Our Lutheran Partners Online "Handiwork" columnist offers practical ways for rostered leaders to explore with congregants the findings of science in the context of Christian theology.
Members of your congregation have questions about the religious implications of science and technology. Those questions are often unspoken, though they sometimes come out in discussions. But even if the questions aren't verbalized, responsible church leaders should address these issues. Pastors and other teachers need to take the initiative if they are to be discussed. Seldom will someone say at the church door, "Pastor, why don't you ever refer to evolution in sermons?" or "We ought to have an adult class about genetics."
Those with no expertise in astrophysics or another scientific field may be nervous about taking the initiative. But here are some initial steps that can ease concerns and make it possible to talk about such things with some confidence.
Who to Involve
To begin with, remember that parishioners want your theological insight. The primary task of rostered individuals in dealing with science is to help people understand it in the context of Christian thought. They don't expect — or want — you to be writing equations on a blackboard on Sunday mornings!
You do need to have an intelligent nontechnical understanding of important scientific themes. If you saved your introductory astronomy or geology college textbook, pull it out for review. Subscribe to Scientific American. Put good science popularizations on your reading list — I will suggest a few later. Use continuing education time and money for a science class at a local community college. Watch good science programs on public television.
You don't have to do this on your own. Your congregation may include doctors, nurses, engineers, or those who teach or do research in some area of science or technology. The church has often ignored such people's vocations, and they may jump at the chance to use their gifts in the church's service. Team up with them to teach classes. People may find the interplay of scientific and theological views more informative than a single person's presentation.
(Some rostered individuals do have scientific training. If you are one, don't hesitate to talk about what you know. But even those knowledgeable about one area of science are often hazy about others, so what I have said in the previous paragraphs is still germane.)
Beginning Topics
I would suggest that you not jump right in with an adult class or forum on a potentially divisive topic like human evolution or global warming. Begin with an overview of religion and science, touching lightly on major scientific developments — the Copernican revolution, the mechanical picture of the world, relativity and quantum theory, evolution, DNA, the age of the earth and the expanding universe. If you are team teaching with a scientist, she or he may need to be reminded not to go into too much detail, something easy to do if you love a subject.
But again, the point is not just to talk about science but also to help people toward some Christian understanding of the world. Scientific knowledge can be gained in a religion-free way but to be significant for faith, it needs to be put in the context of a Christian understanding of creation and salvation. To do this you will have to give some thought to how you as a Lutheran theologian deal with these issues. I will suggest resources for this too.
The point is not just to talk about science but also help people toward some Christian understanding of the world.
Reactions to an introductory overview will give you an idea of people’s interests and concerns, and perhaps, more specialized discussions that can be helpful later on. This will call for some further reading on your part and perhaps for other expertise within the congregation.
Some problems, especially in connection with cosmology or evolution, can be avoided if you emphasize that creation includes God’s ongoing activity in the world as well as origins. (Review Martin Luther’s explanation of the First Article in the Small Catechism.) Don’t allow the phrase “creation or evolution” to pass without correction. The theological question is not which of the two is correct but how to understand evolution as creation. More generally, scientific explanation of something doesn’t mean that God has nothing to do with it.
Some books I suggest here could be texts for adult classes, but you can’t count on people doing a lot of homework. Books can be made available for those who want to go into things more deeply, but I generally rely on one-page handouts for each session that summarize ideas to be discussed.
From the Pulpit
An adult forum, with opportunities for questions and discussion, is usually a better setting in which to address science-theology matters rather than from the pulpit. But some texts demand attention in order to address questions raised by science, if their message is to be proclaimed responsibly today. Genesis 1 and 2 are theological statements about the world's relationship with God, expressed with understandings of the universe held by people in the ancient Near East. They don't have the big bang or natural selection in view. But a sermon that ignores those theories will leave people who are aware of them unsatisfied.
How do you deal with the feeding of the multitudes that comes up in the lectionary every summer? These stories have other aspects beyond the fact that science can't explain how thousands of people could be fed with five loaves and two fish, and nobody expects the preacher to explain how it happened. But the question of how such amazing events might be related to natural processes shouldn't be ignored. The point is that in Jesus, who feeds the crowd, there is present the one who "open[s] your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing" (Psalm 145:16).
