Over the weekend three things stuck out in my perusal of the news. One was the nuclear test in North Korea, another was the advance of another medication to treat yet another disease, and another was a large article on the stem cell debate. It occurred to me that these three headline issues were symbolic of our somewhat tortured relationship with science. They represent the bad, the good, and the ugly.

Science has been very successful at helping us advance the cause of evil. No longer do we need to “look into the whites of their eyes” before doing violence. We can sit in a comfortable chair in Colorado and with the push of a button can kill thousands… anywhere. No longer do we have to have the trouble of writing out our grievances, we can type them quickly and hit “send” – never having to face the object of our wrath. By pulling a trigger or pushing a button we can now do the unthinkable. And often that’s what it has been: “unthought,” i.e., unreflective responses which perpetuate a vicious cycle of evil. Speed, a gift of science, is often the enemy of thought.

However, science has also been quite good at helping us be productive, healthy, and happy. No one reading this article can say they haven’t benefited from the advance of science. Just think about your last trip to the doctor, medicine cabinet, or to work. It is practically impossible to think of an area of life that hasn’t been touched by the advance of science. For all these gifts I give thanks. We are all living longer and healthier lives because of a great deal of lab work. I’m convinced our hope for a great future is good science wielded with gracious wisdom.

So science is good and it can be bad, but it can also be ugly. I think the current stem cell debate is ugly. As we look at a convoluted and confusing set of facts it is hard to determine if this is good or bad. Whatever it is, it’s not pretty. One side of the debate calls the other side “cloning Nazis.” The other side screams back: “religious nut-jobs.” I would prefer to be in neither camp. I’d like to follow the example of Jesus, but there’s the rub. Jesus practiced and taught healing (pro stem-cell research?) and was against the taking of life (anti stem-cell research?). So what’s a Christ-follower to do? I don’t think ignoring the issue because it’s controversial is following Jesus.

One thing we can do is to be better informed. So I encourage you to come this Sunday afternoon at 3:00 to hear from a panel of experts. It may not settle every question, but it will give you tools with which to begin to dig out an answer. In these issues (and there will be more coming down the pike) good Christian people can disagree. What they can’t do, in my option, is act as if these things are irrelevant to their faith.

Grace and Peace,
Scott