SHARINGOURSTORY JULY-SEPTEMBER 2012 - Canada › nl › 2012 › jul-sep.pdf · 2017-04-11 · SHARINGOURSTORY JULY-SEPTEMBER 2012 NORGRACE COMMUNT ION INTH ERNATIOE NAL-C AR NADA

J U L Y - S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2J U L Y - S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2SHARING OUR STORYSHARING OUR STORYNORTHERN LIGHTNORTHERN LIGHTGRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL-CANADA / COMMUNION INTERNATIONALE DANS LA GRÂCE, CANADAGRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL-CANADA / COMMUNION INTERNATIONALE DANS LA GRÂCE, CANADA

All Truth Is God’s TruthAll Truth Is God’s Truth

The Faith Of Dr. EinsteinThe Faith Of Dr. Einstein

Toute vérité vient de DieuToute vérité vient de Dieu

Science And ReligionScience And Religion

C O N T E N T S

ecently, I’ve read a number of newspaper articles about stud-ies which state the more educated a person is, the less likelytheir belief in religion or a God.

The tone taken in these studies seems to imply that the moreversed in science a person becomes the more ludicrous the

belief in a God or religion is.

So the question is: “Are people of belief relegated to the back of the buswhen it comes to education? Are believers simply just superstitious,gullible, ignorant people who follow antiquated, worn out belief sys-tems?” Certainly, many who follow the arguments of well known athe-ists such as Richard Dawkins, and the late Christopher Hitchens wouldsupport such a claim.

However, as the articles featured in the issue illustrate, there are anumber of well known scientists who wouldn’t support such a claim.

In his article, All Truth Is God’s Truth, (page 2) Canadian Director, GaryMoore explains that when it comes to scientific discoveries, Christiansneed not fear what science may find. He goes on to mention, “Many,many, top scientists are indeed believers, and what they find andobserve only strengthens their belief in God.”

Grace Communion International president Joseph Tkach, shares hisrecent encounter with James, a fellow airline passenger, and their con-versation in his commentary, Christianity Only For Dummies?(page 6).During this conversation he was able to illustrate that many scientistsare Christians and concludes with this thought: “the ultimate proof ofGod’s existence must be in and through Jesus—for he himself is theplace were God and humanity perfectly meet face to face.”

Regular Northern Light contributor, Neil Earle, looks at the life ofrenowned 20th century physicist, Dr. Albert Einstein in his article, TheFaith Of Dr. Einstein (page 10). Earle explains that although Einstein,“...was never an observant Jew but he was, in his own way, devout. Hebemoaned a Science growing up that was stripped of a sense of won-der and responsibility before the Supreme Intelligence, the Old One.”

Finally, writer Jonathan Buck examines why all human beings seem tohave an insatiable appetite to discover the mysteries of our world anduniverse in his article, An Eternity Of Surprises (page 14).

May you find these articles to be insightful as you continue to have apersonal encounter with the triune God.

The Faith Of Dr. EinsteinThe story goes that the great German physicistAlbert Einstein (1879-1955) was once asked howWorld War III would be fought. The legendary scientistreplied he did not know, but that “World War IV would befought with sticks and stones.”

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FRONT COVER: In these financially trubulent times many, includ-ing Christians, are reconsidering their priorities.Cover Photo: © DesignpicsBack Cover: © DesignpicsAdditional photos and illustrations: © Designpics unless otherwisenoted.

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Toute vérité vient de DieuJ’ aime particulièrement la notion transmise par letitre du présent article. Généralement, on considère qu’ilconstitue une paraphrase d’une citation de Saint-Augustin, qui a vécu à la fin du quatrième et au début ducinquième siècle de notre ère.

4

All Truth Is God’s TruthI love the meaning conveyed in the title of this arti-cle. It is generally considered to be a paraphrase of some-thing written by Augustine of Hippo who lived in the latefourth and early fifth century AD.

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Northern Light magazine is the official magazine of GraceCommunion International - Canada. It exists to share thestories of our members and congregations on theirChristian journey. Northern Light does this by featuringarticles that encourage, nurture and inform.

Le magazine Northern Light est le magazine officiel deCommunion Internationale dans la Grâce, Canada. Il sertà raconter les histoires de nos membres et de nosassemblées tout le long de leur voyage chrétien, aumoyen d’articles qui encouragent, nourrissent et infor-ment.

Bill Hall

NL

T H I S I S S U E ’ S T H E M E

Science And RelgionA MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

RR

Director’s Desk 2

Commentary 6

Science And Religion 10

N O R T H E R N L I G H T

are meant to convey the greater truththat God is creator of all, but do it inpoetic language.

Augustine of Hippo, mentioned earlier,believed the days of creation mentioned

in Genesis chapter 1 are metaphoricaldays, standing for what may have beenlong periods of time, and that there is noway of knowing how long ago creationmay have happened.

2

love the meaning conveyed in thetitle of this article. It is generallyconsidered to be a paraphrase ofsomething written by Augustine ofHippo who lived in the late fourthand early fifth century AD. As

Christians, we believe that God exists.Through Christ and over time, we expe-rience a relationship with God—Father,Son and Spirit—that validates our faith.God is really there, and what is revealedin the Bible proved out to be an accurate“map” of God’s nature, purposes, andplan.

God reveals himself in the Bible to bethe creator of all (Genesis 1:1). That is acentral truth of scripture, and is a corebelief of the Christian faith. The NewTestament adds the understanding thatthe Son was the member of theGodhead who accomplished the work ofcreation (John 1:3). When we look at thescope and complexity of creation, weare able to see in what has been made,the handiwork of God the creator. KingDavid, who ruled the ancient nation ofIsrael about 1000 years before Jesuslived, was a man who contemplated themagnificence of creation—not just ofthings on the earth, but the celestial bod-ies in the heavens. For him, such con-templation brought him to the point ofworship and praise of God and his lovefor human beings (Psalm 8:3-5). He wasstaggered that the God who created theimmensity of the Universe would careabout us—who are so very small andtemporary by comparison.

