Reflection for the Week - April 9

In our book From Evolution to Eden, we refer to the publicized image of “science as a candle in the dark.” We contend that, in some sense, this picture has a ring of truth. New research is uncovering interesting things about nature and humans as part of it - de-crypting DNA and now making tremendous progress in doing the same with the human brain are going to be monumental. Building off this, we get a better vision of what’s happening now. The “light” of the natural sciences can no longer be considered separately from that of the human sciences, including theology. To a greater and greater degree – they need to be in dialogue with each other. The days when the natural sciences were thought to be only about material, measurement, and mechanism are over. It’s not that natural science is not about those, but it is now about much more and because of this the human sciences have to pay attention (notice I didn’t write and agree with it all). Thus, let’s face it, some of our theology, for example, will have to be established from outside the biblical text. Once DNA and the brain took center stage, we entered new territory, which has serious implications for our understanding of God, spirituality, and the whole of life.