The Cardus website is featuring a review of the book Science vs Religion: What Do Scientist Really Believe? In this book Elaine Ecklund encourages us “to cross the picket lines separating science and religion” and join in appreciative discussion.
The book presents several findings of Ecklunds research:
1.Despite stereotypes, scientists are not entirely irreligious or unspiritual. Around 50% of elite natural and social scientists identify with a religious tradition.
2.Most scientists made decisions about their spiritual lives before entering science. That means that those without any religious or spiritual commitments may have chosen science because of what they thought; science may not have caused their distance from spiritual practices.
3.Elite scientists who are not at all religious—despite being highly educated, and despite operating in high profile positions—are often very ignorant of even rudimentary aspects of various religious traditions.
4.Scientists are often completely unaware of their colleagues’ religious orientation because it is either not talked about at all (being deemed inappropriate within the halls of science) or disparaged, under the assumption that being a scientist means being an atheist or agnostic.
5.Scientists who reject God and religion have similar reasons as the general population: existence of evil and suffering, bad religion, bad personal experiences, and cognitive dissonance.
6.Younger scientists are more religious than older scientists—the inverse of the general population, where older people tend to be more religious than younger people.
Ecklund argues that science and religious faith need each other.
Accepting only what can be verified scientifically (scientism) is a wholly inadequate and impossible way to live a life, according to most Americans. Similarly, rejecting all of science in favour of only religiously-derived knowledge will leave the American public open to the very real dangers of uncontrolled fundamentalism, superstition, and regressions of the worst kind.
She encourages believing scientists to be courageous in speaking about how they reconcile science and their beliefs for the sake of improvement in the way that science and religion relate. We need scientists who are both credible in their scientific community and understand enough about religion and spirituality to speak knowledgeably. I would add that we also need faithful and courageous Christians who have enough knowledge of science, and the philosophical limits of science, to join the conversation.
I had coffee with a friend yesterday. He lamented that it seemed to him that many people rally under the Christian banner but then argue and disagree about a lot of small things. I agreed. It would be nice if we could create a place where people could enter into community and agree to be about the business of the important things of God. Perhaps we could work on the things upon which we agree and ignore some of the small things for a while. Once we got the big rocks in place then we could consider the placement of the pebbles. What might that look like? A few passages from the Bible come to mind.
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. – 1 Corinthians 15: 3-7 (New Living Translation – NLT)
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. – James 1: 19-27. (NLT)
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8. (NLT)
It seems to me that there is enough in those few verses to keep a community busy for a long time. What do you think? What are some of the big rocks with which we might start?
A friend of mine asked me to watch a video and make some comments. The video is by Nigel Marsh and can be seen here. Nigel Marsh is an author and lecturer who speaks about balance in life.
I agree that “finding the balance between work and life is an ongoing battle.” Regarding my own balance in life, I have changed careers twice to try to find a better balance and have made some progress. I think I am winning the battle but the battle is not yet complete.
When we look more generally at society, I would say that “finding the balance” at a cultural level is and will continue to be a battle as well. Moving from Calgary to Vancouver has allowed me to see the differences of subtle changes in attitude. Calgary has traditionally been more of an entrepreneurial city while Vancouver has a larger history of labour unions. Thus, Calgary is a little more economically right (capitalistic) and Vancouver a little more economically left (socialistic). Both cities and our country as a whole are seeking to find the balance between (or more accurately, living in tension between) an emphasis on hard work with little time for self-actualization versus an emphasis on self-actualization with little time for productive work. There are quite a few Calgarians who work excessively to the detriment of relationships, community, and self-fulfillment. There are quite a few Vancouverites that have chosen to retreat from excessive work and seek personal fulfillment without contributing to a productive city. They become consumers and not contributors to the things that sustain a city and a society. Of course each city has its share of each of these types of persons but there is an overall skew one direction or the other. (I realize that I am making gross exaggerations for the sake of discussion.) Living in appropriate tension between “work and life” will always be a battle.
Another issue in this discussion is the way it is framed. Marsh sets up an artificial dichotomy between “work” and “life.” He makes it seem like we must choose one or the other; and who would logically choose work over life? Perhaps the battle is about balance between – work and life in community – or work and life without community.
Nigel Marsh suggests a perfect day and then quickly points out that he has not had any, or very many, such days in his life. His perfect day would only be attainable occasionally, with a lot of cooperation from other people (not the least of which would be his wife). This is another indication that we are really talking about a distinction between work and life in community or work and life without community.
What do you think? Are we seeking to live in tension between productive work that is lived out in community versus productive work that is attained without much community? For a good article on work/life balance, see Rebecca Moses’ article, “Work-Life Balance: A Guide to Surviving the Stress,” at GroomandStyle.com.
It’s 5 am and all is quiet
But I hear voices in my head
One says, “I should seek out comfort”
Another, “Give it all away”
This life is complex and confusing
Not many wise enough to know
But I will always keep on seeking
The Voice that whispers in the Wind.