How and exactly when the original cre-ation took place has intrigued people forcenturies. Some believe the Universe,along with the earth and life upon it, wascreated 6,000 years ago. Some say itwas 10,000 years ago.

Others point out some of the criticalearly passages in Genesis are written inpoetic form, and are not meant to betaken as literal scientific statements.They agree the passages are inspiredby God as part of scripture, but are pas-sages of inspired Hebrew poetry, and

II

D I R E C T O R ’ S D E S K

By Gary MooreNational Director All Truth Is God’s Truth

3J U L Y / A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2

Other believers, such as C.S. Lewisbelieved in what is called theistic evolu-tion. He believed there was a process ofevolution, but that the creation was setin motion by God, and was guided byhim for his ultimate purposes.

For me, the key truth to grasp and holdonto very tightly is that God is the cre-ator, and he is guiding us all toward theend of history as we know it. He is a Godof love, and we as human beings are thespecial focus of his love. He has madeprovision through the vicarious work ofJesus on our behalf, for our salvation,and wishes to share his life with all whowill choose to embrace it.

God who is Father, Son, and Spirit havelived the way of love eternally, and haveextended to us the opportunity to sharein that life with them and one another.The details of how or when the creationtook place are secondary in importanceto this fundamental truth.

Further, we need not fear what sciencemay find. Remember, all truth is God’struth. So there are no facts we should beafraid of in the least.

It doesn’t mean we will agree with spec-ulation or creative leaps in thinking, thatscientists and others are quite capableof making! However, the pursuit of truthin all fields of life and study should neverthreaten a believer. Christians should betotally free to enter fields of scientificstudy, and not feel any compunction toseparate their faith in God from theirdesire to discover facts from creation.Many, many, top scientists are indeedbelievers, and what they find andobserve only strengthens their belief inGod.

We must never forget that God is truth.Jesus comes as the light of the world toremove all darkness of evil, ignoranceand deception. And never forget that “alltruth is God’s truth”!

It doesn’t mean we will agree with

speculation or creative leaps in

thinking, that scientists and others

are quite capable of making!

However, the pursuit of truth in all

fields of life and study should

never threaten a believer.

Christians should be totally free to

enter fields of scientific study, and

not feel any compunction to sepa-

rate their faith in God from their

desire to discover facts from cre-

ation. Many, many, top scientists

are indeed believers, and what

they find and observe only

strengthens their belief in God.

NL

D I R E C T O R ’ S D E S K C O N T I N U E D

doit pas en déduire littéralement desfaits scientifiques. Ils reconnaissent queces passages ont été inspirés par Dieuet qu’ils font partie de l’Écriture.Cependant, ils croient que ce sont destextes hébraïques inspirés dont le but

4 N O R T H E R N L I G H T

aime particulièrement lanotion transmise par le titredu présent article.Généralement, on considèrequ’il constitue une paraphra-se d’une citation de Saint-

Augustin, qui a vécu à la fin du quatriè-me et au début du cinquième siècle denotre ère. Étant chrétiens, nous croyonsque Dieu existe. Par Christ, nous entre-tenons au fil du temps une relation avecDieu – Père, Fils et Saint-Esprit – quiconfirme notre foi. Dieu est réel, et lesvérités révélées dans la Bible consti-tuent une représentation exacte de lanature, du plan et des buts divins.

Dans sa Parole, Dieu s’est révélécomme le créateur de toutes choses(Genèse 1:1). Il s’agit d’une vérité cen-trale de l’Écriture et une doctrine fonda-mentale de la foi chrétienne. En outre, leNouveau Testament révèle que le Filsétait membre de la Trinité qui a créé lemonde (Jean 1:3). Quand on considèrel’étendue et la complexité de la création,on constate dans quel milieu a été réa-lisé le chef-d’œuvre du Créateur. Le roiDavid, qui a régné sur Israël dansl’Antiquité, près de 1000 ans avant lanaissance de Jésus, a contemplé lamagnificence de la création – non seule-ment la terre et ce qu’elle renferme,mais également les créatures célestes.Une telle contemplation l’a poussé àadorer et à louer Dieu et à lui rendregrâces pour son amour envers les êtreshumains (Psaumes 8:4-6). Il était ren-versé de constater que Dieu qui a créél’immense univers se soucie de nous, sipetits et éphémères en comparaison.

Connaître la façon dont la création origi-nale s’est produite et le moment où ellea eu lieu exactement intrigue l’humanitédepuis des siècles. Certains croient quel'univers, tout comme la terre et la vie quis’y trouve, ont été créés il y a 6000 ans,d’autres disent que c’était il y a10 000 ans.

D’autres encore soulignent que lestextes de la Genèse en question ont étéécrits sous forme poétique et que l’on ne

est de transmettre une vérité plus gran-de, à savoir que Dieu est créateur detoutes choses, et ce, en langage poé-tique.

J’J’Toute vérité vient de Dieu

CHRONIQUE

de Gary Mooredirecteur national


Saint-Augustin, mentionné précédem-ment, croyait que les jours du premierchapitre de la Genèse sont métapho-riques, qu’ils représentent des périodesqui pourraient avoir été longues, et qu’ilest impossible de savoir en combien detemps la création s’est réalisée.

D’autres croyants, dont C. S. Lewis,croient en l’évolution théiste. Il croyaitqu’un processus d’évolution a eu lieu,mais que c’est Dieu qui l'a initié et qui l'adirigé selon son but ultime.

Pour moi, il y a une vérité clé à saisir età laquelle s’accrocher fermement : Dieuest le créateur et il nous guide tous versla finalité qu’il nous a révélée. C’est unDieu d’amour, et nous, êtres humains,sommes l’objet particulier de son amour.Il a pourvu à notre salut par l’œuvrevicariale de Jésus en notre faveur etveut partager sa vie à tous ceux quichoisissent de l’étreindre.

