Science, Slavery, and Hard Conversations

Almost every day last week, I woke, sipped coffee, prayed, and then prayed more. Divine wisdom, I needed. 

A long-time atheist friend commented on my Tuesday FB blog thread, challenging truths I hold dear. As the week passed, not only did he state that God is NOT all powerful and all knowing, he asserted that God approves of slavery. He even went further by stating that he is thus a more moral person than God.

Whew. Head spinning accusations, indeed.

To put this in context, let me share some history.

As one of two drum majors my senior year in high school, I started band camp with high hopes that were soon dashed. After adjusting to a new band director for a few days, quiet whispers grew loud. I soon learned that a band member, Doug, and his dad, had called the ACLU and were essentially suing our school system for having prayers before football games. 

You can read about the case here: Doug and William Jager

Regardless of your view on the separation of church and state, I’m here to attest to the chaotic football season that soon unfolded.

Knocked way off center, our small, southern town struggled to find its footing. Professing Christians, who’d spent little time in church, suddenly balked at the notion that prayer would be silenced. So, to defend Jesus, protesters slashed the Jager’s tires, left numerous vile messages, and harassed them in numerous other ways as well.

For that, my heart still grieves.

Our long-held tradition upended, big questions led to hard conversations. It was new. Different. And actually, very good for me. Before that year, I’d never interfaced with someone who didn’t believe in God.

I took a day off of school the next spring and sat behind Doug’s mom in an Atlanta courthouse as lawyers argued the case. A church goer at some point, the turmoil broke her heart. I never asked her personal views, I just sat near the mother and wife caught between people she loved and a community in uproar.

Or at least, that’s what I perceived.

Fast forward several years and my first husband and I enjoyed several long dinners with Doug in our home. Deep down I hoped that the tumor in my husband’s brain stem would miraculously disappear, providing tangible proof of the divine. But the story didn’t end that way. 

The miracle that unfolded was one of God’s love overpowering loss and God’s presence overshadowing fear. While I can still attest to the miraculous transformation that occurred in my fearful, twenty-seven-year-old soul, in the end, my testimony resounds like mere prattle to the scientifically minded Jagers.

For even now, twenty years later, Jager Sr. has filled my FB post with rhetoric that undermines the power of story and the truth of the Gospel—all while demanding scientific evidence to prove what I believe by faith.

What’s a girl to do??

Raised by a free-thinking father, who never went to church, Jager Sr. expresses thoughts that are still influenced by his dad—just like me.  So, from one heart of a child to another, I’ll simply post a few thoughts my dad recently wrote:

“There are some questions that science answers very well. These answers come from the tested empirical method or, to some degree, from a widely accepted credible scientific theory. But science cannot prove all things or answer all questions. Intellectuals, philosophers, and writers must sometimes use historical evidence to prove their points where science cannot do the same. For instance, science cannot prove that WWI happened but historical evidence can and does.

However, neither science nor history can answer questions about purpose. So, through the ages, credible thinkers, philosophers, and some scientists, Isaac Newton included, engaged in religious thought to answer questions where science and history came up short. This is why the stories of Newton, Wilberforce, Haugen and others offer important insight in answer to questions about God and slavery. I could also use Harriett Beecher Stowe, Harriett Tubman, and other American abolitionists, who were Christians, to make the same point. The abolitionist movement emerged because of the God of the Bible not in spite of Him. The historical evidence is overwhelming."

In answer to the numerous verses Mr. Jager posted on the thread that—from his point of view—support his assertion that God approves of slavery, Dad wrote: 

"Mr. Jager points out 12—and only 12 quotes—from Holy Scripture to make his point. There are 31,102 verses in the entire Bible. His usage of scripture in this way is a flawed technique called “proof-texting," where Christians and non-Christians alike begin with a premise or ideology and then dig very thoroughly through the Bible to find verses that support that point, ignoring all the rest. This is a flawed way of study at best.  For one, his 12 verses comprise 0.0003858% of the totality of Scripture."

And that brings us to my closing point.

Even if we somehow answered these riddles for the doubter, I'm fairly certain he'd come back with more. A lifetime of questioning has availed him much fodder.

So, at some point the exercise becomes futile. A simple butting of heads. Knowing when to stop the discussion puzzles me, though, because on some level, I don't want to give up. I don't want him to breathe his last without experiencing the dimension of life grasped only through belief in the divine.

But that's not up to me. 

I can only engage in witty banter now because I gave up trying to save his soul long ago. Someone already did that. The man, Jesus. 

Yes, a lot of horrible things have been done in the name of Christianity. Tires have been slashed. Obscene phone calls made. And much, much more throughout the scope of history. 

On the other hand, a lot of divine, unexplainable miracles have occurred in the name of Jesus Christ as well. While some have sown hate, others have lived out unimaginable forgiveness.

How I long to be the latter. Mother Teresa. Corrie ten Boom. Elizabeth Elliot. Joni Eareckson Tada. Martin Luther. Martin Luther King Jr. And the list goes on.

My God is all powerful and all knowing. The healer of our souls, who from the beginning of the fall has been writing the story of redemption for us all.

All photos courtesy of pixabay.com