Ditching the Dichotomy- A Christian Response to other Christians about Science

So Senator Inhofe from Oklahoma (who now sits on the Senate Environmental Committee) has been quoted the following statement:

"The reason I am not impressed with Science and Scientists is because the Lord Almighty can overcome all those so-called facts in the blink of an eye."

So, uh, let's break that statement down, shall we?

Other commentators have weighed in on why, exactly, such a stance is, shall we say, problematic for someone responsible for addressing climate change. But let's just skip that bit for now... it's not my wheelhouse.

Let's instead address the theological implications of his statement.

So Christians (which I believe Senator Inhofe claims to be) believe, generally, in an all-powerful God, who can (and occasionally does) interfere with the natural order of things from time to time. This makes what the Senator says technically true from a theological standpoint. It does, however, raise some interesting perspectives on how the Senator sees the world.

The statement that God can "overcome" facts sets a tone of contrariness that is... shall we say, interesting? As if God is somehow opposed to the natural world, and forced to overcome it in order to enforce God's will.

Simply put, that's not how it works. Like, at all.

If you are a Christian, then you believe that God created the world. So all those natural orders that Scientists are studying and learning more about every day? They were made that way by God's will. So God doesn't need to "overcome" the natural order, the so-called science "facts". God might choose to change them, for a time, but that would be like you or I changing our preferences. (Easier, if my track record with technology is any indication.)

But it also means that God isn't going to do so without good reason. The Bible makes pretty clear that God isn't here to do fancy parlor tricks, and that the natural truths of the world are set the way they are for good reason. So yeah, God could CHANGE the Natural Order, if so inclined. But God isn't particularly likely to do so.

Also, the whole mindset of the statement is troubling to say the least. You could far more easily say that you weren't going to put any stock in religion or preachers, because God could "overcome" those articles of faith in the blink of an eye. If anything it is MORE true than the original quote, because as we in the business of faith often get things wrong, God might actually have to do some overcoming, rather than simply reprogramming the universe.

In the end, it isn't a faith statement at all: it's a philosophy of religious nihilism, a denial of any consistent truth, based solely on the omnipotence of God.

And that's really not what Christianity is all about.

Now, Senator Inhofe likely doesn't care two shakes what some liberal pastor in Wisconsin thinks of all of this. More than likely it had more to do with political posturing than any real faith conviction. (That's just how politics works, nowadays.) I just really wish that, when that statement was first made, the first people jumping on him hadn't been environmentally concerned scientists, but rather people of faith saying,

"Uh, Jim? We may need to talk about how you're doing this whole FAITH thing. It's pretty darned problematic."