The desire of a vocal minority to cling to a notion that the entire universe is a few thousand years old, despite the clear physical evidence to the contrary, points less to a reasonable alternate view of the observable world. Rather, it points to a desperate attempt to maintain a dying voice in the cultural conversation. It’s the sound of a once culturally dominant voice trying to resist its own marginalization to the fringes of a society who values the pursuit and evolution of human thought.
The reality is that a healthy number of us who consider ourselves to be Christian embrace science. We think critically. We accept the likelihood that much we think we understand about the world, the universe, and about our faith can (and should) change as we learn new things.
We understand that faith is more about questions than answers, and that the prime mover in our faith practice is to be more like Jesus (especially with how we treat others) rather than focusing so much on trying to make others more like us.
Science figured out something long ago that religion still struggles with. Built into the scientific method is the assumption that all hypotheses and theories should be held loosely, and ultimately, released in exchange for new ones when the evidence before us calls for it. Religion, on the other hand, tends to carve out a position and defend it tirelessly, from generation to generation, sometimes to the death. Never mind if it’s clearly absurd, counter-intuitive, and based in bronze-age thinking.
Science and spirituality only work if, beneath it all, we keep the notion that it's very likely, if not inevitable, that much of what we think and believe is true today will change tomorrow. And that's okay. It's part of being human.
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