Dieu – Père, Fils et Saint-Esprit –, qui vitl’amour depuis toute éternité, nousdonne l’occasion de partager cette vieavec lui, et entre nous. Les détailsconcernant la façon et le moment où lacréation a eu lieu sont secondaires com-parativement à l’importance de cettevérité fondamentale.

Par ailleurs, nous n’avons pas à craindrece que la science pourrait découvrir.N’oubliez pas, toute vérité vient de Dieu.Ainsi, aucun fait ne devrait susciter lacrainte en nous.

Cela ne veut pas dire que nous devrionsaccepter les spéculations ou les grandsefforts d’imagination, que des scienti-fiques ou d’autres individus pourraienttrès bien faire! Toutefois, la recherche dela vérité dans tous les domaines de lavie ne devrait jamais menacer lecroyant. Au contraire, les chrétiensdevraient se sentir parfaitement libresd’embrasser toutes les sciences, sansse sentir obligés de séparer leur foi enDieu de leur désir de découvrir des faitsau sujet de la création. D’innombrablesscientifiques sont chrétiens; leurs

découvertes et observations fortifientleur foi en Dieu.

Nous ne devons jamais oublier que Dieuest la vérité. Jésus est venu sur terrepour être la lumière du monde et suppri-mer les ténèbres : le mal, l’ignorance etla tromperie. Et rappelons-nous quetoute vérité vient de Dieu!

Cela ne veut pas dire que nous

devrions accepter les spéculations

ou les grands efforts d’imagina-

tion, que des scientifiques ou

d’autres individus pourraient très

bien faire! Toutefois, la recherche

de la vérité dans tous les

domaines de la vie ne devrait

jamais menacer le croyant. Au

contraire, les chrétiens devraient

se sentir parfaitement libres d’em-

brasser toutes les sciences, sans

se sentir obligés de séparer leur

foi en Dieu de leur désir de décou-

vrir des faits au sujet de la créa-

tion. D’innombrables scientifiques

sont chrétiens; leurs découvertes

et observations fortifient leur foi

en Dieu.

NL

CHRONIQUE


I’m annoyed that it is now acceptable toportray Christians as simpletons. TheseTV characters are definitely not typical ofmost Christians.

I explained to James that many of theconcepts we grow up believing aremyths. For example, there is the com-monly held idea that even educated peo-ple in historic times believed that theearth was flat. However, the historicalrecord does not support this idea. Asnoted by Jeffrey Russell (professor ofhistory at the University of California,Santa Barbara) in Inventing the FlatEarth: Columbus and ModernHistorians, the flat-earth theory is a fableused to denigrate pre-modern Europeancivilizations.

I enjoyed the look on his face when I toldhim that I was one of those so-calledignorant Christians. I mentioned that hemight not have heard of surveys show-ing that 40% of scientists are agnosticsand 40% are Christian. I told him that Iknew personally several believing scien-tists who work on the cutting edge of sci-entific discovery. I reminded him thatFrancis Collins, who was the director ofthe Human Genome Project, is a devoutChristian. James seemed interested tohear more.

I told him that I am amused by TV char-acters like Dr. Sheldon Cooper and his“Bible belt” mother in the American sit-com The Big Bang Theory; and by Alice,the assistant to the vicar in the Britishsitcom Vicar of Dibley. I also admitted tohim that some Christians would benefitfrom more education. But I told him that

hen Tammy is not with me,I never know who might sitnext to me on an airplane.I’ve sat next to lawyers,business owners, mystics,soldiers, pilots and just

about every other profession. It hasmade for some interesting conversa-tions.

On a flight to Dallas last week, my seat-mate was James—a nice fellow in hislate twenties. James was somewhat fullof his intellectual capacity and thoughtthe world was full of stupid people.Christians, he explained, were excep-tionally stupid, because they seemed tobe oblivious to the discoveries of sci-ence. In his estimation, they were likepeople who believed the earth was flat.James was obviously proud to considerhimself an atheist.

WWChristianity Only For Dummies?

By Joseph Tkach

C O M M E N T A R Y


The historic fact is that as far back as330 BC, Aristotle pointed out that theshadow of the earth on the moon isalways circular. In 240 BC, Eratosthenescalculated the earth’s spherical circum-ference. The Venerable Bede, who livedover 700 years before Columbus,explained the varying duration of day-light in terms of the roundness of earth,reasoning from the Bible that spoke ofthe “circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22).

Some of the most notable scientiststhrough history were Christians. In thesixth century, philosopher and theolo-gian John Philoponus anticipated themodern physics of light and atomicstructure based on the doctrines of theTrinity and creation. Galileo was readingPhiloponus as he calculated the move-ment of the stars, laying a foundation forour modern understanding of the cos-mos.

Unaware of all this, James wasintrigued. I hope I left him less sure thatChristianity is only for dummies. I’d liketo think I helped him shift in his thinkingfrom being an atheist to an agnostic.

Of course, many assume that atheismand agnosticism are synonymous. Theyare not. There is a significant differencein the two. It is fashionable today to sayyou are an atheist. Writers like RichardDawkins and Christopher Hitchins havemade names for themselves by ridicul-ing religion in general and Christianity inparticular. They have suggested that ifChristians cannot convincingly demolishthe atheist argument and prove Godexists, the only sensible default positionfor an educated person is atheism. Buthold on a minute. Atheists claim thatGod does not exist, so it is up to them toprove their point. They can’t, of course—

philosophically you cannot prove a neg-ative. When cornered, most atheistshave to admit to really being agnostic.Agnostics say they do not know whetherGod exists. This is a reasonable positionfor people who have insufficient evi-dence (and/or interest!) to make a deci-sion.

Do you see the arrogance of those athe-ists who say they have won the argu-ment because those who believe in Godhave not proved their point? It is truethat you cannot “prove” God exists tosomeone who is not willing to showsome faith. Lending an initial mustardseed’s worth of trust is an essentialingredient. As Thomas Aquinas said, “Toone who has faith, no explanation isnecessary. To one without faith, noexplanation is possible.” I realize theatheist will say that to “have faith” is aweak argument. But it is not. We “havefaith” in all kinds of things we cannot fullyunderstand or control. So what is “weak”about basing a decision on evidencethat is accepted on faith? We may not beable to make a 100% knockdown scien-tific proof that God exists. However,there is plenty of evidence to say that tobelieve in a Creator God is not prepos-terous nonsense.

