Pan-Creationism

As I wrote my previous post, I realized it might be a good idea to reveal my view of origins. Trying to follow good journalistic practices, I have attempted to describe various views as a neutral third-party, but this can be confusing to readers who are trying to infer what I think about such a contentious issue.

I recently decided that I am, ultimately, a ‘Pan-Creationist.’ To wit, it all panned out and here we are. Before you go accusing me of copping-out, let me explain.

I believe firmly in the first five words of Genesis:  “In the beginning, God created.” After that, I WAS NOT THERE, so I don’t know.

I believe God is perfectly capable of creating the universe in six seconds, so six days isn’t a problem when it comes to His ability. Neither do I limit Him to six literal 24 hour days. It is a very interesting question, but to me it is not a doctrine on which I intend to stand or fall.

Dammit, Jim, I’m a chemist, not a Hebrew scholar, geologist, or biologist. I’ve never even taken a biochemistry course. Therefore, I do not have the technical expertise to comment with authority on the topic of origins, so I refuse to. That is not a cop-out, it is professional integrity.

I do not hold the Bible to the standards of the Journal of the American Chemical Society or similar. Given that scientific journals came thousands of years after Scripture, I don’t see modern scientific standards as being backwards compatible with ancient Hebrew literature.

As a layman who has studied the Bible for over 25 years, and as a PhD scientist who understands the scientific method and sees it as a valid and powerful method for studying the natural world, I lean at this point in the direction of progressive creation. That is, that the six days of Genesis 1 are periods of time, and creation occurred over billions of years. However, I am still open to new data and new interpretations of both the Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature. I find intriguing arguments in most of the various camps from the young earthers to the theistic evolutionists, but have not found a compelling set of arguments to place me firmly at a defined position. My experience tells me that the truth of hazy things often lies somewhere between the extreme views, so I tend to gravitate there while waiting for new info.

Part of the issue goes back to my theme of agent-mechanism dichotomy. Science, as a tool of studying the natural universe is able to offer extremely limited insight on things supernatural. Therefore, I have to rely on more than science to determine if the agent of creation is God, naturalistic forces, or some other unknown force. My assessment of all the data I have, including personal experience, is that God does exist. Historical sciences like paleogeology, astronomy and evolutionary biology have the substantial limitations of not being repeatable, with no living eyewitnesses or written documents (reliable or otherwise). Thus, interpretation of the data relies on key assumptions that apparently competent professionals disagree on, largely based on whether they assume the supernatural can even exist or not. This makes definitive mechanistic determinations difficult, but not impossible.

In summary, did God do it? Yes. How? I look forward to seeing the better than blu-ray version when I reach Glory. Til then, it’s an open question.

SDG

Define Your Terms!

I got into an argument with a friend the other day over evolution. He argued that basically evolution had done nothing good for the world, and I maintained that, in spite of some questions about the ultimate accuracy of the model, it had successfully guided research into some useful discoveries. He responded that they were made using what Bacon, Newton and others had developed long before Darwin came along.

We went round and round until I realized that we were talking past each other. He was arguing against evolutionary philosophy, and I was talking strictly about the scientific theory of evolution as a mechanism. I realized that this was the agent-mechanism debacle that I keep railing about, all over again. In his mind, ‘evolution’ refers to the entire kit and kaboodle of atheistic evolutionary theory and philosophy of origins. In my mind, I see distinct separations between Darwin’s scientific theory (and subsequent derivations) and the naturalistic philosophy with which it is often paired and which tend to feed off of each other.

Therein is the confusion—to many people, Christian or otherwise, there is no separation between the scientific mechanistic theory of evolution and the naturalism prevalent among atheistic/agnostic folks. Thus, to talk about one, you are talking about the other.

Unless one recognizes that they are separate (though closely related), it can be difficult to evaluate the theory on its scientific merits or lack thereof (depending on your viewpoint). The theory says the diversity of life arose through genetic changes over time. The philosophy says therefore that God did not have any hand in getting us here and, in fact, doesn’t exist.

Thus, it is imperative to carefully define your terms in most any discussion and make sure all parties agree to them. Unfortunately, even once I realized the confusion and explained it to him, we were forced to agree to disagree, as he seemed unable or unwilling to concede my assertion that they were separable.

