The Scuba Divers

Three Classes of Beach Goers-An Analogy for the Three Levels of Faith and Science

Let’s consider three degrees of adventure/truth-seekers: the public, natural scientists (ones who believe the world as revealed by science is all there is), and scientists who embrace the Christian faith (ones who are convinced that the world as revealed by science is only half the story). Let’s consider these three as if they were people at the beach.

The public are reluctant to leave the safety of the shore or near shore or are reluctant to spend the effort necessary to go to the uncertain waters of the deeper ocean. They are the sun bathers and surfers. They are the bulk of the people at the beach. Their desire to engage with the ocean/their desire to think critically is almost non-existent.

In contrast, and to their credit, the natural scientists do have the courage to go to the uncertain waters of the deeper ocean and look at what lies beneath from above. They are the snorkelers. They are much fewer in number than the public. When they relate the sights they have seen to the public, not only are the public impressed, but they are convinced the snorkelers have seen and described all there is to see. But the snorkelers’ observations of the depths are made from the surface of the ocean. Yes, occasionally, they may take a short foray into the shallow depths, but they can’t stay there long. The natural scientists’ engagement with the ocean/their critical thinking is too shallow.

Scientists who are Christians are not afraid of the ocean and they are definitely not afraid to investigate its depths. In fact they are eager to do so. Furthermore, they are equipped to go deep and stay for long periods of time to explore what lies there and make remarkable discoveries. Unfortunately, they are few in number. They are the SCUBA divers. Their engagement with the ocean/their critical thinking is deep.

The problem is the public and the snorkelers are not willing to listen to the SCUBA divers. They are simply not interested in the depths, they are afraid of the depths and the dangers they will be exposed to by going there, or they are convinced the depths are totally void and not worthy of consideration.

How can we, the SCUBA divers, convince the public and the snorkelers they are missing much? We must become better at presenting what we see in the depths in language the public and snorkelers can understand and better at finding ways of getting them to listen.

Submitted to ASA, God and Nature, 21 04 28.

The Archaeologist

In this country and this time, we need an archaeological faith--one that digs deep into God's Word to reveal the strata of meaning concealed there--strata that begin with superficial belief and reach all the way down to the bedrock belief that can endure scrutiny from even scientific purists.  (2020 Jan 24)