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When I arrived at Cornell University as a doctoral student in cognitive/experimental psychology, I was treated a bit like a unicorn, dragon, or some other mythical creature that people had heard about but doubted actually existed. I was a Christian AND a scientist! How could that be? Of course, there were others — even on the faculty — but few were open about their Christian faith. As curious people, faculty members and my fellow doctoral students had many questions for me concerning various biblical and other theological issues. I don’t remember any attacks or hostility, only courteous bewilderment that an apparently intelligent and educated person could have such old-fashioned ideas. As far as I could tell, my atheist colleagues didn’t get asked how to reconcile their beliefs with this or that moral position, or to offer any kind of philosophical rationale for their commitments, but I suddenly found myself being asked to articulate an informed justification for orthodox Christianity. It seemed that not only did I need to be a good student of my science, I needed to be conversant about the Bible, church history, general theology, and philosophy of religion. Yikes.
Only courteous bewilderment that an apparently intelligent and educated person could have such old-fashioned ideas.
At Blueprint 1543 we are convinced that Christ-following scientists need to contribute at the highest levels of the scientific community by doing great science and technological innovation. But, as with my experience as a doctoral student, it is not enough for Christians to just be there, stripped of any distinctive perspectives or values. Rather, Christ-following scientists serve the world and God’s kingdom best by being integrated people living into their callings as scientists, and that includes being scientists who are biblically and theologically informed.
But where to go for helpful resources?
When it comes to improving my biblical literacy, I really like the BibleProject. The short and artistic animations available from their website (at no cost) help contextualize each of the books of the Protestant Bible as well as providing tools for thinking about major biblical themes, literature types, and characters. I appreciate, too, that insofar as possible, the creators, Tim Mackie and Jon Collins, try to steer clear of contentious issues and remain even-handedly orthodox in their presentation. I have tried to make a practice of watching their animations for a section of scripture or a book of the Bible that I am reading. For instance, recently the pastors at my church preached a series on the Psalms, so I watched the BibleProject’s introduction to the Psalms, treatment of Wisdom literature (which includes the Psalms), and discussion of Biblical poetry. Then I read the Psalms alongside the sermon series.
On the theology front, a nice place to start is Alister McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction, Sixth Edition. An esteemed theologian in his own right, Alister has a gift for clarity and economy in his presentation. He also spends an unusual amount of time on issues related to the sciences in a general introductory text. Perhaps this is because of his long-standing interest in the sciences at a high level: he earned a doctorate from Oxford University in molecular biophysics before his subsequent doctorates in theology and in intellectual history. Beyond his academic credentials, Alister is a good guy. When I read theology, I sometimes feel like theologians sometimes approach the discipline like an academic game and they are looking to unsettle readers and score intellectual points against opponents. And so, I find myself more open to theological presentation if I have reason to think that those presenting it have active lived faiths and do theology out of care for their readers and for the church. I don’t want to exaggerate my relationship with Alister, but I have had enough interaction with him and his wife, psychologist Joanna Colicutt, to be confident that they are sincere, energetic, and humble Christ-followers, doing their scholarly work to the service of God’s kingdom.
Those are some resources I have found helpful for keeping my biblical and theological literacy serviceable, but I’d be happy to hear others’ suggestions for resources that might be especially good for science-minded Christ followers.
