From the time I became interested in the intellectual life of the mind as a lad in his ‘teens through the present, and having maintained that context, I am grateful for its meaning to my life and work. As a youngster, I was impressed with Charles Lindbergh’s worshipful statements about science and technology, although science for me was never a god – as it was for him. I give science its due. For its purposes, nothing else that is human touches it for intended integrity. If some scientists fake data, they are usually found out and pilloried by colleagues. New studies replicate procedures and discover with hard evidence, what is the truth for each project, replicated and corrected if faulty. Verifiable evidence to conclusion that can be replicated reigns supreme.
My problem, which pertains for millions of others, is not with science but with some scientists who, mesmerized by science, believe it adjudicates all things, even those outside scientific parameters. Einstein believed faith in God is a ruse to cover human weakness, and the Bible is simplistic. Even if the Bible were nothing more than literature, it is certainly not simplistic. I have read many disparaging statements by pure scientists that equate with Einstein’s. One of my life disappointments has been that the large number of Christians who are competent scientists, have not written more about the matter so at least to narrow the wasteful tensions between scientists and persons of faith. The intellectual camps were meant to be searching friends. Solomon saw wisdom as a necessary natural friend, a mix of all factors that contribute to knowledge, sifted through understanding and experience, leading to wisdom. Scholars continue to fight the battles for human knowledge. That utter preoccupation loses out on understanding unknowns in living contexts. Must we sacrifice infinitude while we study finiteness? Do they touch each other? How do they, in tandem, help or hinder mankind? Joining them is greatness.
By all definitions, I am now an old man. What means the most to me late in this last chapter of my life? It is not addressed at all by science, except for issues related to health. What does science have to say about love, peace, patience, emotions, and values? Can the list include God? These are the thoughts of those facing the end, occupying us to greater degree than the course of planets, the development of animal life, or the genetics of living things that will die. Where did imagination and faith come from and where are they going? Where did the idea of God come from? Is he only an idea? If only an idea, is it a good one? How is it, that prayer makes some human experiences tolerable? How can right and wrong ever be decided without a source greater than man? Who can define ethics? For some persons to assert that the tough minded do not need a god, and the weak minded do, is arrogance and ignorance. Death equalizes us, as it occurs. God denial violates the faith of many scientists of history, and the persons who have been most committed to the service of mankind – the needy, hungry, downtrodden, sick, sinful, and ignorant. That there are persons of faith who attempt negative analysis of science, analysis beyond their poor or limited expertise, there is no doubt. They may be matched by those persons of science who omit God. Neither side is advanced by arrogance and ignorance. What is needed is a birth of learning objectivity by all, and that in a spirit of humility. I am often impressed by the witness of persons on the cusp of something new and marvelous, how humbled they feel in the context of the experience. What is beyond the universe, beyond mankind? Positing God I fully expect progress. I certainly improved in my studies, in my life, in my marriage, in everything relating to my life when I believed that God is present and personal – motivating me. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020