I believe . . .

Saturday. Sofa. Coffee.

I believe you.

I believe in you.

Let me first be clear. I believe science.

For years I have seen bumper stickers and car magnets that make a statement in support of the science of evolution. The creative part of me appreciates the cleverness of the simple symbols. The one seen most often is the traditional Ichthys, the Christian symbol of the fish, modified in some way, usually filled with the name "Darwin", and sprouting small legs to allow it to scamper onto the beach and continue to evolve. Another more pointed version has a larger Darwin labelled fish approaching the smaller Christian fish with its large maw wide open ready to overtake and ingest the smaller, weaker of the species.

I have not studied the science of evolution, but the little reading that I have done over the years has been consistent with every other science I never really studied but know a little about.

And for me evolution is entirely consistent with my faith, which begins with a brilliant Creator.

While I appreciate the chuckle I get from creative car magnets, I don't understand the animus they represent between Christians and Evolutionists.

And I've got a little animus with both sides of that public disagreement. The Christians who so adamantly argue that the science of evolution is somehow excluded from God's method of creation have unfairly included me, as a Christian, on their side. I am a Christian. Therefore I must be a creationist, and opposed to the science of evolution, as if opposing a science has any effect at all on the phenomena it attempts to explore and explain.

And the Darwinists. Making a claim of open mindedness, all the while denying the possibility of an intelligent creator. I have seen nothing in the science of evolution that excludes that possibility. It cannot and does not attempt, as a science, to explain the beginning of the story. So the Darwinists have unfairly excluded me, as a Christian, from learning and believing the science because of their close mindedness.

Some people call evolution a theory. Some call it a science. I am not scholarly enough to know which it should be called. But no doubt it is a useful study of the world around us. And the more we understand these things, the more we can understand how to heal the sick, feed the hungry, restore our environment and be the caretakers of creation that we we were called to be in that beautiful Biblical creation story.

The rhetoric of the evolution/creation discourse has made me wonder.

Often the question is posed, "Do you believe in evolution?"

Do I believe in evolution? No.

Do I believe the basic science of evolution. Youbetcha.

Nor do I believe in capitalism, communism, or socialism, nor the federal government nor states' rights, nor any particular theory of psychoanalysis, nor any diet or exercise program.

Do I believe that some of the elements of these theories, institutions, methods and ideas are true and helpful? Yes, I do.

But I don't believe in them.

Because believing in them makes them more than they are. At least that's what I think. My belief in something give it a quality of having some value in and of itself, akin to life, rather than merely an intellectual or institutional construct whose value is derived from its usefulness.

And that makes it difficult to be open to needed change, to be open to new ideas.

You remember Galileo? Yes, the one who improved the telescope and gave us many of the formulas we learned in physics class.

At the time Galileo was doing all those wonderful things, the world, in particular the Church, believed in geocenticism. That is, that the earth was the center of the universe around which all the heavenly bodies revolved, including the sun. It was more than a scientific fact. It had achieved the status of a religious tenet. Galileo challenged geocentricism and the Pope's position on it. Galileo, this brilliant father of modern science, was subjected to an inquisition by the church and lived under house arrest for the remainder of his life.

But Galileo was right.

Had geocentricism been considered just a fact to be believed because of the evidence at hand, perhaps the work of Galileo would have been more easily considered and Galileo could have gone out for pizza instead of constantly relying on delivery.

But the world believed in geocentricism. It had life. It was sacred. And it was wrong.

So now we believe in evolution or creationism, and all those isms, institutions and ideas that we want to somehow breathe life into. And once we have become the creators, the ones who breathe life, the ones who give birth, we cannot change, we cannot allow our creations to die, even if they are wrong.

I believe a zillion things. But I believe in only a few. I believe in God (though things I believe about God change, and often I realize I am not sure what, if anything, I believe about God. It is a matter of faith, after all). I believe in Love as the only thing that can change the human heart. There are a few people I believe in.

And I guess that's about it.

So, do me a favor. Listen for the phrase "believe in" and ask, is the object of that phrase worthy of such trust?

Because what we believe does not change the truth. The earth never was the center of the universe.

And putting Galileo under arrest couldn't change that.

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