Two worlds at war?

Ten Things You Need to Know About the Creation-Evolution Debate 1

Writing anything on creation and evolution within these pages feels akin to sticking a sign on my back reading, ‘Kick me!’ I’m exposing myself to attack from one side or another – or maybe from every side! What drives me to stick my head above the parapet is a couple of strong convictions. First, I am absolutely convinced that Christians who disagree should be discussing the issues in a loving, gentle, humble way rather than attacking each other. It seems to me that attacking each other is becoming more common as the debate becomes more polarised. My second conviction is that by focusing on controversy, we are missing significant opportunities to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ in a world which desperately needs to hear it. So here are ten things you need to know about the creation/evolution debate. Wherever you’re coming from on this issue, I would encourage you not to instantly write off things you disagree with, but give them some more thought. If we’re ever going to sort this issue out it seems to me that we have to approach the questions more open-mindedly than perhaps we’ve ever done before. [...]

Uncertain Answers

Can we be so sure of what we think we know? In the previous article we looked at one reason for the apparent conflict between science and faith: they have different approaches. Science is concerned to understand the space-time world of matter and energy. It wants to know how things work. Christian faith is concerned to understand more than that. The Bible shows us that there is far more to this world than simply what’s physical: there is a supernatural, spiritual dimension to life. There is a Creator who brought the universe into being and who wants a relationship with the creatures he’s made. There are real angels and a real devil. There really is spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6). [...]

Two worlds at war?

Do science and Christianity conflict? Most people don’t think about science and faith. If they do, the first thing that comes to their minds is conflict. To most people they are irreconcilable enemies – and science is the undisputed victor. The ‘science has disproved the Bible’ kind of response is common when discussing Christian things with people. In the student world, the problem is worse among arts students. Interestingly, science and engineering students far outnumber arts students in many Christian Unions. But, in those bastions of objectivity, the science faculties, there are plenty who feel the same – even if they don’t put it it quite so bluntly. They think science is intellectually superior and that religion is a load of unsubstantiated, subjective claptrap. There are many Christians, too, who see Christianity and science as being at war. For them, if there is conflict, it’s the science that is wrong. [...]