For those folks who are ‘theistic evolutionists,’ this is the uphill battle they face. There are all too many people on both sides like my friend who don’t see them as separable. Therefore, many Christians see them as heretics, and many naturalists see them as cheap compromisers trying to find a way to allow for their faith in the face of ‘overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary.’

In nearly every field, there is at least one issue that causes bitter division. What is it in yours? Can some of the heat in the division be reduced by taking a step back, and starting from first principles, set up the definition of terms such that jumbled ideas can be separated? (Maybe this isn’t possible long term as the jumbled ideas may truly be interrelated, but is it possible to temporarily set up a separation for purposes of argument and theory refinement?)

SDG

God's Anger

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.” John 3:36 NIV

What a profound and unpopular verse. Even most non-believers can quote John 3:16, but even many churches stop there, shying away from the subsequent discussion of condemnation. I understand. We spend an astounding quantity of all of our types of resources to put the best face on ourselves, the best spin on our lives.

Yet, God would rather clean up our mess than paint over it. Our mess is there. It’s real. It is the foul odor of our secret places, the weight that pushes our head into our hands when we hope no one is looking. It is the stage IV cancer in our soul.

We want, and need, a doctor that is offended by cancer, that sees it as an enemy to be crushed, annihilated, not someone who takes it in stride between golf games. We need a doctor that is angry with us when we treat it with mild indifference or ignore it—a doctor that will push us to death’s door to force us to acknowledge our dire condition, then, when we turn in fright and horror, will hold us and say I have the cure, here and now. Take it. See life. Be living. Be disease-free.

But who will take a cure for a disease they don’t believe they have? We need to know we are terminal, to know we are condemned, to realize we need a cure, a pardon. Anything else is only half the Gospel, or less. The sad part is that half of a cure can often make the disease worse.

SDG

The Brooklyn Space Program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXkoIBDXwd8&feature=player_embedded

Absolutely incredible—a father and his 8 yr old son design and build a homemade space probe, launch and recover it. I don’t know the father’s background, but it is a remarkable feat nonetheless.

What can we challenge our students to dream and bring into existence using what is around them?

I’m not just talking spaceships, but

ideas

critical thought

awareness of the history around them

to see the world through low-tech eyes

using the mundane to understand/explore the profound

provide opportunities for God to reveal Himself through their subject matter

Homework: meditate on I Corinthians 1:18-29 and Romans 1:20a

SDG

Opportunities Abound!

Long story short: to meet some guidelines allowing my lab course to have a writing flag, I had to add an assignment. It needed to be short and useful, because the course is already too much work for one hour of credit. I came up with a 1-page essay on “What I Want to Do with My Life,” followed by a 15 minute, 1 on 1 appointment with me to discuss it.

Turns out, this assignment is one of the best things I’ve ever done. I have discovered myriad benefits of which I could never have dreamed. I will get several complaints that I don’t give enough info (font, spacing margins, etc.) and it drives some type-A’s nuts. This gives me a chance to explain that in the real world, when the boss wants a 2 page progress report, they don’t care about formatting aside from good spelling, grammar and readability—they just want the info, and the page length indicates how much time they want to spend on it. I also use it to reveal to students how in the real world, they are always being evaluated, even on things that aren’t explicitly spelled out, as a way of measuring maturity and professionalism, so they always need to pay attention to detail and their p’s and q’s.

Many don’t have a clue, even as seniors, what to do with their lives, and no clue how to figure it out. There is a general sense of needing a job, but not a vision for their lives. I have had the privilege and blessing of helping them find tools to discover one. Many are astounded that a faculty member would take this kind of time for them and are grateful for the personalized discussion.

I always end by giving them an opportunity to ask me any question they want. Often, it is something along the lines of “Well, how did you get to where you are today?” As my faith is central to the story, having nearly gone to seminary at several points, it gives me a chance to identify myself as a Christian to them individually, and has often led to some great conversations and spiritual guidance. It is a great comfort to Christian students when they discover one of their instructors is also a believer. And when a non-believing student discovers I’m a Christian in the very context of ministering to a secular need of theirs, it is a strong testimony. They already see I’m different because I meet with them, and now they can see why.

If I were to choose one saying as a life motto, it is from St. Francis, “Always share your faith. If necessary, use words.”

SDG