Einsten and Pooh-Pooh

Secularists pooh-pooh the paradoxes of Christianity, and yet there are similar gaps in the realm of science which are accepted without a flinch.

For example, at this point in time, scientists are unable to synchronize quantum mechanics and Newtonian physics. Even though each model is known to work within a certain part of the natural world, these theories also seem to contradict one another at times.

When Einstein tried to synch electromagnetism with relativity, he coined the term "Unified Field Theory." He wanted to find a way to combine the fundamental forces of the earth into one consistent concept. He was unable to find this bridge, and scientists are still searching for it in 2016.

And yet, scientists do not look at these seeming contradictions and declare them primitive or silly. They do not throw out independent theories, just because they do not yet see how they connect. They remain humble, admitting that these systems are only toolboxes, not ultimate descriptions. They use them as vehicles that help thinkers explain what has happened and what is likely to happen in the future. 

Instead of obsessing on the differences between the theories, most scientists are pragmatists. They use each school of thought to prove what it can prove, and they remain curious, small, pliable in searching what is beyond their current ability to understand.

Something very different happens when secularists approach the paradoxes of religion.

By definition, a being with the power to design and implement our physical world would be more dimensional than what he has made. The lesser does not create the greater. This means that any legitimate creator would run with more mystery than physics, biology, math, and music. He could not be simpler than the world He has created.

I have heard atheists claim that “Any God who really loves us would also be simple for us to understand,” but this is an odd  demand. There is no necessary logical connection between love and comprehensibility. 

A simple god might be something we desire for one reason or another, but that is only desire. It is not rational to insist that God must be simple to be loving.

I have a lot of questions about God, but watching the faulty logic of hasty secularists often does more to confirm my faith than the propaganda of theologians. So often I find a massive gap left in the secular worldview, a gap wide enough for a little boy to run through, shouting that the emperor has no clothes.

I don’t mean that all of the prejudice which is now present in science is intentional. I think that there are some secularists who simply haven’t realized their blind spot yet. But for others, the role of Galileo and the church has switched. There are certain things certain secularists are unwilling to see, because they would push the earth out of the center of their universe. 

I have empathy for these thinkers most of all, because I think they have the highest capacity to dig into the wonders and delights of a true God. But theological disappointment is hard to overcome, and many have been shown only a tiny deity glued together from selfish human history and politics. They don't have a vision for a Being that runs in the deepest scientific harmonies of the universe. 

I understand why these thinkers have rejected the lesser god they were offered. I have rejected that god, too.  But just like some of the early foundational theories on science were flawed, some popular old theories about God have been flawed. Bad conclusions have been drawn. Horrible experiments have been run.

Yet an essential part of intelligence is discarding what doesn't resound while continuing to search for what does.

The Enlightenment was so good for humanity in so many ways, but if I could patch one hole it left, that would be humility. Just as in physics, when it comes to the metaphysical world, I think it’s wise to realize that the limitations are often ours. 

Demanding that all mysteries synchronize perfectly, immediately, instead of letting truths do their work in their realms until the bridges appear to connect them makes for bad science. It is also makes for bad theology.