey to that choice and I do not want to be a detour.  Instead, I want to be an Elijah, one who trusts God and points others to trust in God.  


With my words AND with my actions.

ReLive

I've said it before, but I am not a morning person.

I exist in a semi-conscious state until 10 a.m. or so, and as such, spend a good portion of the morning sleepwalking through life. Multitasking is out of the question, and answering questions that require thought beyond multiple choice is a long, drawn out event. Essentially, I'm useless until late morning.

Now imagine living life that way. In a constant fog, we walk through- limp is a better word- bumping into people and things and never quite grasping what is going on. It's bad enough when this occurs in our physical life, but all too often, this is the constant state of our spiritual life.

Maybe it was a loss of faith, or a routine that became a rut, or assault after assault by negative events. Whatever caused it, your spirituality has fallen asleep- it has become dead. It gets really scary when this complacency becomes apathy- and you don't care if it gets better. That comes when you either really lose faith, or when you grow satisfied with where you are.

Both of those lead to spiritual death.

Jesus brought a dead man to life. Lazarus was physically dead- very dead. Four days dead. As the Munchkin Coroner said in the Wizard of Oz, "She's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead." Lazarus had a family who loved him, yet they had given up hope that he could be healed. Wouldn't you? Mary and Martha have become spiritually dead- they give all the right answers, but when reading their words, they seem...hollow. The story of Lazarus is as much about his resurrection as it is theirs.

Jesus enters the scene and speaks of being the Resurrection and the Life. Then He gives it. Lazarus comes out of the tomb, and Mary and Martha are given a spark to resuscitate their faith in Jesus. The moral of the story is that you are never too dead for Jesus to give you life- especially in the spiritual sense.

Jesus came to give us life, and give it to us abundantly. He wants us to not spend our lives half asleep, stumbling along on memorized prayers and speed-read Bible passages. He wants us to find our spark of life from Him, to live in Him, not just the knowledge of Him.

I know of people that know a lot about Jesus, but they are not alive in their faith. They have the right answers, they know the facts, they even pray regularly and read their Bibles. Yet they are not alive. For Jesus, life is not about knowing what to do and what to say, it is about knowing Him. If we do things just because they are expected of us, we are not living. But if our motivation is our love for and desire to know Christ, life fills our hearts and pours out of our actions and thoughts and words.

Lazarus' story is about the opportunity to ReLive. To be restored. To be resurrected.

Like Lazarus, I think we could all use a little jump start from time to time.

From the outside looking in, you can't understand it; From the inside looking out, you can't explain it.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves.
How He Loves ( David Crowder Version)

I'm starting to take at least one day a week to listen to worship music on the drive to work. Normally, I try to pray, but I often fall into the rut of just talking to God and not listening. There is nothing wrong with sharing our heart with God, asking Him, thanking Him, sharing our problems. But like any relationship, we need it to not be one sided.

Lately, How He Loves by The David Crowder*Band has been the song that speaks to me. Really, since it came out it has profoundly affected me. When John Mark McMillan wrote it, it was written about a man who stated if he could, by dying, shake the youth of the world for Christ, so be it. And that day he was killed in car accident. Its a song about the unseen world of God touching ours. No, make that invading ours.

The excerpt I posted above is no doubt my favorite part. It speaks the answer to the question of "Why do I believe in God?" That answer is simple- I believe because I have been caught up in Him. I have been hypnotized by Christ through His grace and His love. He has blessed me unexpectedly ( the unforeseen/sloppy wet kiss line). He has caused me to be in conflict with myself, my heart does turn violently inside my chest each time I come to a decision point of choosing my way or God's.

The funny thing about these experiences of God that I've had is that they are not verifiable, at least, not scientifically so. I did not come to believe in grace because someone showed me a diagram of how it works- I believe it because I have relief when I confess my sins and because I have seen grace shown from a follower of Christ to another human being. Regardless of the differences between them. I do not believe in God's love because He sent me roses, I believe because I have known a comfort that comes as if from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I do not believe in God's power because I can look at an inventory of His armory, but because I have seen examples of His power demonstrated in storms and fires and mountains and oceans- and in the power of His people that are able to endure.

Here at A&M there is a saying, "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it; From the inside looking out, you can't explain it." It may sound dismissive, but I think that believing in God can be the same. God doesn't make sense, He doesn't translate well to a person who doesn't know faith in Him. This is not an excuse for us to be elitist or uppity about us having a 'special knowledge.' In fact, there is no special knowledge at all, just a different relationship gained by engaging God. That is really what the Aggie quote is all about. If you want to understand the Aggie Spirit, you have to experience it by engaging it. No amount of explanation or charts or logic will truly make it clear to you. You have to be immersed in it.

If you want to understand God, you have to let the grace in His eyes draw you to redemption. You have to allow your defenses to drop, to let your guard down, to be caught up in Him. Sink in the ocean of grace to understand that He loves you so much that nothing you've done or could ever do is too much for Him to wash away. You will be so lost in the abundance of God, that any regrets you have held onto- for past mistakes or indulgences, or for failures- could not be held onto.

If you want to get to know another person, looking up their vital stats, their facts and figures won't help you. (Unless its for fantasy football, then, maybe.) Sitting down with them, allowing their conversation to wash over you, learning the way they talk, the little quirks of their personality, this is how you know them.

So when I sit in the car, letting the words of the song wash over me, letting the voice of God speak to me as He would like, then I come to know Him, and why I believe in Him.