Hello,
This is the time of year that I feel sorry for the deer. My sympathy does not come from the
rifles and bows that are aimed at them, that misfortune has yet to arrive here
in rural Pennsylvania. What has
arrived, however, is the autumn brilliance of the oak, maple, cherry, locus and
sassafras trees whose leaves deliver a short burst of amazing color to the
hills before they fall to the ground, dropping out of sight. It is a show of incredible beauty that
I get to see, and the deer do not.
I see it because the eyes that I have been given can see color; the deer
miss out because their eyes only allow them to see in black and white.
It is true that seeing things in black and white, as with a black and
white photograph, provides an increased clarity that allow deer to see their predators
(that is of course unless the predator is a hunter in camo’s), but that clarity
comes at a price…..the price: diminished beauty, diminished awe, and diminished
wonder.
There is a common duel that is set up in our world, a duel that pits
faith against science. At its best
this duel pits “truths” that cannot be seen against “truths” that can be
seen. At its worst this duel
purports to be a challenge between those who think against those who mindlessly
live in outdated fantasy. It is a
duel that claims victory to science when we believe we have discovered how
something really works or came to be, and victory goes to faith when such
discovery remains outside of our understanding. There are a good number of Biblical literalistic Christians
who delight in this duel and do their best to shoot science down. Likewise, the same can be said for empirically
driven scientists (and comics) who take aim at faith, usually Biblically
literalistic faith, and delight in the ease of shooting it down.
But when I look out my window at the October Pennsylvania hillsides, I
don’t see a duel between science and faith going on. What I see is the blessing of being able to see in
color.
With the limited understanding of a solely scientific view of things
that I have, it seems to me that the precision that science provides us comes
to us through the benefits of seeing things in black and white (not ethically,
but empirically). The starkness of
scientific empiricism has proven itself very helpful in leading us to discover
how things have come to be, how things work, and how we might harness this
knowledge to better the lives of all people. Science is a blessing to the Christian witness, not a foe.
Yet, science by its very nature, its non-emotional, statistically
verifiable, empirically discernible database seems to me to give us eyes to see
things well, but without color…without the color of love….without the color of
forgiveness….without the color of hope….without the color of value and worth to
that which seems valueless and worthless.
To me, that is the blessing of faith. Faith does not stand opposed to science; faith brings color
to science!
There are many Christians, who the world seems not to spotlight, that
see this partnership between faith and science in every page of the Bible. We see faith giving wonderful color to
the scientific, earth-centered understanding of creation of those who lived in
Biblical times (an understanding that we see differently, now, but no less
filled with awe inspiring color.)
We see faith giving wonderful color to the events of history that the
Bible has passed on, transposing the stark facts of the history that we live in
into color. We see faith giving
wonderful color to the joys and struggles of the daily lives of ancient people,
and likewise coloring ours.
When I consider the faith that God has given me, a faith that finds its
roots in what God has done for the world (John 3:16), I don’t find myself
raising a pistol for a duel. I find
myself thankful for the eyes of faith that allow me to see with color.
Have a great week….enjoy the color!
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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