Going Beyond the Argument

Last Sunday, our God Debate series presented “Going Beyond the Argument”. The series has attempted to frame the way we would like to address those who espouse the new atheism. We think that much of the dialogue so far has been missing the point.

For instance, take the current hot potato in the interface between religion and science, the issue of origins. For people of Christian faith who have committed themselves to Scriptural authority, the seemingly contrary explanations on origins remains perplexing. On the one hand, a Christian faith position does necessarily rule out any explanation which puts chance as the ruling mechanism of the universe. In place of chance, the Christian faith position asserts that the infinite-personal God is not only the first cause of the universe but its continuing cause, and that He is lovingly and wisely bringing all things towards their intended purpose. Randomness and chance are ruled out.

But on the other side, it is important for us who affirm the authority of Scripture to admit that the “how” of creation -- that is, how God has brought the universe into being -- is a question that we are still in the process of discovering. And science can help us here. It is vital for us who affirm the authority of the Scriptures to understand what we have in the creation accounts of Genesis 1-2; simply put, that these passage are not meant for scientific purpose. It is better to see these passages (we have two different creation stories in Genesis 1-2) as poetic tellings of of a theological perspective. The twin creation stories of Genesis 1-2 are meant to be a statement on God as first cause, on creation as ordered and intended for a purpose beyond itself, and on humanity’s place within the created order as God’s special focus. Genesis 1-2 speaks to the why more than the how.

It would be helpful for us to notice that creation theology is everywhere present in Scripture. I would suggest that Psalm 8 is just such a text:

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? [Psalm 8:3-4, NLT]

The question here is not one of how we arrived as we are, but what our essential identity is, and what our human purpose and destiny might be. The psalm goes on to assert humanity’s special place within the creation order, a statement that leads to further questions of course, but at least asserts that much. In this view, human beings are not merely the top of the food chain, but are instead creatures that are uniquely relatable to God.
Finally, creation should not be thought of in stagnant terms, as in the idea that God set the universe in motion and now stands by to nudge it once in a while. That view would be called a deist position, the idea that while God exists and is creator, he is not involved in the unfolding development of our universe. This is not the Biblical idea of creation.

Instead, the fuller idea of God as creator sees that the material world around is something he has not only called into being, but something he is still inherently present with, especially as he brings the universe forward into it destiny and purpose. Theologians call this the creatio continua, or continuing creation. It is fascinating to consider that in the resurrection of Jesus, we have the first of what the Scriptures call the new creation, the reality beyond what we now experience. While this current cultural moment finds us debating the how questions of the universe we live in, the Scriptures are focused elsewhere, on the new creation of transformed souls and renewed order of things.

Whatever our opinion or perspective on this issue, what we have tried to do through this series is push past the sound bites on either side, and to create the possibility of moving the discussion into a much more dialogical approach. We need a new kind of wisdom to navigate the questions, to humbly admit that we are capable of projecting ideas into the biblical text that are not supported there, and, on the other side, courageously challenge those uses of science that are more philosophical than evidential. Avoiding these two extremes while allowing Scripture and science to talk to each other is a far more positive and helpful approach. And it just may save some people from the needless false dichotomy that currently exists between religion and science.

The God Debate series concludes this weekend with a live discussion between Chris, Jeremy and Bob. We call this new event Deep Dive Live. We welcome your questions which you can submit live or by email to info@wkc.org. The action will take place Sunday at 9:29 and 11:11 am.

Bob