Science and Religion

Long considered unfriendly bedfellows, I have had the pleasure of indulging both of these topics quite frequently in my life. Having a BS in Biology, and studying to obtain a Master of Arts in Theology has created quite a mixture of thought, logic, and research in my mind. One of my greatest quandaries is fielded in the area of "spontaneous generation." Spontaneous generation is the belief that life can unexpectedly arise from a non-living thing. Many many years ago, scientists like Louis Pasteur proved this silly myth wrong, irrelevant, and illogical. And yet today I read an article by one of the foremost physicists in the world stating this:

We must rid ourselves of the thought of spontaneous generation. It is a fallacious idea, and it must be replaced with gradual spontaneous generation.

Hmm...let us dismiss this foolish idea that life can arise from non-living things suddenly...but given time it can definitely happen? I'm a bit confused at the logic here. The reasoning of some of the smartest men in the universe has literally blinded them to any possible truth to be found in areas such as this. I write not to critique to scientists, but to say this-

As Christians we are not to stand back and point fingers at those reaching conclusions we wholly disagree with. It is no surprise that men who do not know Jesus reach conclusions that we clearly identify as folly, the Bible tells us that this will happen. The truth is that God has hardened their hearts to His message. He has deafened their ears and blinded their eyes so they can neither hear nor see the truth. Again, our job is not to stand back and point fingers at the condemned for their foolishness- lest we become them as they point at our ignorance in trusting a divine being. We have two wonderful activities to partake in. 1) We rejoice that God has opened our eyes and our ears and softened our hearts so that we can see Him. We praise God for blessed ears and eyes and His election of us. 2) Like Jesus, we do not simply rejoice in our salvation but we venture into the world to bring life to the dead. When Jesus sticks his fingers in the ears of the deaf man he sighs as he looks to heaven, then he says be opened. And for the first time in the man's life he hears the sounds of the world and he speaks (Mark 7:3137). In Matthew 20 Jesus is called to by two blind beggars on the side of the road. While everyone passes by avoiding eye contact or telling them to shutup, Jesus has compassion on them and he touches their eyes healing them so they can see. He does not merely mock them. He touches their eyes and for the first time in their lives they see not only the beauty of creation but their first true sight is the face of the Saviour of the world standing before them. Memorable?

Let us not stand back and watch the world burn. God has called us to much more. We have been given the opportunity to partner with Christ in the restoration of creation and that which He loves most, mankind. So will you not join the cause and begin to restore sight and ears and life to those around you? Let us not condemn but restore. Thank you Lord for blessed eyes.