SCIENCE AND THE 'WOW' OF CHRISTMAS
Dear Friends,
A couple of weeks ago I had a person tell me they believe in miracles, but they did not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. They told me that modern science had proven that the virgin birth was impossible. A miracle, I was told, was a sense of the wonder in life. So the Christmas story is a story about the wonder of a newborn baby. I won’t recount the whole conversation. Most conversations like this wander all over the place and end in an incomplete and unsatisfactory manner. They would not make very interesting reading. But, a few thoughts to consider.
First, many people are guilty of a deep seated prejudice. They believe that people from a hundred, a thousand, two thousand years ago were not as smart as we are. We not only know more, we are just smarter. Now first of all we need to admit that many Canadian Christians also have this prejudice. We, Canadian Christians, have this prejudice in general and in theology as well. We look to the latest blog post and never consider that Athanasius, Augustine, Chrysostom, or Calvin might be wiser. The fact is, if we try to read these older writers we often have trouble following them – not because we are smarter, but because we are not used to reading writers who think so deeply and are so skilled at making fine (and important) logical distinctions and exegetical insights. We know more about some stuff, much of it trivial and transient. Their lack of distractions and “noise” often mean they have thought very deeply. The idea we have higher IQ’s is just prejudice. My point is that we need to be humble when we meet this prejudice in non-Christians. Many of us know this prejudice all too well from within.
Second, there is no question that the average person today knows more about the science of conception and birth than Joseph did in the year 5BC. But so what. Joseph, like all others in Galilee, knew how babies were produced! In fact, they had more firsthand knowledge than most of us reading this blog. They lived in very small houses and raised their own meat, which means they had animals and knew how baby animals came to be. So it is no surprise that Joseph did not believe Mary about how she became pregnant. His knowledge of how women become pregnant is why he was going to divorce Mary. The only thing that changed Joseph’s mind was a direct intervention by God through the angel (see Matthew 1:20-25).
Third, the more science we know, the bigger the “Wow!” when we read about biblical miracles. In biology, science only deals with regularities in nature. Science, as science, cannot say anything about God acting in His creation in some way. Science cannot tell you whether the God of the Bible exists or whether He has chosen to act in His creation. In the same way, we know how math and simple accounting work. But this knowledge does not tell you whether your grandmother will surprise you by sending you an e-transfer for $1000.00. All math and accounting tell you is how this effects your balance. The more science we know, the more we know that “nature” can never produce a virgin birth. Only the God of the Bible could act into His creation and bring about a virgin birth. So the more science we know, the bigger the Wow!
The same God who created all things and sustains all things sent His angel to ask Mary a very special question. She said “yes” to letting the Holy Spirit come upon her in such a way that she would become pregnant with the boy who was the Messiah and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. This God, the only God, the creator, knowing the biological process created an implanted zygote within the womb of Mary. Once the miracle had happened, the normal laws of biology continued. In fact, these laws had never stopped. God worked by providence to make sure this very special zygote would come to term and be born. A boy. Jesus. Messiah. Saviour. A miracle. Wow!
George+