The World As I Interpret It: why do we have differing views when it comes to science and religion?

To give an introduction to this post, I want to begin by updating you all on my personal life. Yes, I am a Christian. I am also a scientist. And yes, I am dating an atheist.

Perhaps you are saying something similar to this:

But how can you possibly do that? Doesn't that mean that there is no way that you are a true believer in Christ and in His plan for your life? Doesn't that mean that you are blinded and need to come back to Christ? You must be in a bad way.

Before you feel the need to message me and tell me all of these types of things, I want you to try to separate yourself from your own perspective and see things from mine. Most of the rest of this entry will be coming straight from a conversation I have been having with my boyfriend on the way I understand and interpret the concept of "worldviews." He has said that I may use anything he has said in this conversation in this post, and of course I would like to share what he told me that sparked this whole explanation and conversation.

B: A side point: I have never said there there is no god(s). Lower case, nonspecific; however, I will say that man-made stories will not get us closer to god(s).  Science offers us the best hope of connecting with a creator(s) if it/they does/do exist. 

N: And personally, I can love that last statement...but I'm not like everyone else. If I wasn't wired that way, I would have taken a very different path in my life. Why would I, a devout Christian, choose to study Biology and Medicine for years and years and devote my life to it, all the while actually strengthening my *personal* conviction that there is a creator? Does that mean that I haven't fallen somewhat away from religious traditions and stories and that I don't share some skepticism towards them? No. That is all true. BUT I do believe more strongly than ever that there is a creator, and I am thrilled at the knowledge the brains he gave us can discover. And, you know, I always thought you saw the two worldviews as being mutually exclusive.

B: Explain. 

So, following is my explanation to him, and some of my views on such matters.

"Mutually exclusive" is a statistical term meaning given A, then not B. And, given B, then not A. There is no overlap, like you would see in a vin diagram. Each excludes the other by definition.

"Worldview" is a term I have only ever heard used in church, but still... Basically, it just means the belief filter through which you see and interpret the world. This is part of the reason I am not a belligerent person, nor do I identify as "fundamentalist." I understand the concept of everyone having a different filter through which they see and interpret the world around them. Only the subject in question has the ability to change his/her own worldview based on information or ideas for which they deem relevant enough to alter their worldview. So basically, it had always seemed to me that you saw the filter based in science as mutually exclusive with a filter based on ideas/teachings/beliefs of a religion.

B: What I am hearing is that people choose to be ignorant of fact based on whether they feel like it...?

I am not talking specifically about ignorance of facts. Is it not true that every person, when met with new knowledge or ideas and opinions of another person, has the choice of whether that will become important enough to them as a person to use it as a guideline through which to interpret what they observe in the world around them? We each have our own worldview, the way we see the world. We do not all interpret every happening with the same exact interpretation or emotion or attributes. Given, there can be many similarities, but there can also be differences. I, for an example, find this concept beautiful to think about. Others may feel a strong need to be surrounded by people with more similar worldviews, and thus wish strongly to only tolerate people who interpret life in similar ways as themselves. This can be shown by having only friends who look and/or think like them, or by trying to change those around them to share their views. Doing so intently and forcefully is different than the same thing happening by choice through conversation and thought. This is how I have determined that people can be given the same information and see different things. Again, I happen to be someone who finds diversity (yes, even of thought) to be a rather beautiful thing. I am the sort that wishes everyone around me would learn from each other and respect each others varying worldviews.

B: Some facts are absolute though. That is what I am having trouble understanding. Why do people choose to be ignorant of "absolute truths?"

Again, I am not disagreeing. I am merely saying that to understand their interpretation, one must consider their worldview. How does that fact register to them? They may choose to ignore it instead of integrating it, even if all reason argues to integrate it as absolute fact. It is their choice as a sentient being, though, and cannot be forced. Just as they see the existence of their deity as absolute truth (yes, those words), and they do not understand why someone else does not register what they do or chooses not to integrate that into their worldview. Again, it is the choice of each sentient being what is incorporated.

Also, not everyone cares to research the science behind every discovery. Even though I am scientifically minded, I do not blindly believe every scientific article I read. I want to see their proofs. I want statistics. I want to see repeat tests, consistent results, and large n values with statistically significant p values. That is how my brain is wired. When it comes to religion, again I want to see similar results when comparing an idea or practice with a large n. Data collection is different and more subjective, but I still want to see it.

B: I understand.

