LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 256

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II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Read John 15:18–19 and John 17:14–19. What does Jesus say about the relationship of
believers with the unbelieving world? How might the words of Jesus’ prayer in John 17—that we
are sanctified (set apart in holiness) in the truth of the Word and sent into the world—apply to
our investigations of the truth claims of science and to work in a scientific field?
Within those domains for which evolutionary theory is useful, such as understanding microevolutionary change in malaria or HIV, Christian students preparing for a career in medicine
should certainly learn the principles, as they will help them in treating patients or in doing lab
research for more effective drugs and potential cures. “Using some aspect of a theory that is
helpful is not the same as endorsing all that the theory claims, or all that is claimed for it by
proponents of ideologies and philosophies in tension with a Christian worldview” (127–128).

One way to present controversial ideas to students is to teach the controversy itself. In addition to
laying out an idea and its implications, the teacher can encourage students to learn the best
arguments for and against the idea in question. This approach teaches good critical thinking, and
students are not limited then to blind acceptance or rejection of a scientific idea. For example, in
presenting a controversial issue such as climate change, the best approach will include arguments
from all sides of the controversy. Students can learn to question the sources of scientific claims,
such as the influence of rhetoric found in the books and articles of popular science.
What is meant by the statement that Christians “stand outside of this world”? How might such a
vantage point give us a better perspective on controversial issues? Read Matthew 5:13–16. How
can we stand outside of the world and yet remain its light and salt?

Christian students of science can remain faithful and refuse to make an idol out of scientific
theory. They should balance two important objectives. They can remain faithful and refuse to
make an idol out of scientific theory. They can also develop an appropriate, authentic scientific
attitude that emphasizes the limits and fallibility of scientific understanding and at the same time
masters current scientific models and the best ways to use them to produce helpful results.

Investigators
(All Things, 130)
“I think almost without exception the people I have spoken to are scientists and they do believe
in the existence of a supreme being … If you ask me to explain it—I cannot explain it at all.” 50
“Scientists working at universities, government agencies, and private companies should be
encouraged toward deep reflection on the vocation of scientist. It is invaluable to spend time
considering how great Christian scientists conceived of their work in previous centuries. Even
more vital is the need to recapture the idea that the Bible deeply affirms science as a Godpleasing contribution to our primary vocation of stewardship, and to encourage scientists to
delight in their work as they read God’s book of nature” (130–131). Scientists serve their
neighbors by helping the sick, providing relief from pain, increasing food production, enabling
safe transportation, identifying criminals and exploring the mysteries of space and time.

A current high school biology textbook contains units on the nature of life, ecology, cells,
genetics, evolution, microorganisms and fungi, plants, invertebrates, chordates and the human
body. How might any one of these topics, with its accompanying scientific theories, become an
idol? How should a Christian student of science approach such topics?
Teachers
(All Things, 128)
Christian teachers of science can help their Christian students understand that they can pursue
scientific careers without compromising their faith. Teachers can encourage students to study the
lives and contributions of scientists who were, and are, faithful Christians. 49 Christian teachers
should also avoid imparting an anti-scientific perspective to students, and should emphasize the
practical blessings for humanity discovered through science. For example, scientific advances in
medicine are a good starting point as the Christian teacher encourages students to pursue
scientific vocations. Teachers can remind their students that central aspects of the scientific
method—for example, the importance of privileging evidence over assumptions and the value of
critical, careful, objective research and thinking—are vital in every intellectual pursuit.
“Precisely because Christians have a place to stand outside of this world, they can be all the more
objective in assessing the world’s ideas” (129).
Press, 2001), 225. Behe’s paper, presented in 1994 at the meeting of the C. S. Lewis Society, Cambridge University,
England, is also available online at https://answersingenesis.org/what-is-science/science-and-the-supernatural/.
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Students can research and report on the lives and work of Christians in the sciences. Suggested names from the
past include Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Michael Faraday (1791-1867), Asa Gray
(1810-1888), Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) and George Washington Carver (1864-1943). Suggested contemporary
Christian scientists include John Polkinghorne, Andrew Pinsent, Katharine Hayhoe, Dorothy Boorse, Ian
Hutchinson and Randy Isaac.

What specific scientific contributions have had an impact on your life? If you wish, share a
particular illness that was prevented or cured through scientific discoveries. Consider the many
ways in which science serves you and your neighbor. How do the results of scientific research
aid safe travel? What particular discoveries have helped criminal investigations?
The world is God’s creation and scientists themselves are created in the image of God, yet the
fall into sin touches the abilities of scientists. These truths impact scientific investigation. We
need to find a middle way between excessive modesty and unwarranted pride.
Read Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5–10. What is said in these verses about pride
and humility? How might these verses apply to Christian students, teachers and investigators in
fields of science? How are both “excessive modesty” and “unwarranted pride” evidence of the
fall into sin?