It’s the Voice that cleared away the darkness
It’s the Voice that separated seas
It’s the Voice that speaks against oppression
The Voice that whispers in the Wind
So many voices that I’m hearing
Got to listen through the buzz
One says, “Give it up and follow”
Another, “You are just a fool”
The call of comfort keeps on screaming
I listen hard to sort it out
But I will always keep on seeking
The Voice that whispers in the Wind
It’s the Voice that cleared away the darkness
It’s the Voice that separated seas
It’s the Voice that speaks against oppression
The Voice that whispers in the Wind
It’s the Voice that says I am holy
It’s the Voice that calls me by name
It’s the Voice that heals all my sickness
The Voice that whispers in the Wind*
*December 2010, Lyrics by Keith Shields, Music by Mike Charko.
(Listen to the song here.)
It was Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) who said that “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” It was James Thurber (1894-1961) who said “Nowadays men lead lives of noisy desperation.” Thurber said this long before the development of the internet, Twitter, and blog entries. What would he think today? The blogosphere has much noise. But is it noisy desperation or thoughtful inspiration? Today, fewer people “go to the grave with the song still in them;” but are their songs worth hearing? What are the truly great songs that must be sung? What are the great songs that must be heard? Where will we hear these songs?
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1 (New Living Translation)
Professor John Stackhouse has an excellent blog post at Stackblog.wordpress.com. It is a lengthy post as it is a full chapter from a book; but take the time to read it. It is an important contribution to conversations regarding gender. You may also want to read Finally Feminist by John G. Stackhouse Jr. I highly recommend it.
Here is a quote from the blog to whet your appetite.
Furthermore, I have needed these testimonies, not just when I was transiting from patriarchy to egalitarianism, but continually, to this very day. My wife has reminded me from time to time, “You’re not as feminist as you think you are.” I used to bristle when she would say that, for I had congratulated myself on having had my “conversion experience” to egalitarianism and I was now a fully enlightened man, totally emancipated from sexism, and (let’s be honest) a pretty admirable guy. But I have come to see, at least a little more clearly over the years, just how deeply entrenched are the “gender scripts” that I have tended to follow all along. I have not “arrived” at entire sanctification and I do not dwell in the New Jerusalem. I continue to mistreat women despite my sincere intention not to do so, and I have concluded that only women can help the situation by notifying me that, yes, John, you’re doing it again or, no, you failed this time to do what was appropriate. To recommend such action is not—horrors!—to blame women for my enduring sexism: “Since you aren’t complaining enough, it’s your fault I’m still mistreating you.” It is instead to say that if women want men to change in this way, then this is one crucial thing women can do to help us do so.
“Patient endurance achieves all things; the person whom God possesses lacks nothing; God alone is sufficient.” St. Teresa of Avila (Spanish Nun, Mystic and Writer, 1515-1582)
Endurance is a word frequently used in the New Testament of the Bible. It is a word I need to hear regularly. People disappoint us; daily tasks get boring; fulfilling our calling is tiring and just plain hard. But nothing is accomplished without endurance and everything is possible with endurance.
“I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas.” Albert Einstein (German born American Physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity. Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (New International Version)
In an article entitled The Light Yoke, Jedd Medefind speaks of how easy it is for us to exchange the light burden offered by Jesus for the heavy burdens of this world. While the article is brilliant and I encourage you to read it in its entirety one part spoke particularly clearly to me.
For me, the yoke of choice has always centred on the desire to be respected. Although perhaps a perfectly fine objective in its proper place, wanting to be admired can so quickly grow into a weight that bites down into my shoulders. It can turn a moment of appropriate celebration into puffed-up pride, or a small setback into insecurity. It can remake God-honouring work into a self-centred and onerous burden.*
I have always said that I would rather be “famous” than “rich” and so I can relate just a little too well to Mr. Medefind’s yoke of choice. The article refers to other burdens of choice to which readers will relate. Perhaps today is a day for each of us to again lay down the yoke of this world and put on the yoke of Jesus.
*Medefind, Jedd. “The Light Yoke.” Comment: Equipping and Connecting the Next Generation of Christian Leaders, 12 31, 2010.
I have always appreciated Woody Allen‘s humour and movies. I probably disagree with him on just about everything. Yet, Allen is very good at communicating great philosophical ideas in his movies. I recall trying to get my head around Existentialism in college and finding that Woody Allen could explain it perfectly with Stardust Memories. Many of his other movies seem odd on the surface but are actually well-written explanations of how people view our world. Woody Allen once said,
Eighty percent of success is showing up.*
This is one area in which I agree with Woody Allen. There is a lot to be said for showing up. There is a lot to be said for going to work each day and doing what is expected of me; getting out of bed and going for a run when I would rather pull the covers over my head; taking the time to “show up” with God; spending time in spiritual disciplines. Certainly, in the world of blogging, success is showing up and blogging. As we start the new year, I am well aware that there are many things over which I will have little or no control. One thing I can do is show up.
*Woody Allen, US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 – ). As quoted in “The Quotations Page.”
A fun video for the season. Click on the title to watch it on YouTube.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!