…everything that we think we know about ourselves and our world must be examined in the light of the Gospel. As Americans we’ve been taught to think in certain ways since the time that we were old enough to speak. As Christians we need to ask ourselves if what we’ve been told is true, meaning is it true in light of the “Good News,” because the “revelation” of God in Jesus Christ sheds light on everything that comes in contact with it. The Gospel doesn’t only have the capacity to inform our religious views, it can inform our views of everything: human beings, society, government, the universe, everything. At least it should.

However, the Gospel often doesn’t have this kind of impact. One reason for this is that, as a society, we’re not encouraged to think like this. Our ideas are usually organized into separate compartments. Scientific ideas regarding such things as chemistry or biology are found in one compartment; ideas about government are in another section, religious views are in another place, views about the economy are in another area. This is reflected in the way education is conducted. Those seeking to become chemists study chemistry, those who wish to hold office study law and government. There’s usually an effort to expose the student to “disciplines” other than the one they’re pursuing, but they concentrate so much on their primary focus that the interplay between the different categories of ideas is limited. Considering the broad history of education, this is a fairly recent development prompted in part by the tremendous increase in the amount of available “knowledge.” We can’t know everything so we divide up what’s available into categories and concentrate on what interests us.

However, this approach prompts us to separate our thinking into these compartments, and that can result in isolating our “religious” ideas from our ideas about other things. We go to church and think about “righteousness” and “justification,” then go to work and think about profit margins, and global warming. We only make connections between categories when there’s some apparent conflict between two sets of ideas, such as the creation vs. evolution debate. But even in that discussion, the evangelical argument against evolution often focuses on the inadequacy of the science, seeking to undermine the “evidence” asserted by the evolutionists, while neglecting the bigger picture altogether. Instead of affirming a “supernatural” understanding of our existence, the effort is to beat the evolutionists at their own game, offering alternative conclusions from the evidence presented. This can be somewhat effective—at the very least it challenges what is assumed by the evolutionist position—but it doesn’t get to the heart of the issue, which, as I suggested earlier has to do with the vantage points which inform these contrasting views of our origins.

The weakness of the scientific view of the universe is that it can never answer the questions of life in a comprehensive way. This limitation was made obvious to me during a visit to the Fermilab Particle Accelerator. When I visited this facility it was with a high school group, so my role was primarily as an observer. During the course of our stay the students were given a brief history of the lab and shown various departments. We were also exposed to the basic principles of particle physics and given a rendition of the recent discoveries associated with this type of research. The Higgs-bosen, “god” particle, was mentioned; this particle was conjectured to exist some fifty years ago, and after decades of research and experimentation, was “discovered” recently by a group of physicists in Switzerland. It’s considered a major breakthrough for discovering how matter actually functions at the most fundamental level. And a major contribution to the process leading to this discovery was made by scientists at the Fermilab in the Chicago area. Throughout the course of the day the formula, E=mc² was mentioned in a very matter-of-fact way, and, although I wasn’t able to understand everything that was being considered, it was obvious that we were dealing with cutting-edge science that sought to delve into the deepest mysteries of our existence.

Most of the day, we were led by a tour-guide who, although quite knowledgeable, was not a scientist. Later in the day we were led into a lecture hall and addressed by one of the physicists who worked at the lab. It was an informal presentation that allowed the students to ask questions, prompting some interesting discussion. Along with specific questions about particle physics, the nature of “dark” matter and the “big bang” were considered. Although I can’t remember everything that was said, at one point a question was raised that concerned why the big bang occurred or what happened prior to this event. The specific issue in question isn’t what got my attention; it was the response of the physicist. He didn’t have an answer, at least not an answer based on science. Instead, in good-natured fashion, he said “God” was the cause. He smiled when he said this, and it didn’t appear that he really believed it. Instead, it seemed to be his humble way of acknowledging that some things are beyond knowing, at least for now.

This illustrates the limits of what any one category of investigation can reveal. In the effort of scientific investigation there is only so much that can be “known” through experiment and rational analysis. For the scientist, going beyond these limits, leads to areas of pure conjecture that has little, if any, basis in fact. And scientists who have pressed into this area have been accused of acting in the manner of religionists or theologians, because their theories are not derived from commonly accepted scientific actions.

However, I believe the Bible does provide us with a comprehensive understanding of our existence. It doesn’t give us all the details, but what it does provide is sufficient for us to understand: who we are, where we’ve come from, where we are, where we’re going, and why things are the way they are. When it comes to our origins, it doesn’t provide us with a precise geological account of how things came to be, but it does indicate that it was through a process that was initiated and overseen by a personal, self-conscious being. We’re here because God made us. We’re different from the animals because God made us like Him. The universe resulted from an exercise of God’s power. Things work, or don’t work as the case may be, because they’ve been designed by an all-powerful God and yet corrupted because of sin. We’re the way we are because the Lord made us like Him, and because our connection to Him is damaged, which means that we’re damaged. The reason everybody has a sense of right and wrong is because God made us like that; He did this because that’s the way He is. Even if we don’t all agree on what is right, and what is wrong, we all think some things are right and some things are wrong. We organize into societies because we’re not made to be alone. We wonder at the world around us because we’ve been given the distinction of presiding, in a sense, over the world in which we’ve been placed. We also know that this world is influenced by a supernatural reality that is comprised of both good and evil elements. And we know that this world will not last; God intends to establish another place, a place in which the corruption and disharmony of this world will no longer be at work.

What I’m saying here is that the Bible, and most specifically, the Gospel, informs all the categories of thought and concern within human society. It informs scientific investigation, it speaks to the nature of human society and the efforts of government, it informs us of our nature as human beings, it explains why we can do great good and great evil, why we tend toward violence, why we can’t get along with ourselves and each other, why we tend to be “religious,” why we’re never truly satisfied. Basically, the Bible has something to say about everything, and that shouldn’t be surprising. After all, the Bible is primarily a “revelation”; it reveals God to us. And, since God has something to do with everything, all things find common ground in God Himself. However, we often don’t see things as a whole; we let the Bible inform us about “religious” things, while looking to other sources when it comes to dealing with the “non-religious” concerns of our lives. But when we recognize that God is the common denominator in all that pertains to life in this world then we really do gain an understanding of where we are, now, at this moment.