God, of course, isnot interested in ourfaith being the resultof a successfulexperiment. Whathe wants is a rela-tionship with us.That is why the ulti-mate proof of God’sexistence must be inand through Jesus—

for he himself is theplace were God andhumanity perfectlymeet face to face.He is the placewhere we can enterinto personal rela-tionship with God.We meet and relateto God where hemeets and personal-ly relates to us. Butentering into thatrelationship, like allpersonal relation-ships, calls for someinitial trust or faith.No faith, then noknowledge, no rela-tionship.

Of course, explaining all this to Jameswould have been overkill. But, since hewas proud of his analytical ability, I want-ed to challenge him to think his positionall the way through. Just becauseChristians have not proven their point tohis satisfaction, it does not mean thatthe atheists have won. Atheists mustpresent their position with the samestrength of proof that they expect ofbelievers. Until they do, we could onlyaccept their premise by a sheer act ofwill. But such an assumption, lacking anobject of trust, does not even deservethe label, faith.

Like most “atheists,” James was reallyan agnostic. Agnosticism is a valid intel-lectual parking lot. However, a parkinglot is not a destination. I hope I helpedhim on his way.

C O M M E N T A R Y C O N T I N U E D

God, of course, is not interested in

our faith being the result of a suc-

cessful experiment. What he wants

is a relationship with us. That is

why the ultimate proof of God’s

existence must be in and through

Jesus – for he himself is the place

were God and humanity perfectly

meet face to face. He is the place

where we can enter into personal

relationship with God. We meet

and relate to God where he meets

and personally relates to us. But

entering into that relationship, like

all personal relationships, calls for

some initial trust or faith. No faith,

then no knowledge, no relation-

ship

NL


ors de mes déplacements,quand Tammy n’est pas avecmoi, je ne sais jamais avec qui jevais être assis. Je me suis déjàretrouvé à côté d’avocats, d’en-trepreneurs, de mystiques, de

soldats, de pilotes et de nombreuxautres professionnels. Ces rencontresont donné lieu à des conversations inté-ressantes.

Lors d’un vol vers Dallas, la semainedernière, mon compagnon de vol senommait James – un gentil jeunehomme dans la fin de la vingtaine.James était quelque peu imbu de sacapacité intellectuelle et croyait que lemonde était rempli de gens stupides. Ilm’a expliqué que les chrétiens étaientparticulièrement imbéciles, car ils sem-blaient ignorer les découvertes scienti-fiques. Selon lui, les croyants pensentque la terre est plate. James était mani-festement fier d’être athée.

Voir son visage quand je lui ai annoncéque je faisais partie de ces prétendusignorants m’a amusé. Je lui ai men-tionné qu’il n’avait peut-être jamaisentendu parler des statistiques selonlesquelles 40 % des scientifiques étaientagnostiques et 40 %, chrétiens. Je lui aiégalement dit que je connaissais per-sonnellement plusieurs scientifiquescroyants qui travaillent sur des projetsde recherches scientifiques à la finepointe de la technologie. Je lui ai rap-pelé que Francis Collins, directeur duprojet du génome humain, était un chré-tien consacré. Alors, James a sembléintéressé à en savoir davantage à cesujet.

Je lui ai dit que certains personnagesd’émissions de télévision m’amusaient,par exemple Dr Sheldon Cooper et samère, une protestante fondamentaliste,de la série télévisée américaine The BigBang Theory et Alice, l’assistante duvicaire dans la série télévisée britan-nique Vicar of Dibley. J’ai aussi admisque certains chrétiens auraient bienbesoin d’une formation plus poussée.Mais je lui ai dit que j’étais exaspéré de

constater qu’il est maintenant accep-table de représenter les chrétienscomme des simplets. Ces personnagesde feuilletons ne représentent absolu-ment pas les chrétiens typiques.

J’ai expliqué à James que bon nombrede concepts avec lesquels nous avonsgrandi sont des mythes. Par exemple,l’idée que dans les siècles passés,même les gens instruits croyaient que laterre était plate. Pourtant, les documentshistoriques ne la soutiennent pas.Comme l’a souligné Jeffrey Russell, pro-fesseur d’histoire à l’université de laCalifornie à Santa Barbara, dansInventing the Flat Earth: Columbus andModern Historians, la théorie de la terreplate est une fable inventée pour déni-grer les civilisations européennes pré-modernes.

Mais le fait est que dès 300 av. J.-C.,Aristote a démontré que l’ombre de laterre sur la lune est toujours circulaire. En240 av. J.-C., Ératosthène a calculé la cir-conférence de la terre. Bède leVénérable, qui a vécu 700 ans avantChristophe Colomb, a expliqué la varia-tion de la durée du jour par la circularitéde la terre, déduction tirée de la Biblequi parle du « cercle de la terre »(Ésaïe 40:22).

Certains des scientifiques les plusremarquables de l’Histoire étaient chré-

tiens. Au 6e siècle, Jean Philopon, philo-sophe et théologien, a déduit avant sontemps la physique optique et la structu-re atomique modernes à partir des doc-trines de la trinité et de la création.Galilée s’est basé sur ses lectures de

LLLe christianisme est-il réservé

aux nuls?de Joseph Tkach

C O M M E N T A I R E


Philopon pour calculer le mouvementdes étoiles, par lequel il a posé le fonde-ment de la compréhension moderne ducosmos.

Ignorant toutes ces données, Jamesétait intrigué. J’espère qu’après notrerencontre, sa conviction que le christia-nisme était réservé aux nuls a étéébranlée. J’aime croire que je l’ai aidé àdevenir agnostique plutôt qu’athée.

Bien entendu, beaucoup de gens présu-ment qu’athéisme et agnosticisme sontsynonymes. Mais ce n’est pas le cas. Ilexiste une différence remarquable entreces deux termes. De nos jours, la ten-dance est à l’athéisme. D’autres,comme Richard Dawkins et ChristopherHitchins, ont acquis une renommée estridiculisant la religion en général et lechristianisme en particulier. Ils ontsuggéré l’idée selon laquelle si les chré-tiens ne pouvaient pas démolir l’argu-ment athée de façon convaincante etprouver que Dieu existe, l’athéisme étaitla seule position sensée qu’une person-ne instruite pouvait adopter. Attendez uninstant, les athées prétendent que Dieun’existe pas, c’est donc à eux de prouverqu’ils ont raison. Ils en sont incapables,car philosophiquement il est impossiblede prouver une négation. Acculés aumur, la majorité des athées avouent êtreagnostiques en réalité. Selon le point devue agnostique, on ignore si Dieu existeou non; c’est une position acceptablepour quelqu’un qui n’a pas suffisammentde preuves ou d’intérêts pour prendreune décision.

Voyez-vous l’arrogance des athées quiaffirment avoir raison parce que lescroyants en Dieu ne peuvent prouverson existence? C’est vrai, il est impos-sible de « prouver » que Dieu existe àquelqu’un qui n’est pas prêt à faire preu-ve d’un minimum de foi. Démontrer unefoi initiale comme un grain de moutardeest un ingrédient essentiel. Comme l’aaffirmé Thomas d’Aquin, « Pour celui quicroit, aucune explication n’est nécessai-re. Pour celui qui n’a pas la foi, aucuneexplication n’est possible. » Je sais que

pour l’athée avoir la foi est un argumentfaible. Mais c’est faux. Nous « avonsfoi » en de multiples choses que nous nepouvons pas comprendre ou contrôler.Pourquoi donc fonder une décision surune preuve admise par la foi est-il« faible »? Nous ne pouvons peut-êtrefournir une preuve scientifique démon-trant à 100 % que Dieu existe.Cependant, il existe un grand nombre depreuves selon lesquelles croire en unDieu créateur n’est pas un grotesquenon-sens.

Bien entendu, Dieu ne désire pas quenotre foi découle d’une expérience réus-sie. Mais il veut être en relation avecnous. C’est pourquoi l’ultime preuve del’existence de Dieu doit être faite en

Jésus et par lui, car c’est en lui que Dieuet l’humanité se rencontrent parfaite-ment, face à face. C’est par lui que nouspouvons entretenir une relation person-nelle avec Dieu. Nous rencontrons Dieuet communions avec lui à l’endroit où ilnous rencontre et communie personnel-lement avec nous. Entamer cette rela-tion, comme toutes les relations person-nelles, nécessite une confiance et unefoi initiales. Sans foi, il n’y a ni connais-sance ni relation.

Bien entendu, sij’avais expliqué toutcela à James, jel’aurais matraqué.Cependant, je vou-lais le mettre au défide revoir sa positionà la base puisqu’ilétait fier de sescapacités d’analyse.Le simple fait queles chrétiens n’aientpas pu démontrerleur point de vuejusqu’au bout nesignifie pas que lesathées ont raison.En effet, ceux-ci doi-vent faire valoir leurpoint de vue à l’aidede preuves aussisolides que cellesqu’ils exigent descroyants. D’ici là,nous pouvonsaccepter leur pré-misse par purebonté. Mais unetelle hypothèse,sans objet, ne peutêtre qualifiée de foi.

Comme la majoritédes « athées »,James était en réa-

lité un agnostique. Cette position fait offi-ce de bon stationnement intellectuel.Cependant, le stationnement n’est pasla destination ultime. J’espère avoir aidémon compagnon de vol à trouver savoie.

C O M M E N T A I R E

Bien entendu, Dieu ne désire pas

que notre foi découle d’une expé-

rience réussie. Mais il veut être en

relation avec nous. C’est pourquoi

l’ultime preuve de l’existence de

Dieu doit être faite en Jésus et par

lui, car c’est en lui que Dieu et l’hu-

manité se rencontrent parfaite-

ment, face à face. C’est par lui que

nous pouvons entretenir une rela-

tion personnelle avec Dieu. Nous

rencontrons Dieu et communions

avec lui à l’endroit où il nous ren-

contre et communie personnelle-

ment avec nous. Entamer cette

relation, comme toutes les rela-

tions personnelles, nécessite une

confiance et une foi initiales. Sans

foi, il n’y a ni connaissance ni rela-

tion.

NL

1 0 N O R T H E R N L I G H T

he story goes that the greatGerman physicist AlbertEinstein (1879-1955) was onceasked how World War III wouldbe fought. The legendary sci-entist replied he did not know,

but that “World War IV would be foughtwith sticks and stones.”

As the systematizer of the theoryE=MC2 which led to accessing the prac-

tical and military secrets of the atom, Dr.Einstein worried—prophet-like—abouthis unwitting contribution to the uncer-tainty and dangers of our times.

Scientific advance comes with a price.This is part of the Einstein inheritance,but a small part, as we shall see.

The “Outrageous” Legacy

Work on the Manhattan Project and thenthe nuclear arms race of the 1940s and1950s drew attention away from theworld Einstein had pioneered, at least byimplication—our world of Big Bangs,black holes, wormholes, quarks, pho-tons and other sub-atomic particles. In

the end, developments by the 21st

Century postulated a much stranger uni-verse than even Einstein envisioned inhis two groundbreaking papers on rela-tivity from 1905 and 1915.

A Cal Tech theoretical physicist, KipThrone, helps focus this look at Scienceand Religion. Throne reminds us inBlack Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’sOutrageous Legacy, that the kindly pro-fessor had deconstructed IsaacNewton’s “clockwork universe.” Nolonger did time work the same way allthrough the universe. No, Einsteinshowed, time is relative to where youare and how fast you are going. Timeand space are warped just like longtitu-dinal lines on the earth bend towards thepoles. Euclidean geometry was nowrevised: discoveries from the 1500s con-firming a round earth should have drawnattention to this elementary fact.

