At one time theology was known as the Queen of Sciences because it explained all that there was to know. The loss of this status was to do less with modern science and more with the inadequacy of theological responses to it. If theologians had made the effort to understand and take part in the growth of science both theology and science might be in different places.
The incomprehension and antagonism of theologians to science is a disgrace. Christians and especially their leaders have turned their back on scientific method. At best they may be relatively favourably inclined but how many theologians make the effort to follow science, to keep up to date, let alone actively reflect upon it?
Instead we get a steady stream of of poorly informed statements from church leaders which consistently miss the point. Science needs to be criticised from a faith perspective but it is rare for this to happen because most theologians don't know what's wrong with it. By turning their backs on all but a few marginal Christian concerns, the traditions have marginalised themselves from the mainstream of debate. At worst, some traditions have replaced a positive critique of science with a form of biblical fundamentalism that devalues scripture as well as science and effectively marginalises the Christian faith in terms of its influence for good in the modern world. Overall, the faith is distorted and God's world is betrayed.
If we had confidence in our traditions, Christians would not fear the findings of science or other faiths or belief systems. Why are we, the most successful faith on the planet so fearful of anything we do not comprehend or, I fear, can't be bothered to comprehend?
Let's be clear: something is false not because it contradicts a particular (self-interested) reading of scripture but because it devalues people and their place in the universe.
Presence makes the observation that the last few decades have seen the growth of something new in world history, global institutions. Developments in science and technology have enabled this growth and also the immense damage they are doing to the planet. They have brought about climate change, the extinction of thousands of species and are poisoning the seas, atmosphere and soil. None of this will change until there is a change in the hearts of those who control these institutions. I will return to this some time in the future.
The point I want to make is that the churches together are also a global institution. This is most notably true of the Catholic Church, which at 1 billion members numbers half the Christians in the world. But together the churches could be a powerful agent for change. We could be but outmoded theology, refusal to understand the issues and a focus on internal doctrinal issues makes the churches remarkably ill-prepared for the task.
Recently the Pope formally acknowledged the work of Galileo. Let us hope we can progress faster than that. Galileo was never a threat to the faith and neither are Darwin, Newton, Einstein or any other scientist. Scientists make mistakes but it is Christians who have perceived their work as a threat to the church. The task is to put a new cosmology at the centre of Christian understanding of the cosmos. It is possible, it has been done before. The problem is we haven't got long to do it.
I had not realised how angry I am until I wrote these paragraphs. I will substantiate what I have written here in future posts.
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