God's Brushstrokes: Science

My college education - both undergraduate and graduate - is in the field of biology.  I worked 20 years in medical research before moving to my current position with The Foundation.  I am a scientist, and I am a person of faith.  I've never found that to be a contradiction.

For me, if God is the painter, then science is the study of the paint strokes.  A person can be an atheist and study science, but I don't think a person can  declare faith in God but reject science.  To do so would be to replace God's handiwork with one's own "story" of how God works in the world.  It is a rejection of the opportunity to move closer to the work of God. 

When I worked in the lab, I was always in awe of the idea of that I was adding reagents and enzymes to a small tube and the result was that DNA was snipped and proteins were captured (not in the same tube).  It was amazing to me.  The intricacies of how the DNA and the cell and the tissue and the organ and the body worked was and still is an amazing reflection of the creativity of God, and that is only enhanced by knowing the a tiny twisted ladder of nucleotides controlled it all.

For me, when I read the two creation stories in Genesis, I don't care how many days it took in the story for God to create the world.  In fact, it is not the purpose of the story to tell the how.  The purpose of the story is to explain THAT God created the world, THAT God created humankind, THAT God created you and me, out of a wonderful and boundless imagination, stamped with God's own reflection, even amid our diversity.  Evolution?  For me it is a wondrous brushstroke in the painting.

I heard the other day that we don't "believe" in science.  That's true.  Science is the study of fact.  What is it? How does it work? How does it relate to something else? Fact.  My belief is in God, and that is strengthen by the knowledge of the facts. Science doesn't lead me to reject God; science brings me closer to God.

Please remember, as we move closer to the reality and the hope of a world vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19, that we need science in order to  love our neighbors best.  Please be open to seeing God's brushstrokes in the work and advice of scientists as they tell us the facts.