Basically, this is how I integrate relevant material into my worldview. As I have grown older and my thinking has become more independent, I have altered my worldview. As I have studied biology and medicine, and as I have met and interacted with people who are different than I am, I have altered my worldview. To not take into account our own experiences is to blindly hold to a preconceived way of seeing the world in a manner so rigid that it becomes folly. I have altered my worldview to include much of the science that you cling to for understanding and interpretation of the world around you. But for me, that fits well into my worldview of believing that there is a Creator. My life experiences have led me to believe that He loves us. My life experiences have also solidified to me that the way of life encouraged by the Bible and by the standards of Christianity usually is not a bad idea...there tends to be less drama and consequences that way. The basics of what I believe are very set, but there is much that I am curious to discuss and to consider. My thoughts on hell, for example, is one area that I know I am not sure about. I am not ashamed to say that I do not know what to believe about everything, because I do not wish to believe anything too blindly. There is a point where faith comes in, and I know many would fault me for not having more of it to take literally every word in my English Bible. I know that there is so much knowledge in that rich book that I am not privy to because I cannot read and understand it in its original language and context. I cannot have a conversation with Jesus in the flesh as He was in the flesh. That's okay. I'm content for now to not have that. I can only make my conclusions based on what I have, not what I am not privy to. May grace cover what my mind cannot understand or fathom. If I truly believe that God understands our hearts and minds, then I must also believe that He knows our decision-making process and what guides each of the worldviews we develop. May His grace, understanding and mercy cover the rest.

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Now, I know that you may still not understand how I can think this way and have a meaningful and healthy relationship with someone who does not share my worldview. That is okay, you don't have to understand it. Know that we are happy with each other. Know that we support and respect each other. Know that we aren't afraid to talk about the hard stuff. Know that we can compromise with each other better than almost anyone else I have ever observed. Know that we love each other with a love that defies reason and understanding and that we see the value of the other in our lives. I will leave you with a link to a story that many people also do not agree with or understand. However, it was meeting this couple in real life years ago that gave me the courage to see if such a relationship could actually work, and could do so happily and healthily. Have a very blessed day, whomever of you actually took the time to read all of this. :)

An Atheist and a Christian: A Love Story

Yersinia Pestis Outbreaks of Biblical Proportions

Yersinia pestis is a bacterium which is classified as a nonmotile, nonsporulating gram-negative coccobacillus. If you haven't taken a class in microbiology, you probably didn't understand any of that. That is okay; just know it is a bacterium. The first Biblical recording of an epidemic of this disease is described in 1 Samuel when the Lord strikes five Palestinian cities with what is described as "tumors." Also, the Septuagint and Vulgate copies of scripture include the recorded detail that many rats appeared in the land. This is an important detail because Y. Pestis is not foremost a disease that infects humans. Instead, it infects rodents and (should the necessary mutations occur) can be transmitted to humans through fleas that have bitten an infected rat, prairie dog, or other such vermin. Obviously sanitation is a plus when one wishes to avoid this nasty disease.

Returning to the first recorded details in the fifth chapter of 1 Samuel, we open the scene in Ashdod after the Philistines have captured the ark of God from Israel in battle. This is the first city that the ark is taken to. After God uses His particular sense of illustration in Dagon's temple to show the Philistines that no other god can stand before Him, He sends in the rats. Infected rats carrying the mutated Y. Pestis bacteria surge into the city, flea ridden as rats usually are. The people of Ashdod begin to develop "tumors" over their bodies, which would have been extremely painful, pus-filled buboes of varying sizes. They would have been feverish and hard to the touch. Many times, these turned black. History, you see, has given this particular disease several goose bump-worthy nicknames due to its characteristic symptoms. It can take manifest in different forms, depending on the route of infection and the particular strain of the bacteria that the individual contracts. The disease described here in 1 Samuel is Bubonic Plague, sometimes referred to as the Black Death or merely the Plague. The 1947 science fiction novel The Plague by Albert Camus describes well what an epidemic of the bubonic form of Plague would look like. Untreated, the mortality rate is between 50-90%. Other strains can infect the respiratory system, causing the emission of blood laden sputum. Untreated with modern medicine, this strain has a 100% mortality rate. It can be seen famously described by Edgar Allen Poe as the Red Death in his work The Masque of the Red Death.

