Shaping Not Shielding Our Students
by Dr. Ian Hawkins
I recently had an interesting conversation with some friends from graduate school. One of them is a lesbian, and the other a Mormon. The lesbian mentioned that she does not believe that science is as objective as she once thought. However, the Mormon began asking me why I didn’t believe in evolution. I found this ironic: the lesbian seemed more sympathetic to my perspective on science than the Mormon. What was most interesting was my Mormon friend’s rationale for his belief in evolution. He had been taught that creationists often use bad arguments, and so he believed that the church is close-minded on the issue. In fact, he almost left his church, but stayed when finding (what he considered) more reputable church members who believed in evolution.
I am not suggesting that we should believe in evolution—much to the contrary. However, my Mormon friend may have been onto something. In my own life, there have been times when I have doubted the young-earth creationist position, not due to its validity, but due to the lack of an honest presentation of the facts. For instance, I have read young-earth creationists suggest that the earth’s rock layers are so scattered that dating methods are perfunctory. At the same time, I’ve read old-earth Christian scientists who concede the point, but counter by explaining that the deposition of some of these rock layers indicates that the layers have been here for quite some time. Which is correct?
As a science teacher who is also a Christian, I sometimes fear that we only give our students our own viewpoints without presenting the perspective of opponents. While I don’t think that we are deceiving our kids, I’m not convinced that we are adequately preparing them for a world that treats Christian belief with hostility. So what should we teach our students about evolution, Scripture, and church history? Is our teaching grounded in Scripture and informed by history?
By teaching our students other perspectives, even contrary perspectives, we can help them see that no question about the Bible or life has gone unanswered. In fact, we can actually lend credence and validity to our position and better prepare students for the challenges they may face. Otherwise, they may be left confused like I was earlier in my life. In particular, two events made me question why the Church didn’t help me gain a broader perspective earlier on and better prepare me: one concerns the relationship between science and Christianity, and the other concerns the person of Charles Darwin.
Science vs. Christianity
“Science is an enemy of Christianity.” Both Christians and liberal scientists sometimes perpetuate this belief. And while many churches and Christians would not fully agree with this statement in their words, their actions may prove otherwise. For instance, the way in which we attack scientific theories such as climate change may show that we have an agenda to discredit the scientific community without necessarily dealing with the information itself. In many ways this is justifiable, as science has overstepped its bounds regarding how its understanding of truth. Even so, we should be careful not to simply teach conclusions to our students, but also how to critically interact with ideas. True science and Christianity are not in competition.
Many Christian scientists have written books about this so-called battle between science and Christianity. Films have even been made about it. However, Christians have actually played a vital role in the development of science. In fact, many of the early scientists were Christians themselves, such as Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Carlos Linnaeus. History is replete with Christians who used science as a tool to discover God’s world. This is still true today. While most atheistic scientists are heard in the press, many Christian scientists are winning Nobel prizes in science.
However, these Christian scientists vary widely in their views regarding creation. In fact, this has been true since the 1700s (even before Darwin). Should this concern us? As I speak to more and more of the people in our churches (even Free Will Baptist churches), I have found more and more variety of opinion concerning our people’s beliefs regarding creation. In view of this, what should we do?
I believe it is important that we teach our students young-earth creationism. At the same time, our students should understand the other side of the argument. I have encountered Christians who I hold in high esteem, even though they are old-earth creationists or even theistic evolutionists. Students should understand that they will likely encounter other Christians who believe in evolution or other perspectives on the earth’s age, too. This is not to say that we have to agree with others. It’s simply to say that we shouldn’t altogether discredit them. We should also be careful to not hinder students from pursuing scientific vocation simply because we fear the influence of difficult ideas. In fact, in some cases, we may have even lost some bright Christian scientists because we vilified the scientific discipline in the first place. Good science is not the enemy of Christianity.
Darwin the Devil
Encountering Charles Darwin was the second event early on that shaped my perspective on science. As a young man, I remember having a very hostile image of him. Even today, when I read articles by creationists I am surprised at the vitriol expressed toward him. Without doubt, there are certain aspects about Darwin’s life that are very antagonistic to the Gospel. Even so, he was a man committed to discovering the truth through science. In fact, when I first began to look into Darwin’s life, I can remember seeing some of myself in him. So who was this Darwin, really? Why have we villainized him?
Darwin was neither the first person to propose the theory of evolution, nor the first to propose that the earth was old. While Darwin did play a role, he did not single-handedly lead people toward a liberal Christianity. In fact, many Christians had already begun to lose their belief in Genesis 1-11, and some of the first groups to accept evolution were Christians. In Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist, Adrian Desmond and James Moore give the social picture and historical context in which Darwin lived. Although his family converted to Anglicanism, it was mainly due to social stigmas. Instead, his paternal grandfather was an atheist who proposed a theory of evolution. His maternal grandfather had also given up the doctrinal beliefs of Christianity. He was a Unitarian who enjoyed Joseph Priestley’s teachings for a time. Both were new socialites in a society governed by the Church of England. Needless to say, Darwin was born into a confusing environment.
In Scotland, Darwin studied medicine where he was introduced to many of the ideas that would form his theory. However, Darwin would leave this field because he didn’t like its gruesomeness. Instead, he pursued the pastorate. Believing that life as a country pastor would be nice, he began studying at Cambridge. However, while there he witnessed a Church primarily concerned with trying to maintain its power in England as revolutions swept the world. When we consider his upbringing and his education, it makes one wonder if Darwin ever really encountered a true Christian who loved others and represented Christ.
Darwin was a product of his family and his time. He once said that he could not believe in God because that would mean that his father and grandfather would be in hell. Is Darwin the evil person we’ve made him out to be, or is he the product of bad Christianity? Whatever the answer, we shouldn’t shield students from controversial figures such as Darwin, especially if they’ll likely have to grapple with them one day anyway. Instead, we must give students the tools needed to face this world and thoughtfully assess what they find.
Conclusion
Other difficult ideas and practices our students may face include the Big Bang theory, in vitro fertilization, certain forms of birth control, and more. Though these topics are beyond this article’s scope, the more I learn about history, science, and the life of the mind, the more I am convinced that ideas are complex. This is true even in theology. Ideas are not simple, and yet we seldom give our students much perspective on them. What can we do?
We must learn to grapple with difficult ideas. We must strive to give students a broad perspective for the questions they will face in life. Better they hear about difficult ideas from us and know how to defend their views, than from some agenda-driven professor at a state university. When we work through life’s difficult questions with our students, they will garner a greater respect for Scripture as they see its truths are relevant to all of life’s messy, difficult ideas. Christianity does not need to be afraid of information. It only needs to shed light on it from God’s perspective. The lens of God’s Word can make good sense of the world.
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About the Author: Dr. Ian Hawkins and his wife, Katie, live in Mount Juliet, TN. They have a son, Joseph, who is two years old. Dr. Hawkins is currently the Science Program Coordinator at Welch College where he teaches biology and chemistry. Dr. Hawkins has two bachelors degrees from East Carolina University (BS, BS) in chemistry and biochemistry, a masters degree from Vanderbilt University (MS) in biology, and a doctoral degree from Middle Tennessee State University (PhD) in chemistry education.
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