I was standing in the queue at the supermarket one lunchtime, when the heading on a magazine caught my eye - so I picked it up and bought it. I know these things are put there to catch us unawares but I'm not usually an impulse buyer so I can walk past the displays of chocolates and magazines with titillating headlines and/or pictures. But this one was different.

The magazine I bought was an issue of New Scientist, nothing racier I assure you. And the banner across the front of the issue was a series of light globes and the headline read "Great Ideas That Shaped Our World".

Here's how the New Scientist introduced their cover story:

"Certain questions define the way we see the world. How did the universe begin? What is mater made of? What shaped our planet? How did the amazing diversity of life arise? We take many of the answers for granted, but maybe we shouldn't. When we asked 10 of the biggest names in science to explain the significance of their discipline we were surprised by their response…."

They then present a brief synopsis of what they call "The World's Biggest Ideas" which are listed here:

• The Big Bang - The question of the universe's origins has fascinated people for millennia, and our is the first generation of humans to have an answer
• Evolution - The path to complex life is one of the greatest human insights in history
• Quantum Mechanics - It's not just about atoms; it's about free will and human identity
• The Theory of Everything - How does the universe work? finding out is the ultimate challenge
• Risk - Accidents were once thought of as acts of God, or, in a secular age, bad luck but now we know that risk is all in the mind
• Chaos - We had no idea the world could be packed with so many possibilities
• Relativity - If you want to make sense of the world, don't trust your intuition to reveal the true nature of reality
• Climate Change - It's here. If we don't react, war, pestilence and famine will follow close behind
• Tectonics - Human history has been shaped by the mosaic beneath our feet
• Science - It's a powerful force for good, but beware: it's not the answer to everything

[You can read a paragraph or so on each of these ideas on-line at www.newscientist.com (look in Archives for 17 Sept 2005) but if you want to read the whole article, you need to pay to be a subscriber. Another source of thinking about many of these issues is found in Bill Bryson's very readable book A Short History of nearly Everything.]

Now, if you are a Christian, indeed a God-believer of any sort, you probably heard bells ringing as you read that list above. Words and concepts like origins of the universe, evolution of complex life, free will and human identity, acts of God, and true nature of reality have traditionally been the province of religion. In fact, Christians have often acted as though they have a right to speak on these issues in an authoritative way as if they have the only true insight into such ideas. And I guess that some Christians, reading that list above, would have immediately reached for their Bibles, searching for the "truths" to support such claims.

The reality of the world in which we live, and in which the church must live and work, is that people are searching for answers to questions like, "Where did we come from?", "What is the purpose and meaning of life?", and "How are we meant to live in relation to each other and creation?". And there are a multitude of answers being offered, not the least being those that arise from the world of science. As science pushes closer and closer to the edges of knowledge, it is discovering that its answers look less like hard, provable, truths, and more like myth (in the best sense of that word) and mystery. People looking for meaning in life will weigh up every option before them in their quest for answers.

So, if Christian understandings of the big ideas of life are being seen as one option among many, then it matters how we state our claims. To just stand by our usual, "God says…", "The Bible says…." will make us seem defensive and reactionary; it will make us look as if our theology is formed in isolation to the "real world". Those of us in the church who shape theology, who preach the "word of God" from our pulpits, who influence the thinking of God-believers and seekers who come to our churches, need to realise that we must do these things in dialogue with the world.

We do not have to adopt the world's view on the great questions of life: we may find that the answers of science help us to a deeper understanding of God's ways; we may find ourselves wanting to mount a counter-argument and ask science how its answers fit the "truth" we find revealed in God. But we need to recognise that both science and religion offer us handle on the "truth" about the big questions in life; and both offer us answers that are only part-revelation of a deeper mystery.

Those searching for meaning in life's journey need to hear what both religion and science are saying. But if we want them to acknowledge that our views have some authenticity, then they need to see how it is we hold up our "truths" in conversation with the "truths" that science also offers.

Rob Stoner
March 2006