50
Chemist Herbert Hauptmann, quoted in Dean, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/us/scientists-speak-up-onmix-of-god-and-science.html.

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God’s moral law provides the boundaries for our vocations, and this includes the moral
boundaries for scientific work. Each vocation has special privileges and responsibilities within
God’s divine purpose. Scientists occupy positions of trust. God has placed scientists in various
fields of study that allow them to love and serve their neighbors in ways that are beyond the
abilities of most people. Scientists should not reject or ignore the rich resources of Holy
Scripture or centuries of reflection on Christian ethics.

ideologically charged claims made on behalf of science. Non-scientists must learn discernment
when they hear reports in the popular science media, especially if such reports overstate the
degree of certainty possible in science, or if the claims are linked to an ideological or political
agenda. Scientists have many non-scientific beliefs and may wish to use the cultural authority of
science to support those beliefs. In the process, scientific findings are often joined with
controversial philosophical assumptions.

If scientific work is reduced to the quest for funding and fame, the scientific vocation will be
corrupted. Science is never an excuse to deny the humanity and dignity of a person. The terms
“subject” or “patient” should never create the illusion that a person made in the image of God is
merely part of an experiment to serve the interests of humanity. “A Christian understanding of
scientific vocation should bring with it a high view of human dignity and value, and should
guard against the cynical and unbiblical view that some people are more valuable than others.
Human persons are more than biological, psychological, and sociological resources to be valued
only for their capacities and contributions to society. Rather, each person is a priceless gift of
God” (132).

A good strategy when engaging any scientific material that advocates non-Christian conclusions
is to consult the best evaluation of that work (for example, in book reviews, articles or blogs)
from a qualified Christian thinker. When scientists seek to use science to discredit Christianity or
a general belief in God, their non-scientific philosophical assumptions, and not the scientific
data, play the decisive role.

Christians who work in the sciences must understand that their abilities and skill are to be used
for the well-being of human beings created by God and endowed by Him with dignity. God has
called us to be concerned for others and to serve them—to “walk in love as Christ loved us”
(Eph. 5:2). Scientists, and all of us, suffer alienation from one another through increasing
bureaucracy, the obsession with statistics and the distancing of technology. God became a real
man and lived among us. He spoke words of love and offered both physical and spiritual healing.
We, too, must minister to people for their good. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I helping
someone today?
Read Galatians 5:13–14. Consider some of the contemporary controversies in science and
medicine. How does God’s moral law help us in addressing such circumstances?
Non-scientists
(All Things, 135)
“Those in your congregation who are doing science—teaching, research, technology, medicine,
engineering, chemistry, biology, neuroscience, physics—are doing a noble thing. They are
reading the book of nature and the book of Scripture together. They are obeying God’s command
to exercise dominion, to learn about and steward the earth. Those of us who are not scientists
should be grateful and admiring. We should be cheering them on.” 51
In modern society, science affects all of us, and not merely because it develops the technologies
and treatments we all use. Science has also emerged as a voice of cultural authority in many of
our most important decisions. However, this exposes non-scientists to politically and
51
John Ortberg, “Questions that Faith Asks Science,” When God and Science Meet (Washington, D. C.: National
Association of Evangelicals, 2015), 30 at http://nae.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/When-God-and-ScienceMeet_bw.pdf.

“The absence of evidence that prayer works can be considered evidence for the absence of a
God who answers prayers.” 52
Its [science’s] very detachment, what you might call the cold-bloodedness of science, that makes
science the killer app. It’s the way science tells us the truth rather than what we’d like the truth
to be.” 53
C. S. Lewis frequently admonished Christians to read old books, not because old books are
always right and new books are always wrong, but because the older books contain a valuable
counter-perspective, preserving insights that our own age may ignore. Contemporary debates
about the role of science in public life are often lacking a sound historical perspective on the
development of science and the interaction of science with theology and philosophy. Science is
not done in a vacuum, but is always influenced by a complex variety of non-scientific beliefs.
When we are aware of these beliefs, we can more effectively disentangle the actual science from
non-scientific ideas and worldviews.
How might the following comments by C. S. Lewis apply to today’s scientific debates and
controversies?
“The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds,
and this can be done only by reading old books. Not, of course, that there is any magic about the
past. People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But
not the same mistakes. They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing; and their
own errors, being now open and palpable, will not endanger us. Two heads are better than one,
not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.

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2019 Convention Workbook

What non-scientific philosophical assumptions are found in the following statements?

Stenger, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-stenger/christianity-and-modern-science_b_5182177.html.
Achenbach, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/science-doubters/achenbach-text.

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