jammin' with   
God

Jam#7   The Art of Science
You must have noticed by now that I take a lot of liberty in making up my own definitions for things.  But hey… it’s my book, so what can I tell you?  Besides, jammin’ is not an exact science.  Which brings us to today’s jam… The Art of Science… where you don’t need a ruler, calculators are outlawed and we don’t compare SAT scores.

So let’s start off, with a jammin’ definition for science… shall we?  Let’s define science as, the explanation of how God made things.  There’s two points here to observe.  The first is… I believe science has a purpose.  The second is… I believe there is a God.  Now in the world I grew up in, these two statements were never quite buddy buddy.  Yet in all my days, I’ve never seen any real contradiction either.

I once had this astronomy professor tell our class to, “be careful… because this course may shake your belief in God, altogether.”  I remember staring blankly at him, like he was speaking some foreign language.  The notion that science could ever hold some key to diffusing the myth of deity never crossed my mind.  On the contrary, I’ve always delighted in learning all there is to know through science because to me, it’s like discovering a new tool in dad’s workshop.  It gives me the opportunity to go to Him and ask, “Hey dad, what does this one do?”

On the other hand, growing up in a rather strict evangelical setting, I’ve had my share of discussions and disagreements with those who believed it better to “stay away” from certain theories or fields of science… as if it would be like taking another bite out of the forbidden apple.

Like evolution, for instance… I have no problem listening to evolutionists make their Darwinian cases for the creation of life on this planet.  But once past the raw data and findings, there’s almost always an underlying intent on advancing more than science.  Like an art form, their theories systematically attempt to explain the building blocks of life, while deliberately leaving out the chief cornerstone. 

Read about the life and works of Charles Darwin and you’ll see what I mean.  His slow and systematic descent from Christianity into agnosticism is well documented, augmented, over-rated, debated and commentated.  Although raised as a Christian, he eventually denounced his Christian beliefs as he formulated his theories on natural selection and evolution.  One could find a strong case for those that would say, where more science is applied, theistic beliefs are dismantled.  But, one could also come to realize here that a relationship with God is much more than a label you carry from birth, hence the adage… “being born in a garage, doesn’t make you a car.”

We see this with many other scientists and great minds of our time.  The sad thing is, in cases like Darwin’s, through all his theorizing and postulating, he never seemed to try and see God in any of his scientific finds or in his philosophical writings.  On the contrary, his writings reveal how he allowed certain people and situations in his life to systematically shut down his belief in God.  You can almost see it in his pictures.  As he grew older, it looked as if his heart just turned to stone. 

I have to wonder if he was ever really challenged to jam with God, as he studied.  Now, I’ve heard the rumors about him having a deathbed conversion experience, but since there are no real facts to back that story, we must believe that his ultimate conclusions are between him and the King.  I hope for his sake, that he did find the grace notes before his final encore.

But getting back to the Art of Science… it’s more than just the icing on the cake.  It’s the ability to take what we see and apply it to what we don’t see.

For instance, most everyone will agree that the seven days of creation may not have been seven actual calendar days.  Let’s face it… the bible does say… “with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day”,  (2 Peter 3:8-9).  But what if some day we find that God did, in fact, do it all in one week?  Is it possible to believe this, given all our sophistication and knowledge or is it just Sunday School jibberish?  Well, believe what you want… it doesn’t really matter to me.  I’ll tell you why.

You see, there’s this movie called “Star Trek, The Wrath of Khan”.  In this story, scientists develop something called the Genesis Project, that’s able to take a barren planet, and almost instantaneously cause life to grow, all across the surface of that once desolate orb.

Well obviously, this is science fiction, but the real draw and appeal to any good fiction is the unspoken perception that someday, it may, in fact, become a reality.  So if we have enough faith in human ingenuity to someday accomplish Genesis-like powers, why should we limit God to anything less?

Someone once told me, if the human mind can imagine it, then it is somehow possible.  Herein lies the purpose for the art of science… it’s the ability to color a black and white world… the skill in finding music where none previously existed… the capacity to dance on top of hardened and unforgiving surface.  While it takes the intellect of a scientist to discover and hypothesize, it takes the mind of an artist to create and romanticize.  The artist introduces us to the emotions we encounter with every new scientific discovery.

What I like about Paul, the apostle, is that he never shied away from a good theological or intellectual debate.  Check him out in the book of Acts chapter 17, where he visits Mars Hill to talk with some of the great minds of his time.  But notice that he’s not there to bang them over the head with his evangelical hammer… telling them that they’re all going to go to hell without Jesus.  No… his love for the lost lead him there to find a common ground, from which he could share the good news with them.  If we truly care about people, like Paul did, we’ll do the same.  We’ll take the time to acquire the same knowledge and understanding that the world has… not so we can be influenced by it, but so we’ll know how Love will guide us in response.

I know that for myself, as a musician and artist, my mind starts to race whenever I’m exposed to something new and fascinating.  Like a program that’s suddenly activated, I begin trying to find some way to share it with others.  As a Christian, I know why that fire burns within… because there’s a way in there somewhere to share the good news, that might just lead someone to the King.  And this is the true Art of Science… because lives are touched when we take the time to frame the paintings that He places in our hearts.

You know what?  You can’t have art without science, and science without art is… well, just a pickle-pussed old dude behind tons of gray hair.

Let me leave you with a quote from another great mind of our time, Albert Einstein.  Although he didn’t believe in a “personal god”, he always left the door to his heart a tiny bit open.  Check this out.  He said… “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all true art and all science.  He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” 

You see… at least, old Al recognized that somewhere within art and science is the key to revealing the purpose and place for a supreme being.  And the great thing is… you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure it all out.

 

Jammin exercise:                           All I ask of you today is just to pray this simple prayer with me.  You ready?  OK… here it goes: 

Oh Lord, how mysterious are your ways, and how wondrous are your works.  Please always keep me in awe of you, as science and knowledge are revealed to me.  And every day, I’ll run into your open arms, to ask you once again… “Daddy, what does this one do?”   In your mighty name, I pray… Amen.