Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Science and Religion - Not As Different As You Think
Presbyterian Blogger:
MSNBC:
Which brings me to the important conclusion, a point I have made on this blog many times. You cannot argue someone to Christ. The argument will not take hold unless there is something else at play - some "gut feel." Something has to be at play that makes people willing to accept the argument. Typically, though not exclusively that is a relationship or relationships - good ones.
Evangelism is a slow process, requiring patience of the part of the evangelizer. God's patience has extended millenia. Maybe when we think about how to change the world we need to think about how to develop our own patience.
If we thought more about it, I’m sure we could add to this list. We Christians believe some odd, impossible things.Fair enough - the world of quantum mechanics is full, very full of weirdness - mathematical weirdness to be sure, but weird things happen nonetheless.
And that’s why I find quantum mechanics so comforting. Yes, comforting. Because it is odd and and full of impossible things. Now, quantum mechanics doesn’t prove any of what Christians believe. What quantum physics does is show us the oddness of the world. It is proof that rational, logical thought doesn’t completely explain the universe.
MSNBC:
Gut feelings may trump good old-fashioned facts, and even religious beliefs, when it comes to accepting the theory of evolution, new research suggests.This needs a bit of expansion:
They found that intuition had a significant impact on what the students accepted, no matter how much they knew and regardless of their religious beliefs. Even students with a greater knowledge of evolutionary facts weren't more likely to accept the theory unless they also had a strong gut feeling about the facts, the results showed.So, what do we conclude? Well, for starters if science and faith are "at war" it is not a war of facts and figures and reason.
Which brings me to the important conclusion, a point I have made on this blog many times. You cannot argue someone to Christ. The argument will not take hold unless there is something else at play - some "gut feel." Something has to be at play that makes people willing to accept the argument. Typically, though not exclusively that is a relationship or relationships - good ones.
Evangelism is a slow process, requiring patience of the part of the evangelizer. God's patience has extended millenia. Maybe when we think about how to change the world we need to think about how to develop our own patience.
Technorati Tags:evangelism, patience
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
