God in the Dock. Part I. Young Earth Creationism
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of engaging with many individuals who see the relationship between science and Christian faith quite differently than I do. Among them, I’ve spent by far the most time with Todd Wood, a young earth creationist who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Mine is in the closely related discipline of genetics. Usually in the company of a few others, Todd and I have met on more than twenty occasions—often for several days at a time.
We’ve read Scripture together, prayed for one another—both personally and for our ministries—and shared in the joy of lives rooted in the love of Jesus. We’ve also spent many hours exploring how—and why—we understand the process and timing of creation so differently. We’re quite different people, with distinct circles of friends in different parts of the country, so I wouldn’t describe us as close friends. But I would say this: not only do we love each other as brothers in Christ—we genuinely like and even admire the sincerity with which the other holds his convictions.
Here’s the deal, though: I believe Todd’s views are both scripturally naïve and scientifically out of touch. More than that, I see his position as profoundly harmful to the church’s mission in today’s world. Todd, as you might expect, feels the same way about me and my position. And yet, we love each other—not because we’ve softened our views or compromised our convictions, but because we’ve come to trust the sincerity behind them. We’ll likely keep articulating our opposing perspectives for the rest of our lives—unless the Spirit makes it unmistakably clear to one or both of us that he is wrong. In the meantime, I genuinely want the best for Todd, just as I know he wants the best for me.
And this brings me to the most important question of all. Todd and I agree on much of Scripture—Genesis 1 through 11 being the obvious exception. We’ve spent many hours discussing the Bible, reading it together, and praying over it. Both of us take seriously the words of Jesus in John 16:13: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” One of my all-time favorite books is Hearing God by Dallas Willard, which extols the fact that we can live in ongoing relationship and communication with God through the Holy Spirit. Todd believes this too. We both seek to live our lives in that way and desire nothing more than to become the people God intends us to be. So if that’s true—and I believe it is—why doesn’t the Spirit of truth straighten us out?
This entire series, Challenging Times for Science in America, is rooted in the conviction that the perspective of many evangelicals towards science has played no small role in bringing this day upon us. Many evangelicals remain hesitant to trust science, even though science is a gift from God—one that enables us to bring healing to millions who would otherwise suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally. Personally, I find what is happening to medical science under the current administration deeply distressing, and much unnecessary suffering will take place because of it. Alleviating, in whatever way I can, the mistrust of scientific findings among other followers of Jesus has been an important part of my life’s mission for decades.
But just as central to my life’s perspective is the truth of Jesus’ promise that the Spirit will guide us into all truth. And much is at stake—what could be more important than knowing Truth? Given my twelve-year journey with Todd, and the sincerity I’ve come to know in him—and he in me—why doesn’t the Spirit lead us to clarity on this question of evolution, the age of the earth, and the Christian faith? Are Jesus’ words about the Spirit and truth true or not? Are we hearing from God, or are we not? If God exists in the way we think God does, why doesn’t God straighten us out on this all-important matter? That’s what I mean, by placing “God in the Dock".”
I have been reading two of N.T. Wright’s most recent books over the past while: Creation, Power, and Truth: The Gospel in World of Cultural Confusion and Into the Heart of Romans. In fact, I’ve been so moved by what he’s had to say that I’ve read each of them twice and look forward to starting my third reading soon. Listen to what he says as Creation, Power, and Truth draws to a close:
The deepest personal answer to living under empire is to worship Jesus as Lord from the bottom of your heart, and to determine to give him your allegiance in the public world as well as the private....the Christian gospel offers, and offers through all the spirit-driven ministries of the church, the living and embodied doctrine of redemption: the true story of the world and of ourselves within it, which cannot be deconstructed because it is a love-story; the true knowledge of the world and of ourselves and of God, not as objective truth over against ourselves nor as subjective truth merely but as truth known in and through love; and the true identity of being called in the spirit to be children of God. (The emphases are mine.)
Todd and I, each with our vastly different perspectives on science and Christian faith, are not called to simply tolerate one another. Wright goes on to distinguish tolerance from love:
All this shows up today’s emphasis on ‘tolerance’ for what it is. ‘Tolerance’, today’s buzz-word, is merely a thin parody of love; I can tolerate you standing on the other side of the road, without needing to engage with you at all. Love is a harder, higher and ultimately redemptive calling, the fresh voice of the God who speaks to lead us out of our aimless cultural wanderings. It is genuine Christ-shaped love, therefore, embodied in our varied ministries and callings and spoken as a fresh word into our culture, that provides the ultimate answer to the follies and the false trails of our day.
And then most importantly, he writes":
The Christian gospel, because it is all about embodied love, is easily robust and many-sided enough to take on tomorrow’s world and make it a place where good news goes out and flourishes, good news for the poor and the hungry, the homeless and the drug addicts, the rich and the lonely, the religious and the sceptical. My hope and prayer is that [each of us will] engage with God’s world, and with our confusing culture, to live the gospel as well as to preach it, to make it happen on earth as in heaven.
So here’s my point: while the Spirit hasn’t yet led us to see every aspect of truth in the same way—we are, after all, different individuals shaped by different histories—we have come to experience the most fundamental Truth of all: embodied love. As important as the cultural issues are, bringing heaven to earth is fulfilled through embodied love, not through getting the science right—as important as that is too. I’ll keep striving to make the trustworthiness of mainstream science clear and will do so just as hard as I can. But if I fail to do it with a spirit centered in God’s love, I have little meaningful left to offer.
As an aside, if you would like to know more: Todd and I have written a book together which summarizes our interactions. It is called The Fool and the Heretic. Also, our meetings together frequently included a public component. This one (beginning at 4:30) was at Calvin University.
Many of you will know that the title of this series, “God in the Dock” is grounded in the C.S. Lewis book, by that same title. God willing, there will be a Part II, and it will focus on the Intelligent Design Movement.