Where Science And Christian Theology Meet Today

I do not know whether you are into the philosophy behind modern science. I suspect that most of my readers are not. Philosophy tends to be abstract, even arcane and modern sciences certainly require a background that many of us do not have. Nevertheless, I struggle with it, because I'm very convinced that Biblical theology must come to grips with scientific studies so that the message of Christ may be clearly presented.

AND . . . behind all science is some kind of philosophy. By philosophy I mean the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, of what is real and of who are we as humans. Every scientist has some kind of philosophy behind his study, his work. It guides him, even controls him and keeps him focused.


That's why I'm reading a fascinating book. If you're into building a bridge between theology and science at all you need to read it. It is called  Information and the Nature of Reality, a series of essays by prominent scientists and theologians, with Paul Davies and Niels Henrik Gregersen as Editors.


In their introductory remarks Davies and Gregersen point to the concluding essays by Gregersen and Michael Welker. They point to the new scientific perspective of matter and information brought on by the pursuit of quantum mechanics and the possibility of quantum computing. In this perspective matter is no longer the foundation for reality, for what is. Matter is rather another name for the Unknown. "It is perhaps not an overstatement to say that the developments in physics briefly summarized here provide a powerful empirical refutation of that materialist world view"("Unsolved dilemmas" - Philip Clayton, Kindle location 1117).

Gregersen and Welker tell us that "The Johannine vision of divine Logos being co-extensive with the world of matter may be sustained and further elucidated in the context of present-day concepts of matter and information . . ."

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:1-5, 14 ESV

To say that the divine Logos of John 1:1-5, 14 is co-extensive with the world of matter is to affirm that when God became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth He assumed not only the flesh of the boy from Nazareth, "but also a human being, an animal, and the material stuff itself. In Biblical language, God became a human being, a sparrow that flies and falls to the ground, became the green and withering grass, in order to become one with earthly matter (sarx). . . Logos is present—as Creator and as Redeemer—at the very core of material existence" (Gregersen). The "flesh" of the material world is saturated by the presence of the divine Logos. He has united himself with the world of creation. He creates differences. He shapes and reshapes the creation. He creates vibrations between organisms and their environments that enable them to absorb and connect. He makes meaning and communication possible. He is the One who enables us to "make sense" of things. God's creative power is at work in every and all levels of creation.

The letter to the Hebrews points to this amazing insight as it begins.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, - Hebr 1:1-3 ESV

Paul put another way in his talk with the Greeks at Athens when he quoted Epimenedes of Crete and  Aratus’s poem “Phainomena”:

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.' - Act 17:26-28 ESV

The concept of Shekinah refers to this in the OT. Although it is not a word found in the Bible, Shekinah is a form of a Hebrew word that literally means "He caused to dwell." God's Shekinah-presence became evident to the Israelites led by Moses from Egypt in the pillar of fire by night and as a cloud by day.

And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. - Exd 13:20-22 ESV

The amazing thing happening in our day is that this vision of God totally present to create the entire universe and to sustain and give meaning to all things —to be the source of all information—is where scientists are being forced to go by their studies of quantum mechanics and the foundational reality of information.