His Footprints, My Heart...

Friday, April 15, 2005

"The Scientists...."

You've been there, I know it. You've been sitting in church on Sunday morning listening to the preacher preaching about the love of God and then it comes. The preacher says something along the lines of "no matter what the scientists try to tell us" or "scientists can believe what they want, but...". Well, I have one question, who are "the scientists"? I ask this because many times I hear the generalizations regarding "scientists" and what they "believe". It always feels like there's this chasm between the so-called scientists and Christians who refer to "the scientists" as if they are all bad. Yes, I know that's probably a bit of a gross generalization on my part, and that I'm probably exaggerating that a bit, but, the truth is, that puts me in a wierd spot. You see, I'm a scientist. I honestly believe that's what God wanted me to be when He created me.

I was a geeky kid growing up who had her first microscope when she was about 10 years old! I remember being so jealous when some friends of the family gave my brother a chemistry set for Christmas one year and I got a huge teddy bear (which I still have, by the way), but I would beg him to let me play with it all the time!

I was raised in a Christian home by two of the most Godly people I've ever known. I vividly remember waking up every morning, walking into the living room and seeing my mother sitting in her rocking chair, her Bible in her lap, praying. My father was always the head of the household and we had dinner every night as a family, right after saying grace. My parents encouraged me to go into science. Actually, they encouraged me to do anything that I set my heart on because they believed in me. They put me through college from which I graduated with two degrees, both in science. I've worked in the geology field as well as in health care. I've done production-type lab work and medical research.

But the most important part of my career is getting to know God in a completely unique way. I am constantly amazed at the handiwork of my Abba God, my daddy God. From the tiniest particle to the largest glacier, the intricacies of all of His creation leave me awe struck. The God of the universe who made the moon and stars, the oceans and the land and everything in between, made me for a reason. He truly wants to know ME, to have a personal relationship with ME. That's what is amazing.

So I guess I'm one of "the scientists", but please don't forget that I'm a scientist who loves and is loved by the Master of the Wind, the Peace Speaker, the King of all kings, and the Lord of lords, and He doesn't need a micropscope to know about all the intricacies of my life, or yours.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." Psalm 8:3-5

Posted by Cindy-Lou at 2:03 PM

At 2:59 PM,

Jennifer Swanepoel said...

Go scientists! I know what you mean. Science and Christianity aren't mutually exclusive. I'm not a scientist myself, don't have the natural drive for it, but I am *so* grateful that there are people who DO!

At 3:15 PM,

Nettie said...

Well put! I've had people ask me how I can be a science major and not believe in evolution, as it is a "science." I usually point out that creationism has evidence supporting it, too, and after all no one was there. But I'll have to try some of your points next time, thanks!

At 5:18 PM,

Danielle said...

Well said Cindy! Sadly, the organized church has often pitted itself against science. My personal view is that good science reveals something about the nature of God. All truth is God's truth, right? :o)

Love reading your blog!

At 10:54 PM,

Jeff H said...

YES. A girl geek!!!

It's when science is used as either a substitute for God (or "the truth"), or as a vehicle to promote an atheist world view, that I have a problem with "those scientists". When used--as I'm certain you do--to glorify God and plum the depths of His wonderful creation, then it is truly a part of one's life purpose, ministy and mission.

Besides, we intellectual types just plain ROCK.

At 1:58 PM,

Rhonda said...

I feel that science should make one believe in God even more. Just as it takes a human brain to invent & create a computer, thus it should take a higher being to create the human brain, the most complex "computer" of all.

At 7:35 PM,

Anonymous said...

I discovered your blog on a rainy afternoon and love your writing! I, too, was put off when my brother got the chemistry set instead of me! I loved lookinig closer, digging deeper, and would borrow his microscope to look at butterfly wings and ice crystals.

Now I love macro photography...and digging into everyday life experiences to mine what God wants to teach me. I wrote a set of devotionals for kids last year, too, that were a reflection of my childhood view of the world: God Thought of Everything Strange & Slimy and God Thought of Everything Weird & Wacky.

I look forward to reading more from you! Going to add you to my list of blogs right now...

At 9:53 AM,

Stacy said...

If anything, observing the world around us, leads us to a 'Divine Creator'. I loved your posting! You are exactly what God needs in the Scientific arena.

At 2:10 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Jen,
Thanks! That's very true that Christianity and Science aren't mutually exclusive, and it's too often overlooked in the church.

At 2:14 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Nettie,
I know what you mean. I confuse people sometimes when I say I do believe in evolution in some respects. For example, we have several strains of bacteria and viruses that have evolved to become stronger, becoming resistent to strong drugs, but I certainly don't believe that my farthest ancestor was anything but human... created by God, THE Creator :)

At 2:14 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Paula,
Thanks sis! Thanks for always being such a great support! Love ya!

At 2:15 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Danielle,
Thanks for the comment and for visiting my blog! All I can say is "Amen and amen" to your comment!
Thanks so much!

At 2:19 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Jeff,
Yep, I'm a girl geek... and proud of it! :) I'm always a bit confused when people try to explain the formation of the earth and human and animalkind by things such as the Big Boom theory, when one theory in science is entropy... that everything is moving towards disorder rather than order. How could the Big Boom possibly explain such intricate beings as humans and animals and the earth.....? Thanks so much for the comments!
Yes, we do rock ;)

At 2:21 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Barbara,
Thanks so much... you're so sweet! Your sweet spirit is always such a blessing to me!

At 2:24 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Pink Plumeria,
EXACTLY!!! Couldn't have said it better myself!

At 2:30 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Macromoments,
Thank you....
I checked out your blog... nice!!
Isn't God a wonderful artist? Incredibly creative, don't you think ;) Thanks for the link! I'll be checking back with you often!

At 2:31 PM,

Cindy-Lou said...

Stacey,
Isn't that true!!
Thanks for your comment :)

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