Re: We are losing. Big time. (fwd)

Arthur V. Chadwick (chadwicka@swac.edu)
Sat, 24 Jan 1998 14:53:34 -0800

I have greatly appreciated the exchanges on this list. I have appreciated
the frank discussions and the feeling of an honest struggle with issues
that I feel are very important. Although I don't think many of you share
my particular solutions to the problems of origins, the healthy
interactions have been rewarding for me. But more than any of this has
been the absolute impression I have received, not by discussions on
origins, but in little comments, little courtesies shared, and in the
general tenor of remarks even in areas of disagreement, that I was among
brothers in Christ. I see various of you laboring with issues concerning
the kinds of materials presented in your churches. I share your agony over
the kinds of information that are generally presented in support of
creation by ill-informed individuals. It seems to me the purposes of God
are poorly served by ridicule (especially when combined with profound
ignorance), and arrogant disregard for the findings of science. Many of
these people feel called to speak, making it all the more difficult to
interact with them in a positive way. In all my public presentations I
attempt to make it clear that:

1) The basis of my beliefs concerning origins is a personal commitment to
the Word of God, not any scientific data or world view apart from Scripture.

2) I believe that ultimately God's word and the Book of Nature are in
harmony (and I generally give personal examples in which our reevaluation
of scientific data has revealed an interpretation that comports with
Scripture.)

3) There are may areas where science as currently interpreted and Scripture
do not agree, and that this is healthy, since it suggests lots of possible
experiments that can be done to test the scientific interpretations for new
insights.

4) You must learn to be comfortable with not having all the answers, and
must not fall victim to the temptation to accept easy answers, to avoid
exercising faith in God's word.

This seems to be an honest and fruitful approach to the problem that does
not exacerbate conflicts with various belief systems within the church.

Art
http://chadwicka.swau.edu