Rethinking Scripture and Science.

Yesterday in Sunday School class a regular member of the class spoke of their habit of watching the “Discovery Channel” on TV. They had recently stopped watching it because it seemed to them that the programs were always supporting a creation view of the beginning of life as coming from “the crash of an asteroid in the earth and then life just began.” This view conflicted with the one they held based on their view as founded in Scripture. For them, an irreconcilability existed. To continue to watch the TV show created a conflict with their worldview. Their answer to this conflict? Turn off the Discovery Channel. For them, the conflict disappeared. This was their solution over against challenging their world view by asking “How can I resolve what seems to be an irreconcilable difference between Science and Scripture?”

Could the answer have been that the view that was their true difficulty was not one with science but was really with one of how they read, understood (interpreted), and accepted the Scriptural stories of creation? Could it be that such a re-inspection of their creation view would undermine their belief in Scripture or even undermine their faith in God? Or, could it be that with careful investigation done on both a personal and communal level, the riches of Scripture might be better mined allowing for the discovery of a more adequate understanding and fuller realization of the purpose of the Bible and its implications for everyday living?

If it is a given that worship is meant to be a guide for daily living, it would seem that this worship would have to address daily living questions such as these. Though most people do not contemplate creation everyday, their views about creation do inform much of how they live based on their relationship to their understanding of their own source of life.