Got Fruit ?

I came across an interesting blog entry titled “Blinded By Science” today that really got me going, as far as wanting to respond to the post and some of the user responses. There were some good points made by the blog author & people that posted earlier responses, however, I felt as though there were some deeper thoughts. As I gathered up my thoughts for my own comment, I found myself going into hyper mode with ideas. It then occurred to me to just post my comments here, with a copy of the article in-line.

The gist of the blog by “pistolpete”:

• science & technology have become this generation’s spiritual guide
• the Christian struggle to balance faith with contemporary issues

Blinded by Science

November 14, 2007 by pistolpete

My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. (Jeremiah 50:6)

In many ways, science and technology have taken the place of religion and the Church in offering people the guidance they seek. Science holds out the hope that many mysteries of the universe once deemed the realm of God are within our grasp. Technology promises to help us overcome obstacles of illness, disease, time, space, etc?, and allow us to function beyond what we ever thought possible.

Meanwhile, as science and technology have advanced, our ability to determine right from wrong has diminished. We know better what we can do, but much less when it is best or right to do it (and not do it). Should we pursue cloning? What kind of war might be deemed “just”? What about stem-cell research? What is acceptable treatment of prisoners of war? Is euthanasia ever justified?

Many Christians struggle to develop a coherent ethic that allows us to apply our faith to such contemporary issues. We live in an age of moral confusion. Decades ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. noted this well when he wrote -

“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”

Science & Technology As Spiritual Guidance Counselors
I believe that part of the “problem” is that we as a society have consciously or not accepted as gospel, scientific theory & ideas as fact concerning spiritual things. I believe this blanket statement can be applied to all aspects of our lives, since it is God that governs all.

Throughout history, man has invented and explored. Man has used science and technology as a means to improve his physical condition in life, for the sake of convenience, efficiency, productivity, economics, etc; in such ways as:

• the combustion engine which decreased travel times & contributed to improved commerce
• the medical field to combat diseases & fend off life shortening ailments
• television, radio & satellite technology gives instantaneous communication; also contributes to the expansion of commerce
• engineers have designed & built dams to reroute major waterways to improve land for commercial or agricultural gains
• scientific research in farming has improved crop yields and fought off pests
• physicists have tapped the power of the atom, resulting in energy sources as well as machines of war

Without a doubt, there have been many perceived good things to come from scientific and technological advances but… there’s also been a catch. The catch usually in the form of an environmental, social, ethical or “religious” aspect.

1 Samuel 8:10-22 comes to mind. At the latter stage of Samuel’s life, the Israelites, in awe of the works of the kings of neighboring nations, desired to have a king likewise; to raise up their nation in the same way. The Israelites pleaded with Samuel to provide them with a king to succeed him, they wanted to have a king to fight their battles for them, to lead them economically and socially.

1 Samuel 8:10-22
Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [a] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”

The Israelites had forgotten that they had been provided for already through the spiritual leadership of Samuel & God, their king. Samuel took the Israelite’s request to the Lord; who warned of the outcome of their wishes, but the Israelites were insistent. So God said to Samuel “Listen to them, & give them a king”, which would turn out to be Samuel’s son Saul. Saul who was a vain and insecure man, often made knee jerk decisions that he would later have to rescind. Saul’s reign as a king would prove to be disastrous.

Some similarities between the Israelites of 1 Samuel 8:10-22 and the mentality of today’s society, which seems to be so dazzled by the marvels of science & technology:

• humanity disregarding God
• idolizing a man-made model of advancement
• faith in God compromised for faith in “man”

Moral Confusion As for the struggle to balance faith with contemporary issues, I think that this is less and less of an issue if one applies them self to getting into the word on a regular basis, and by making prayer a key ingredient. By doing so, we allow the Holy Spirit to “speak” to our hearts, on all matters.Contemporary issues only become an issue because we fail to rely on and seek the wisdom and guidance of God, His Word, and the Holy Spirit to move us in the right direction.

Consider when the Atomic bomb was developed. It was rationalized by man as a means to the end; by “creating” the Atom bomb a quick end could be bought to WW II; hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved. This rationalization seemed like the correct thing to do back then; but 60 years later, there are good and bad repercussions from the development of the Atomic bomb.

Closing thoughts This past Monday evening I was watching the NBC television series “Heroes”. The character “Hiro”, a time traveler had returned from Japan Circa 1640 something to present day Japan, only to find out that during his absence, his father had been killed. Distraught over the death of his father, Hiro travels back in time to prevent the murder of his father. Upon arriving hours before his father’s death, Hiro approaches his father and tells him what is about to happen. To Hiro’s surprise, his father tells him to not interfere. Hiro naturally doesn’t want to lose his father and can’t understand why his father would not want his son to save his life. Hiro’s father responds “Just because we have the power of God, does not mean we should play God.”

I have nothing against science or technology, they are both results of man’s ability to think and reason. Thought and reasoning I believe; are gifts from God to allow us to commune and understand Him better, and to be able to appreciate His love for us; not a mechanism to use in an attempt to become gods.

Jeremiah 10:11-12 (NIV)
11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ” 12 But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

C.A. Stallworth