Nothing Can Eat God
Burning Questions: Week 2
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Romans 1:20-25, Colossians 1:15-17, Psalm 19:1
Ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—God’s eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through the things God has made. So humans are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 (CEB)
Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.Psalm 19:1 (CEB)
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
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Ninth Century Irish theologian John Scotus Eriugena describes the entire physical universe in sacramental terms. Just as God is present in the bread and wine, so “God is in all things, the essence of life.” In summarizing Eriugena’s homilies, Phillip Newell says that “Christ moves among us in two shoes… one shoe being that of creation, the other that of the Scriptures.” Scripture and creation are seen as two books of revelation, both declaring the glory and character of God.
Many modern Christians have become obsessed with the so-called contradictions between science and scripture. Scripture offers only 6,000 years of history in contrast to the 4.5 billion years scientific study has revealed. If dinosaurs existed, for example, some argue that they must have walked side by side with humans, perhaps even sailing with Noah on the ark. The fossil record clearly does not align with the biblical timeline. So we argue about which is more reliable, scripture, or science, and for Christians, scripture will almost always win.
The problem is that scripture is not a science book. It’s not even a history book. It is the story of God’s working among God’s people. Biblical writers could not have accounted for the fossil record anymore than they could have proclaimed a round earth revolving around the sun, a scientific fact that few will debate.
Science is the study of how creation works. It tells us nothing about questions of meaning and why we exist. If science is the study of creation and creation proclaims the glory of God, then why are Christians so afraid of science? Science can show us how creation evolved over billions of years and how humanity, along with all creation, continues to evolve. Yet it always leaves open the possibility that God is the source of creation and that all things are held together in the Divine being (Colossians 1:17). Any question about the existence or non-existence of God falls into categories of philosophy and theology, never science.
If we are worried that studying God’s creation can challenge the existence or nature of the Creator, we must examine the strength of our faith. Can we really trust our lives and our eternity to a God who could so easily be disproven by those who study the inner workings of the very world God created? If God is real, no scientific discovery can change that reality. If anything, science, or the study of creation, only deepens our awe and wonder at the beauty, creativity and love of our creator.
Nothing in creation can threaten the creator.
Nothing science can discover is big enough to eat God.