THE Joy of Discovery.
Amid all the laborious details discussed during the debate (no doubt what's being mulled over today and in the days to come), there came the statement by Bill Nye that not having the answers in science provides this lovely Joy of Discovery. I do not write this article to address the strength or frailty of either Nye or Ham's arguments. Whether naturalism or theism is true is largely irrelevant to what I'm writing now. I'd like only to pick up on this statement about the Joy of Discovery.
Now I've heard this bit in several debates now, from several secular thinkers and atheists and scientists, that this is the glorious and exciting thing about science: the Joy of Discovery, of thinking on the difficult questions, the ones yet unanswered, the mysteries of the universe. And with the same statement comes the stinging accusation that the Christian worldview as based upon the Bible provides no such joy, no such excitement over discovery and no such delightful mystery about the universe. Thus the secular scientist is the passionate pioneer while the Christian is an old, moldy, stagnant science-stopper.
How did such a bizarre statement come to be? Maybe it's because we as Christians have pretended to know all the answers without really knowing where the Bible says it or why we believe what we believe, or who first postulated the theory, or considered all the evidence, or what have you. But what remains is that the secular world thinks that "not knowing" brings this sense of motivation to try to find out, whereas the crusty, cob-webbed Christian has only to turn to a book to look up the answer, thereby denying the church-goer any sense of this Joy.
Is this indictment true? As a Christian, can I have no hope for invention, no aim for discovery, no awe or wonder about the universe and its perplexities?
Theology, as a field of study, has fallen out of favor in modern times, even among believers. But theology remains a field of study, its primary subject being God. Now what kind of discoveries can one expect to make in theology? Discoveries about the nature of God, the actions of God, the plan of God, the will of God, the words of God, and yes, God's Creation and so on. Can one expect to make a discovery about the geological stratum in theology. No. Because geology is geology and theology is theology. Geological discoveries are made in geology. The same holds for every field of science.
This is to say that discoveries are made by geologists in geology that have little or nothing to do with theology, minus the fact that the discoverer may hold to a worldview based on theology. The discoverer's worldview will help to formulate his interpretation of his data and his discoveries, but a discovery is made nonetheless.
But in theology, there are discoveries all the same. These are different kinds of discoveries, certainly. Discoveries about God will tend to be personal, moral, ethical, religious, prophetic, or even philosophical and anthropological, cultural, archaeological and hermeneutical because these are the things with which theology is directly or indirectly concerned. Just because theology makes no discoveries about physical objects (leaving those to the geologist, the biologist, the physicist) does not mean it makes no discoveries at all.
For more than a year now, I have had the pleasure of leading a small group of college students through the attributes of God and I have learned a tremendous amount of things about God and the Bible and Christianity, real discoveries through real research, but discoveries after a kind as fits this category of science (that is, knowledge) called theology. And will any one, will Bill Nye who holds it up as this marvelous thing, take away this Joy of Discovery from me in the field of study I made it in? I won't be bullied out of this Joy. I won't have it taken away from me because of the claim that theology is not predictive of natural discoveries. The natural world is the subject for the natural sciences. Theology stands unique with its super-natural and meta-physical Subject.
It is a category mistake to claim that theology has no stake on discovery, simply because it has nothing to do with discoveries made in natural sciences. Natural science is not the subject of theology.
So, yes, I've made no discoveries about radiation. I've made no assumptions about the way the cell operates. I've not solved the puzzle of why the universe seems to be expanding at an increasing rate. And all the joy is well-earned for anyone who makes such discoveries. But just because I have no made discoveries in other fields of study, does not mean I have made no discoveries in theology as a field of study. And there is a substantial joy in learning and discovering things in this particular field: in re-crafting the ontological argument, in unearthing ever more manuscripts, in unveiling the consistency of God's essential nature, in solidifying the interpretation of a difficult passage through careful study, and in the related discoveries made in other pertaining fields such as archaeology and history.
It is false to claim that the Christian has no sense of the Joy of Discovery. Though I cannot speak for others, I can speak for myself that I've found this incredible Joy. However, I can speak to others: Christian, find the Joy of learning and discovering about God Himself!
What's more, I think that the scientist who makes his discoveries in his particular field and holds to a theistic worldview rather than a naturalistic worldview has the added layer of joy in discovering not only the physical details of his newfound scientific knowledge, but in realizing that those physical details and his/her scientific knowledge is there because God put it there to be discovered so that we might experience the Joy of Discovery and that He might be glorified through His Creation and through the discoverer.
Setting foot on Mars, digging up the remains of an unknown species of animal, or understanding just how light works or what mind and consciousness are... these are all magnificent things to be experienced and discovered by the planetologist, the paleontologist, the physicist and the neurologist. But I know a greater Joy than that which comes through the realization of the bare facts once these scientific exploits have been accomplished. I know the One who invented Mars, lay low the fossils, set forth the light and crafted consciousness. And with each discovery made in each field of science, I discover that God is ever more profoundly and transcendently wonderful.
There is an immense value for the Joy of Discovery in the Christian life.
-norton
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