“Was Copernicus a Christian?”
April 5th, 2008
Acts 17:22-28 - For centuries, it seems like science and Christianity have been in conflict. However, that does not always need to be the case. Paul, when he preached to the Athenians for the first time, acknowledged, “I see how religious you are in every way.” This is so important. Paul is meeting the people where they are at, not where he wants them to be. Christians can take a lesson from Paul’s approach. We need not always agree with science. In fact, that is not possible. But, we must act as friends, and not foes.
“Was Copernicus a Christian
Acts 17:22-28
1. Ever since Galileo angered the pope with the audacious, incredulous, ridiculous claim that the earth revolved around the sun, science and religion have been at odds.
A. Scientists believe one thing, Christians believe another, and ne’er the twain shall meet.
B. And whoever seems to hold sway over culture at the time gets to decide what is true.
C. For the first 17 centuries after Jesus’ death, the church was in control, so science bowed down to whatever the church said…or else.
D. Since the enlightenment, the authority of the church – at least in matters relating to science – has waned significantly.
E. To the extent that the church has continued this relationship of animosity with science, it has ended hurting itself in two very important ways…
1) Provided a poor witness of God’s love and grace to all people.
2) distracted Christians from presenting the “meat” of the gospel to the world – good news.
2. Consider the example of the “ichthus” car emblem as a case in point. (show slide #1)
A. Ichthus – Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior
B. Originated in the early church. During persecutions, Christian congregations needed a way to signal to point the way to ever-changing meeting places of their worship, while remaining secret from the outside world.
C. Another possible meaning – the ichthus was used as a sort of secret handshake: one person would draw with a staff, or even a leg a single curve, (half of the ichthus) in the sand, and another person could confirm their identity as a Christian by completing the symbol.
D. Needless to say, this is a sacred Christian symbol.
E. As the debate became renewed in recent years between Christian fundamentalists that were advocating that creation be taught in schools and others that resented the church’s efforts to determine curriculum, another symbol appeared, this one called the “Darwiner” (show slide #2).
F. Not what I would call the most mature response to an already heated debate. However, the Christian response was no better (show slide #3).
G. Is this an appropriate witness of God’s love and grace? How is this possibly an expression of the good news?
H. My attempt here has been to point out how the nature of the debate between religion and science has more often than not brought out the worst in us, not the best.
3. That’s the bad news. The good news is that change is coming. And if we would like to be a part of that change, we need look no further than the Apostle Paul for our inspiration.
A. In our scripture lesson for today, Paul finds himself in Athens – still regarded as the philosophical and cultural center of the ancient world.
B. Kind of like the ancient version of New York – “If you can make it there (philosophically speaking), you’ll make it anywhere…
C. So what does Paul do? He goes to the center of town – he is ready to play in the major leagues.
D. Read Acts 17:22-25.
E. “I see how religious you are in every way,” Paul says to the Athenians.
F. This is so important – he is meeting the people where they are at, not where he wants them to be.
G. Cultural references – including quotes by famous Greek poets – (see verse 28)
H. He does not water down the gospel. But, he holds fast to what is central, what is necessary for abundant life.
4. So, how can Paul’s approach to the Athenians help the church engage the field of science in a meaningful and productive way?
A. First – understand the issues. What are we talking about here?
B. Science asks, “How do things happen?” What is the process of the world?”
C. Christianity asks, “What is the meaning and purpose behind what happens in the world?”
D. This is a very important distinction – science and religion can be mutually beneficial to one another.
E. Science = (1) a body of knowledge claims, and (2) a method of inquiry.
F. Christianity = (1) Religious practices, (2) theology, and (3) Faith
G. Any real conflict that arises between science and Christianity really involves science and theology.
H. And there are points of conflict. Often times, the conflict exists at the extremes of both science and Christianity, but there are sources of conflict even in the middle.
I. Science – reductionist (break reality down to the mechanisms at work).
J. Christianity – faith-based, see more possibility in the world.
K. Sometimes, Christianity has been accused of being to narrow. I would suggest that sometimes science is also narrow.
(1) “God gene” - some human beings bear a which gives them a predisposition to episodes that are interpreted by some as religious revelation.
(2) Science has no moral compass
5. But, the point of this morning’s sermon is not to answer all of the questions inherent in the debate between science and Christianity. That would take years and someone with far more wisdom than I have.
A. The point that we are talking about today is, in light of the (sometimes) conflicting truth claims between science and religion, how do Christians approach these issues.
A. In the TV Movie “The Dinosaur Hunter,” Julia is a young woman growing up in a farming community in Central Canada, which has been hit with an unseasonable drought.
B. Spirits are low around Julia’s town until an archeologist named Jack comes to town looking for dinosaur bones.
C. And then things start to get wild.
(show clip)
D. That clip seems to me to be a fitting depiction of the relationship between science and religion over the years.
E. And what a terrible witness we have provided to the world with our unwillingness to open our minds a little, and the coldness in our hearts when we approach people that have a different view of the world.
F. But, that is not the way of the Apostle Paul. Read Acts 17:23-24. He participates in the conversation in a way that connects with the people of Athens.
G. He does not condemn them. He engages them. He uses the natural world even as an introduction to faith.
H. And the key to this whole approach comes in verse 27 (read verse 27). God has created us to seek after him. While people will seek God in different ways, it is to us to help them find him.
6. Albert Einstein once said, “Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.”
A. The truth of the matter is that God – in all of his infinite love, glory, power, majesty – is really beyond knowing completely in this life.
B. Paul – “the mirror dimly. I know in part…”
C. But I do know this. God is bigger than the cosmos, deeper than the ocean, more vast than the desert, and greater than the stars and planets.
D. He is bigger than our imaginations, even bigger than this book – which is for reading and studying, and not for thumping, by the way.
E. In some ways, God is simply beyond knowing.
F. And yet…this God – this great and awesome God – became one of us so that he may be known, intimately, not necessarily completely.
G. He became one of us – not in order to clarify the truth of quantum physics, or to illuminate us about the origins of the universe.
H. He became one of us because he loved us. He became one of us to show us how to love one another. He became one of us so that through him we might have life – and have it abundantly.
I. And therein lies our greatest truth claim. Therein lies our core message.
7. My friends, God is not nearly as concerned with whether we believe in creation, evolution, quantum physics, the theory of relativity, etc. as he is that we understand that “he is the Lord of heaven and earth.”
A. And through his son, he has taught us how to spend our time on earth – love God, love neighbor.
B. Follow the example of Jesus and Paul, and engage people where they are at, not where we think that they should be…
C. And to remember the first thing that anyone needs to know is that “God so loved the world…”
D. Amen.
Sermon delivered 4/6/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church, Anaheim Hills.