By analogy, Einstein made theseinsights a key to his statement aboutlight—light being the most constant anddependable factor in the created uni-verse. This helped later scientists suchas Stephen Hawking to work out theequations that tracked down blackholes—that stars could collapse undertheir own gravity until the space aroundthem became so curved that they cutthemselves off from the rest of the uni-verse. Hawking went on to pursue stud-ies that helped confirm the Big Bang, acentral miniature point exploding out-ward into near-infinity that was sup-posed to be the origin of everything wesee around us.

Of course, this forced a question forChristians and believers in God. Wherewas God at the Big Bang? Bible believ-

S C I E N C E A N D R E L I G I O N

The Faith Of Dr. EinsteinBy Neil EarlePastor, Glendora, California congregation

TT

© is

tock

photo

1 1J U L Y / A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2

ers knew he was at the beginning butwhen was that and how did it happen?What was the impetus?

Ah, the Creator had not seen fit to showus his flow charts. After all, no humanbeing was there at the beginning so—and this is easily forgotten—everythingwe know about Origins had to be eithera.) an educated guess or b.) a recon-struction based on the best evidence wehave.

Science Dethrones Religion?

Today we tend to give Science the seatof honour at the intellectual banquet.The Christian church’s persecution ofGalileo and slowness to admit the earthwas round, these were two factors caus-ing religion to lose clout as theEnlightenment of the 1700s and theDarwinism of the 1800s took off.Science and its offspring—applied tech-nology—grabbed the spotlight fromReligion. But how strange. Strangebecause the evidence that was comingin from Einstein and his generation ofphysicists postulated a cosmos that wasstranger than Newton’s. Even more sur-prising, it was one not necessarily hos-tile to the idea of a Supreme Intelligencebehind everything. At least not in AlbertEinstein’s mind.

Often forgotten today is how Einstein,born of Jewish parents, continually refer-enced Der Alte (the Old One) as hecalled God while going about his searchfor a unified theory behind everything. Inhis mind, at least, Science and Religiondid not live in watertight compartments.In fact, the greatest physicist of them allcould be described as something of areligious mystic at heart. A Swiss biogra-pher reported: “Einstein used to speak ofGod so often that I almost looked uponhim as a disguised theologian.”

This is part of Einstein’s fascinatinglegacy. He was not just setting up thepointers for others to chase beams oflight into wormholes but he regularlythrew out such statements as “The

deeper one penetrated into nature’ssecrets the greater becomes one’srespect for God.” Such observations areincluded in Edinburgh theologianThomas Torrance’s provocative workTheological and Natural Science.Torrance was a leading proponent ofScientific Theology, the belief that attheir core, science and theology aremuch more closely linked than is usuallythought.

Torrance was also a friend of the distin-guished chemist and Einstein collabora-tor Michael Polayni who developed awhole philosophy on how science andtheology depended on each other. TheUniversity of Alberta’s Walter R.Thorson, another scientist/theologian,explained Polyani’s argument in onesentence. “The practicing faith of a sci-entist is a faith ultimately in the order,consistency, intelligibility to man of thecreation in which we find ourselves [not]faith in man but in a dependableCreator.” Einstein said something similar

in his answer to a young girl’s question ifscientists ever prayed:

“Scientific research is based on the ideathat everything that takes place is deter-mined by laws of nature…However, itmust be admitted that our knowledge ofthese laws is only imperfect and frag-mentary, that actually the belief in theexistence of basic all-embracing laws ofnature also rests on a sort of faith.”Einstein conceded to the young girl that

much of this faithhas been justifiedbut, on the otherhand, “everyonewho is seriouslyinvolved in the pur-suit of sciencebecomes convincedthat a spirit is mani-fest in the laws ofthe universe, a spiritvastly superior tothat of man”(Torrance, page 26).

In the face of thecomplicated preci-sion of the universehe concluded that“the pursuit of sci-ence leads to a reli-gious feeling of aspecial sort.”

Einstein thus spokewith much morehumility on Sciencethan is noised about

from hasty discussions appearing on thenightly news, the printed press or evenin too many textbooks. Too often a short-sighted, breathless headline appearssuch as “’Universe has no Purpose’ saysLeading Scientist” and—bang—the oldScience/Religion bun fight is on again.

Does God Play Dice?

Sir John Polkinghorne—an Anglicanminister and respected researcher intosubatomic particles—chuckles when hetells people he is a Scientific Theologian.

S C I E N C E A N D R E L I G I O N C O N T I N U E D

Often forgotten today is how

Einstein, born of Jewish parents,

continually referenced Der Alte

(the Old One) as he called God

while going about his search for a

unified theory behind everything.

In his mind, at least, Science and

Religion did not live in watertight

compartments. In fact, the greatest

physicist of them all could be

described as something of a reli-

gious mystic at heart. A Swiss

biographer reported: “Einstein

used to speak of God so often that

I almost looked upon him as a dis-

guised theologian.”

N O R T H E R N L I G H T

“People look at me as if I said I were aVegetarian Butcher.” So far apart do theworlds of Science and Religion seem inthe popular imagination. Yet three corestatements of Einstein reveal how thereligious impulse, that sense of wonderand awe with overtones of incomplete-ness and mystery, almost inevitablyhover over the whole scientific enter-prise. Science with a soul, we could callit. Einstein registered three key respons-es as he pushed out the boundaries ofphysics.

The first one: “God does not play dice.”

As Einstein advanced the cause of rela-tivity he became aware of the research-es of Max Planck whom he greatlyadmired. In 1900, Max Planck put forththe quantum theory of light, that lightconsists of very small streams of parti-cles or “quanta.” A debate had raged inthe late 1800s whether light was a waveor a particle. Then Niels Bohr inDenmark showed that the energy levelsof electrons in an atom “jumped”

between three quantum locations emit-ting radiation as they went—the quan-tum leap. His student, WernerHeisenberg, later showed that thesejumps were not predictable thus intro-ducing the Uncertainty Principle into

early 20th century physics (JohnHoughton, Does God Play Dice? pages97-111).

