Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Bill Nye the Science Guy took on creation earlier this week. Or rather, he debated with someone who believes in a literal-Bible interpretation of the creation story.

The debate, held in my hometown, has received a lot of press, being promoted as evolution versus creation, science or faith.

The debate trended on my Facebook stream, with people jumping on all sides of the issue. And perhaps that is one of my biggest concerns: that there are “sides” at all. That we still look at the fundamental questions of life and how it began as an either/or proposition: Either God created the world, or evolution trumps faith. Either Darwin was completely right in his theories or completely wrong. Either you believe wholly in the exact words of Genesis, or you are not Christian.

In the Episcopal tradition, we tend to reject either/or and embrace the ambiguity of both/and. We hold creation and evolution in careful balance, with God as the guide to understanding the mysteries of life’s beginning and the truths of some fundamental scientific principles.

We have an opportunity to tell people about a both/and faith, a place where it’s encouraged to think in terms of this and that, a space for thought and dreams and exploration far bigger than the cosmos.

The Episcopal Network for Science, Technology & Faith can offer some support. Members are people of deep faith, lay folks, priests, and bishops, who also are scientists. They have researched some of the deepest, most complex scientific issues—and still emerge with a strong, abiding faith.

Another resource is a new Lenten devotional book by Rhode Island’s bishop, the Rt. Rev. Nick Knisely—who also happens to be a scientist and former professor of astrophysics. He explores the intersection of faith and science, creation and the cosmos in Lent is Not Rocket Science: An Exploration of God, Creation and the Cosmos, jointly published by Forward Movement and Morehouse.

He reflects on every level of creation from the largest (cosmos) to the smallest (quantum) in these daily Lenten meditations. He explains these significant and sometimes complex scientific concepts in a clear, succinct way through the lens of faith."

Even General Convention has weighed in on the subject. In a 2009 resolution, bishops and deputies affirmed “that God is Creator, in accordance with the witness of Scripture and the ancient Creeds of the Church;” AND “That the theory of evolution provides a fruitful and unifying scientific explanation for the emergence of life on earth, that many theological interpretations of origins can readily embrace an evolutionary outlook, and that an acceptance of evolution is entirely compatible with an authentic and living Christian faith.”