Dear Friends,

Warning: Nerdy post ahead.

Insofar as there is tension between faith and science, I suppose there are several potential resolutions. One can set aside faith as incompatible with what rationality would have us understand. Or one can bend or ignore scientific facts in order for faith to remain intact. I tend to prefer to have my cake and eat it, too.

So, when I’m reading scripture, for example, I don’t expect scientific precision from the text. More specifically, that scripture doesn’t seem to mention Pteradactyls doesn’t make me question the veracity of the fossil record. I’m not bothered that the events described in Genesis 1 might have occurred over more than 168 hours. And I’m ok with miracles - especially the resurrection of Jesus - being, well, miraculous. There’s plenty of room in science for us to be surprised every now and again.

The tangent of the day began with a quiet visit to britannica.com to read up on light. And, as I was reading, the science triggered the sort of awe that more often comes from faith! (Which, imho, is the very best resolution of the faith-and-science debate - invite the science to enhance faith!)

Here’s the paragraph that triggered that response: “No single answer to the question ‘What is light?’ satisfies the many contexts in which light is experienced, explored, and exploited. The physicist is interested in the physical properties of light, the artist in an aesthetic appreciation of the visual world. Through the sense of sight, light is a primary tool for perceiving the world and communicating within it. Light from the Sun warms the Earth, drives global weather patterns, and initiates the life-sustaining process of photosynthesis. On the grandest scale, light’s interactions with matter have helped shape the structure of the universe.”

Light seems so simple, doesn’t it? But it’s visible and it’s invisible; it has properties similar to waves but also properties more akin to discrete chunks of matter. Light opens us to explore the tiniest of particles and the ever-expanding breadth of the universe. It enables a peek back to the earliest milliseconds and pushes us to imagine the very end of the age. Light. Hmm.

“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 came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

See you Sunday.

Peace,

Lisa

Article: https://www.britannica.com/science/light

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash