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.

Heaven and Parallel Universes

As we Christians continue to celebrate the 40 days of Easter we rejoice in the hope we now have of heaven and the resurrection because of Christ's return from the grave. Biblical writers speak, however, of many heavens. Are these many heavens what moderns mean by multiple universes? Is our reference to the hope of heaven a reference to another universe? Or is all this speculation mere fantasy?

"The idea of multiple universes is more than a fantastic invention—it appears naturally within several scientific theories, and deserves to be taken seriously," stated Aurelien Barrau, a French particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) recently. If you are not a nuclear physicist with multiple degrees and well acquainted with the arcane and mysterious language of this group, do not try to read the following link: http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/31860. Rather, suffice it to note that there is much speculation about multiverses and parallel universes or many-worlds in our day.

Barrau concludes, "It could well be that the whole idea of multiple universes is misleading. It could well be that the discovery of the most fundamental laws of physics will make those parallel worlds totally obsolete in a few years. It could well be that with the multiverse, science is just entering a "no through road". Prudence is mandatory when physics tells us about invisible spaces. But it could also very well be that we are facing a deep change of paradigm that revolutionizes our understanding of nature and opens new fields of possible scientific thought. Because they lie on the border of science, these models are dangerous, but they offer the extraordinary possibility of constructive interference with other kinds of human knowledge. The multiverse is a risky thought—but, then again, let's not forget that discovering new worlds has always been risky."

A "deep change of paradigm" . . . and  "the extraordinary possibility of constructive interference with other kinds of human knowledge." What do those statements suggest?

• The idea that our universe is all that exists might have to change?
• History, philosophy, theology and even the arts will have to rethink their premises? 

Well, maybe not theology, at least not Biblical theology. Listen to the Apostle Paul—

 "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

The apostle's 'third heaven' refers to the view of the universe common in Paul's day—but certainly not based on science as we now know it. In that onion-peel view, we live in the lowest heaven with its seemingly solid firmament above. Above that is a great sea of water that once spilled down to engulf the world in a flood (Genesis 6). Beyond that is the third heaven where God's throne is and where the heavenly beings dwell.

Paul insists that he was 'caught up' to that third heaven. This probably refers to his experience on the road to Damascus when Christ appeared to him (Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-11). He was so focused on his experience that he was unaware whether it was a vision or an actual transportation to that heaven.

The Hebrew word for heaven is Shamayim. The word literally means the sky, that vaulted roof of earth (Isaiah 40:22), the first heaven. Beyond it are the second and third heavens, as indicated above. To speak about this the Greek translation of the O.T. and the Greek N.T. itself had to borrow a word for sky or air, Ouranus. The Latinized form for that word is Uranus, the mythological first god whose wife was Gaia, mother earth. The English word 'heaven' refers to the sky, but it can also refer to that place of bliss, contentment and joy where the favored departed dwell.

What does Paul's witness, along with other Biblical testimonies about heaven (Rev. 4:1; Luke 2:15; Luke 23:43; Matt. 17:1-11 and the huge host of other passages) tell us believers today? Obviously there is a whole lot more to God's creation than we might imagine. And that there is more 'interference' with our universe by beings from the other universes or heavens than we usually think about. Consider Jacob's vision of angelic messengers who move back and forth between heaven and earth as another example (Genesis 18:1-2; Genesis 28:10-22).

We shall have to wait and see whether quantum physics will ever be able to prove conclusively that there are many other worlds. From a Biblical viewpoint we already know that there are. We have learned to call them the heavens. "Behold, to the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it" (Deut. 10:14). This same Lord has come among us to redeem us from death. He is the man from heaven whose image we shall bear when death is finally swallowed up in victory and all things are made new (1 Cor. 15:47-58; Rev. 21:1-5).