Gospel accounts about Jesus curing the sick also call for reflection. We have such texts on Sundays, but their use for a service of healing is especially appropriate. The God who heals people in those stories still works today through the instrumentalities of health professionals, medicines, surgery, and other means. Understanding scientifically how a drug works means that we know about the tool God uses to heal, not that medicine heals instead of God. (Oil used in the Anointing of the Sick is a symbolic medicine — see Luke 10:34.) We pray for healing and agree to an operation.
Didactic sermons should teach primarily about some aspect of the Christian faith and not be lectures on science. The preacher's primary task, however, is proclamation of law and, predominantly, gospel. Texts such as Genesis 1:1 — 2:4a, Psalm 148, Ephesians 1:3-23, and Colossians 1:15-20 provide an opportunity to proclaim the cosmic scope of God's work, and thus counter feelings that the message of a biblical faith must be too parochial to be adequate for the vast universe that science studies today.
Scientific explanation of something doesn't mean that God has nothing to do with it.
Following the lectionary is good general policy, but sometimes you may need to break free of it. Appropriate parts of Leviticus 25 make an excellent text for a celebration of Stewardship of Creation (or Earth Sunday, or Rogationtide) in the spring, making clear the need for both care of the land and social justice.
And story sermons should not be neglected. Science fiction offers a natural way to catch the interest especially of young people today.
You don't have to devote an entire sermon to scientific or technological issues. Sometimes a brief illustration is enough to keep preaching in touch with those matters. For example, when using John 12:32, think of a magnet, which not only draws pieces of iron to itself but also makes them into little magnets. (Or perhaps use that for a children's sermon.) Ezekiel 36:26 almost begs for the use of heart transplants as an illustration.
Resources
Now for a few resources. Some older scientific books are still very helpful. First published in 1859, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (Modern Library, 2009) is a must-read for serious discussion of evolution. The Evolution of Physics (Clarion, 1967), by Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld, appeared in 1938. It provides an excellent discussion of classical physics and the basic ideas of relativity and quantum theory.
A codiscoverer of the double helix structure of DNA, James D. Watson has, with Andrew Berry, written DNA: The Secret of Life (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), covering the genetic revolution from its earliest days to the present. You can get a number of good science and history of science courses on tape, CD, or DVD from The Teaching Company (www.TEACH12.com). The title of Mark Whittle's course, "Cosmology: The History and Nature of Our Universe," is self-explanatory.
God's Universe (Harvard, 2006), by astronomer and historian of science Owen Gingerich, is a brief overture to the religion-science dialogue. Ian G. Barbour has been a major American figure in religion-science dialogue since the 1960s. His Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues (HarperSanFrancisco, 1997) is a widely used text in colleges and seminaries. Science and Theology: An Introduction (Fortress Press, 1998), by physicist and Anglican priest John Polkinghorne, might be a text for an adult class. Theologian Ted Peters and molecular biologist Martinez Hewlett, in Evolution from Creation to New Creation: Conflict, Conversation, and Convergence (Abingdon, 2003), offer an overview of creation-evolution issues and a positive presentation of "theistic evolution."
Not a great deal has been written about preaching that touches on science and technology. Cosmic Witness: Commentaries on Science / Technology Themes, by George L. Murphy, Lavonne Althouse and Russell Willis (CSS, 1996), is a resource that deals with relevant lectionary texts.
These resources will suggest further reading. As you get into these fascinating topics you are likely to find yourself reading as much for your enjoyment as for class or sermon preparation.
George Murphy, a physicist and retired ELCA pastor, is adjunct faculty at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus. He lives in Tallmadge, Ohio, and can be contacted at gmurphy10@neo.rr.com. Check out his Web page, the Science-Theology Interface with information on workshops, lectures, and consultations.
This article appeared in the November / December 2009 issue of Lutheran Partners (vol. 25, no. 6).