This meant that quantum activity in theatom, supposedly the stable core ofeverything, was not predictable to a pre-

1 2



The real secrets of nature, he felt, its hid-den order and such, cannot be logicallyderived from surface study alone butfrom “tapping into the thoughts of God.”He added: “Science can only be createdby those who are thoroughly imbuedwith the aspiration towards truth andunderstanding. This source of feeling,however, springs from the sphere of rel-gion” (Science, Philosophy, andReligion, 1941).

So there it is. Einstein was astuteenough—and humble enough—to testifythat Science and Religion needed eachother. He knew that religion had oftenfailed to live up to its own best preceptsbut he at the same time admired thestand taken by elements of the ChristianChurch against Adolph Hitler. “No onecan read the Gospels without feeling theactual presence of Jesus,” he told aninterviewer, ”His personality pulsates inevery word. No myth is filled with suchlife” (Saturday Evening Post, 26 October1929).

Though Einstein did not see God as apersonal Being in the evangelicalChristian sense—he feared the distor-tions that arise when human try to“exploit” God—he figuratively kneltbefore the God he saw as the SuperiorReasoning power behind all things. Thisled to a third much-heralded statementin 1939: “Science without Religion islame; Religion without Science is blind.”

Religion and Science—Friends

Divided

The greatest physicist of the 20th

Century knew his fellow human beingsall too well. He eluded the grasp of thosereligionists who liked to pigeon-hole him.He was never an observant Jew but hewas, in his own way, devout. Hebemoaned a Science growing up thatwas stripped of a sense of wonder andresponsibility before the SupremeIntelligence, the Old One. In this he wasonce again ahead of his time. Religion’sexcesses are all too obvious in the ageof 9/11 and prophecy addiction. But sci-

ence has a hard time controlling thefruits of its technological horn of plenty.There are heart transplants andFukusihmas, miracle babies and horren-dous oil spills. Two United States presi-dents—Eisenhower and Kennedy—shared Dr. Einstein’s grave doubts aboutwhere science was leading us.

Professor Einstein’s religious sense ofawe in the face of Creation, an attitudethat might help “tame” the break-neckadvances of Science by focusing thedeeper “Why” questions, this is part ofhis unsurpassed legacy. It needsremembering.

cise point. At first, Einstein did not likethis deviation from orderliness. Heargued, in effect, “God does not playdice with the universe.” The greatdebate was interrupted by World War II.Einstein knew in 1905 that the innerworkings of things were designed insuch a way as to invalidate the olderphysics of simple cause and effect. Inthe face of quantum physics he postulat-ed a “supercausality” behind things thatrevealed an Intelligence towering aboveall previous conceptions. He challengedmathematicians to work out the equa-tions. And indeed, it is now acceptedthat possibly God could both play diceand know the outcome, says Ian Stewartin his version of Does God Play Dice?(page 2).

The strange world of mid-20th centuryphysics convinced Einstein that the OldOne was cleverer than even he hadthought. In The World as I See It, hewrote: “The harmony of natural lawreveals an Intelligence of such superior-ity that, compared with it, all the thinkingand acting of human beings is an utterlyinsignificant reflection.”

Here was indirect confirmation of theChristian reflection in Colossians 1:17that “He (God) is before all things, and inhim all things hold together.”

Statement two: “God does not wear hisheart on his sleeve.”

The God who Hides

The orderly universe which Einsteinbelieved came from God’s hand never-theless required immense mentallabours to decipher. Still, Einstein’s earlyreligious upbringing made him receptiveto the thoughts behind such texts asIsaiah 45:15, “Truly, you are a God whohides himself.” And Proverbs 25:2 bal-ances this out with “It is the glory of Godto conceal a matter; to search out a mat-ter is the glory of kings.” As an awe-filledseeker after God’s thoughts Einstein“marveled at the mysterious comprehen-sibility of the universe which is yet final-ly beyond his grasp” (Quoted inTorrance, page 31).

NL


1 4 N O R T H E R N L I G H T

But why? Because, Acts 17:27 says,“God put this creation together in such away that we humans might seek him,and maybe we’d reach out for him andactually find him, and discover he’s notthat far off at all.”

Oh, so it’s because of God that we can’tresist looking under rocks as children tosee what’s under them, and because ofGod that we spend billions on sendingmachines into space to see what’s outthere, and because of God that peoplespend many happy years investigatingsome tiny aspect of creation, like bacte-ria or the insides of atoms.

was jotting down some notes forthis article when an earwig crawledup on the table beside me andwaddled across to some cookiecrumbs I’d left behind from myafternoon tea break. I’d never seen

an earwig eat before, so I grabbed amagnifying glass and did a close-up.The earwig clasped each crumb with itsfront legs and sucked up five crumbs thesize of its head at an astonishing rate,and waddled off none the fatter.

Three questions came to mind as Iwatched: Why, first of all, would an ear-wig go for cookie crumbs? Secondly,why do we actually need earwigs, andthirdly, why am I asking these ques-tions?

But then a fly I’d never seen before land-ed on my notes and again I was dis-tracted. It was slightly smaller than ahousefly but with legs so long it had tosplay out its front legs like a giraffe whenfeeding. But why would it need legs thatlong when other flies didn’t?

Oh well, back to thinking about my arti-cle. But then the phone rang with incom-ing news about my 12 year old grand-daughter’s fascination with the contentsof a squid’s eyeball, which she’d just dis-sected on the kitchen counter. It was asirresistible to her as earwigs and flieswith giraffe-like legs were to me.