Now that I have revealed to you the common names for what we are dealing with, it is important to take note of this particular detail: God used biological warfare against the enemies of Israel even though He allowed her to be defeated in battle. This is not the first time that God has fought the battle for Israel with biological weapons of mass destruction. Many of us are familiar with God's mighty hand against Egypt when He sent the "Ten Plagues" against Pharaoh's kingdom. At that time, Israel was oppressed by slavery and could not fight the battle themselves. God came through for them, breaking the spirit of the Egyptian pharaoh with his final plague that selectively brought death to each of the firstborn among men and beasts. What is different in 1 Samuel, and what is the same? Obviously, God uses disease as a means to bring death to the enemies of Israel. The contrast is seen in the circumstances and in the precise reason that Israel was not fighting their own battle. Isaiah 42:13 states: "The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies." The imagery of God as a warrior is not new. Israel was fully aware of this aspect. This is part of the reason that their secret weapon in battle was to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the frontlines as the marched on their enemies. With the Lord before them, how could they ever fail? Until this time, they had not.

In the second chapter of 1 Samuel, a prophecy is given against the house of Eli, the current presiding judge over Israel. His two sons, serving as priests, have made a habit of treating the sacrifices and offerings in the temple with contempt. They abused their spiritual authority; they took from the offering before the fats were even completely burnt. They took the meat while it was still raw and fatty, before it had been boiled. They plunged their greedy hands into the Old Testament offering plates and came out with whatever amount they desired. Eli, upon hearing rumor of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel, verbally rebuked his sons for the bad report against them. He did not, however, relieve them of their priestly duties. He did not punish them in any way. God does not joke about such things. He takes the running of His house and the jobs of those in authority seriously. As a result of their sin, the house of Eli fell at the same time that the Ark was captured. Eli's sons were killed by the Philistines; Eli fell and broke his neck upon hearing the news of the ark's capture; and his daughter-in-law died in childbirth all in the same disastrous day. God does not allow Israel to claim any victory this day. The departure of the glory of God from Israel is part of the broken relationship between God and the anointed priests. There is a Spiritual disconnect, and God cannot honor those who blatantly dishonor Him. Thus He fights Israel's enemies Himself, in no less than five separate cities occupied by the Philistines. Death and destruction by Bubonic Plague follow the Ark for seven months. Wherever it is taken, the rats and the disease follow. By the time the Ark has moved through five separate (and equally devastated) cities, they rulers of the Philistines finally decide to send the Ark back with some guilt offerings of their own, in the form of golden buboes and golden rats. How lovely. God proved to the enemies of Israel once again that He is the one true God. He is a triumphant and mighty warrior who has no issue pulling out the big guns of biological warfare when He deems it fit.

Blessed

Sometimes I'm amazed at how blind I can be to the blessings in my life.  God has surrounded me with people who love me and who have been given instructed tongues (Isaiah 50:4) which they use when speaking to me.  And to think that I don't even notice most of the time!  It astonishes me that I do not see the active hand of God on their lives, shaping them into mighty men and women for His Kingdom.  Sometimes I think I walk around with my eyes closed, for surely He gave me sight many years ago.  It's my fault alone if I do not choose to make use of it.  How smart would someone look walking around with a blindfold on just because they decided that they didn't feel like seeing today?  Thank you Jesus for all of the many companions and friends you have placed in my life.  I thank you because I know that a three-stranded cord is not quickly or easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

 

 

 

Self Image

It is one of those terms the world uses a lot. Apparently, we should think highly of ourselves, lest we become depressed and have poor mental health. But what does God call us to in regards to who we see ourselves as, to what we deserve? Honestly, we are all filthy rags in need of burning. On our own, we are fit for nothing but burning! That's what we deserve: hellfire. God, however, calls us to freedom and from glory to glory through His mercy and grace. Suddenly, we are transformed from filthy rags to tapestries of pure silk. We are lifted from the miry pit and made to be more than conquerors! Yet, this is NOT done to improve self image: it is done for God's glory.

He transforms our being so thoroughly that we know it must be all His working. We have seen His glory come into our lives, seen the manifestations of His transforming power at work in our habits, our addictions, our thoughts, and in every single facet of our lives. He does not do this work to make us "feel good." He does this so that we will testify about what we have seen.

Peter and John were brought to stand before the Sanhedrin and were told in certain terms to shut up and stop preaching Jesus' name. They replied simply, "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

When will this become the way we reason? When will I personally reach the point where it is said of me that I CANNOT STOP talking about the changes He has made in me for His glory? It is written, "I have believed and therefore I have spoken." Let this spirit of faith challenge each of us who claim to believe to also speak. Let us be challenged to act and live our lives for the Glory of the Risen God.