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Religion, Science, and Outdatedness.
Reported in a parish magazine by
Mrs.Sheila Kemish (wife of an ordained minister)
At the August Men's Breakfast, Ken Glasziou was the guest speaker and gave a fascinating talk on "Religion, Science, and Outdatedness," followed by a video of a very modern, youth-oriented worship service. His views on the Church will seem very controversial to some, very helpful to others; these are quoted verbatim from his talk. Because of space limitations, I have had to summarize his scientific introduction as below.
Since the 19th century, the West has embraced a philosophy that 'matter' is all there is: hence our minds are complex but machine-like; ideas of free will or of God are just a delusion.
Ken asserts however that since the 1980's this theory has been blown apart by quantum physicists, indeed by studies that have been going on for most of this century into the bizarre sub-atomic world. An important phenomenon has been called a "non-local effect"--something that happens independently of space and time--and this is something classical physicists say cannot happen.
Yet French physicist, Alaine Aspect, proved beyond doubt that "if two photons have correlated properties and one of them is put through a polaroid lens, it will become either horizontally or vertically polarized. Its twin will instantaneously do the same, even without being put through a polarizer and even though it could be miles away.
It seems something "out there" is interacting with material objects and also with the minds of observers. Some great physicists call this "The Central Order of Things;" or "Universal Consciousness." Others call it the "Ground of all Being" or simply "God."
Ken sees God as "back in business" in much of current related scientific work at the highest level--and he believes more and more people will be looking for answers now that materialistic determinism is a 'dead duck' philosophy.
So, a wonderful opportunity for the Christian Church? Yes...but the problem Ken sees is that young people are becoming more educated, more critical, more sophisticated (and communicating more through the Internet) and that the Christian Churches are unlikely, as they are, to appeal. How then can we equate the "Central Order of Things" of the quantum physicists with the God of Christianity. He goes on:
"Presently most Christian denominations have some glaring anomalies and logical inconsistencies within their doctrines. Going along with the apostle, John, the concept that God is Love is preached universally--indeed a God whose love for his created children is infinitely greater than anything conceivable by us.
"The parables of Jesus including the lost coin, the good shepherd, and the prodigal son, teach us about a God who actually goes out in search of sinners not even waiting for them to beg for forgiveness before welcoming them to the fold. Then there is a comment by Jesus about the earthly fathers who would not give their sons a stone if they asked for bread--so how much more will the heavenly Father know how to give good things to those who ask Him. In so commenting, was not Jesus inviting us to utilize our concept of the best possible earthly father that we could imagine and then to use that as some kind of guide to how we might expect our heavenly Father to react, even though we would still know that any evaluation of ours would seriously underestimate God's love for us?
"I can find no evidence in the gospels that Jesus had a vengeful side to his character. Just the opposite--his teaching appears to indicate that God requires only our sincere repentance as the price of forgiveness for our misdemeanors. And I take Jesus' life as the best revelation there is of both the nature of God and his will for his earthly children. During Jesus' life, he freely forgave sin while displaying no desire for retributive justice or vengeance. Even on the cross, his words about his persecutors were, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
"At least some of the new generation of highly educated young people are sure to construe Jesus' behavior as indicative of a God whose infinite mercy, compassion, and love, as our heavenly Father, will always transcend his righteousness as our judge. How can such a concept be reconciled with that of a God of retribution who demands that his only begotten Son should die an agonizing death on the cross as the penalty for sins that he did not even commit?
"Christianity must also take a good look at the problem of exclusivity, the doctrine that only those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior are eligible for salvation. This concept is deeply entrenched with some denominations, less so with others. I remember that, during my youth, there were notices displayed in the trams and trains of Sydney announcing, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36). Pretty intimidating, especially as it was presented as if it was the authoritative and infallible word of God rather than being the actual words of an eccentric, locust-eating man of the desert named John the Baptist.
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