II


An Eternity Of SurprisesBy Jonathan BuckPastor, Barrie, Huntsville,North Bay, Peterborough, andSudbury congregationsWebsite: bucktobasics.ca


Atheist, agnostic and Christian, we’re allthe same. We have this insatiablecuriosity to A.S.K. It’s like a code builtinto our heads, so that we’re constantlyAsking, Seeking and Knocking and everpushing the boundaries. And bit by bitthe universe is giving up its secrets too.New wonders keep coming to light. Andwe discover to our delight that the uni-verse is an eternity of surprises!

And once you realize that, you’rehooked! My 11 year old granddaughterwas hooked the moment she enteredthe Natural History Museum in London,England. Her mind exploded. She ranfrom exhibit to exhibit gulping in worldsshe’d never encountered before. Nowonder she’s into squids’ eyeballs ayear later. But now she knows a won-derful secret—tucked away in the TeddyBear’s Picnic song—that if you go out inthe woods today (take a peek into God’screation) you’re sure of a big surprise!

That’s why Science can never stopsearching. If we’d stopped with IsaacNewton, for instance, we’d still be think-ing the universe is a quietly tickingmachine, operating according to fixed,observable laws like gravity, and that’sall we need to know. Einstein, however,blew that idea right out of the water. Noway is the universe that simple, or bor-ing. Arrows in flight, for instance, don’thit the ground just because of gravity,they arc toward the ground becausespace bends. And for those who took thetime to follow Einstein’s thinking, newworlds opened up that spawned newtechnology, like the satellite-trackingsystems we now use when drivinginstead of paper maps.

And if we’d let evolutionists convince usthat “survival of the fittest” is the drivingforce of life on Earth, how boring,because it doesn’t answer how life cameinto existence in the first place, or whythe universe exists at all when it had noreason to. But a whole new breed of sci-entists today are looking under otherrocks, at the very core of matter, andhow matter could be formed out of sub-

atomic whizzy things that appear anddisappear just like that. Science iszooming in ever closer to the substanceof life itself. Evolution, by comparison, isa yawn.

True Science—real, exciting, mind-blow-ing Science—comes from the endlessbirthing of new understanding by thosewho’ve caught on that life is full of sur-prises, and the surprises never stopcoming to those who seek with an openmind. Would that Religion caught on tothat in its search for God too, whereinstead of nailing God in a box andtelling people that’s all there is to knowabout him, it let God reveal himself hisway—with new and endless surprises!

Like the surprise he landed on Religionwhen he came as a human being. Talkabout a ‘Big Bang’. All previous pictures,concepts, preconceived ideas and petnotions about God disintegrated in onefell swoop. Jesus then blew more fusesin people’s heads by stopping a storm,healing a maniac and raising a deadchild to life again, because here was ahuman being who broke fixed laws, benttime and space, and did things that sure-ly only a Supernatural Being could do.

But more surprises were to follow,because after he disappeared a newbreed of humans arrived on the scenewho broke the hidebound rules ofhuman behaviour. They weren’t driven

by self-preservationor ego. They couldface death and suf-fering without fear orresentment. Theygave their lives torevealing the truthabout God and serv-ing people in love,and they got alongtogether even whenthey were vastly dif-ferent in personalityand background.This was territory noone had troddenbefore.

And now Sciencefaces that challengetoo, because it’spushing boundaries

where no one has been before either,and the old models of the universe arerapidly gurgling down the plughole ofantiquity and obsolescence as newinterpretations of the universe are blow-ing the old views to pieces.

In other words, you can’t freeze at anyone point and say, “That’s all there is toknow”—in Science or Religion—

because the evidence is overwhelmingthat if you keep seeking an eternity ofsurprises awaits.

We’re also learning, though, that it’s inhow you seek that secrets are revealed.You can focus on one small aspect ofthe universe or Scripture, for instance,and make a mountain out of it so greatthat it gets entrenched in tradition andfreezes people’s knowledge for cen-turies, like the belief that the Earth is atthe centre of the universe, or that God isdistant and never interacts with humans.


Atheist, agnostic and Christian,

we’re all the same. We have this

insatiable curiosity to A.S.K. It’s

like a code built into our heads, so

that we’re constantly Asking,

Seeking and Knocking and ever

pushing the boundaries. And bit

by bit the universe is giving up its

secrets too. New wonders keep

coming to light. And we discover

to our delight that the universe is

an eternity of surprises!

N O R T H E R N L I G H T 1 6

Or you can go for the big picture. Forgetthe details for a minute—what’s Godreally telling us all through Scripture? Orwhat’s a Big Bang in the middle ofnowhere with no explanation as to why ithappened, really saying to us?

But where do you start in answeringthose questions? Well, when Paul cameup against a group of seeking but awful-ly confused Athenians, he started withActs 17:27, that God is personally andintimately involved in every detail of ourhuman world and experience. And whyis he? Because he wants to communewith us, to interact with us, to make con-tact, and he’s dangled Science and

Religion before us as the perfect toolsfor establishing that contact.

We see that clearly demonstrated inScripture, for instance, in how God per-sonally walked and talked with Adamand Eve, dwelt with the Israelites in thetabernacle and temple, and preparedthe way for his Son to come and actual-ly live with us in person. The message ofScripture clearly reveals a God who likesus and wants contact.

And we get the same message from theuniverse. That it’s all personal. From thevastness of space to the microscopicwonder of what matter consists of God is

constantly whispering to us, “I’m here. Ican be sought, reached out to andfound. And you’ll soon discover I’m notthat far off at all. So don’t stop looking.”

But he makes the looking worth doingtoo, because he’s deliberately embed-ded every search for him, in bothScience and Religion, with surprise.What better way of getting us to want tocommune with him than discovering heloves endlessly surprising us?!

Like the “can’t ignore” insect that justlanded on my leg, shaped like a mon-strous hairy mosquito with a giant drag-onfly-like head, and what appear to bebright yellow hooks on each foot. I’venever seen anything like it. I must take acloser look….NL


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Unless noted otherwise, scrip-tures are quoted from the HolyBible, New International Version,© Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984International Bible Society. Usedby permission of ZondervanBible Publishers. À moins d'indi-cation contraire, les versets citéssont tirés de la Bible Le Semeur.

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