Two of the top reasons that 60% of young Christians will disconnect from the church and faith after age 15 are their perceptions that the church is antagonistic to science and feels unfriendly to those who doubt.1 But, what might happen if a young person is raised in a church that sees science and biblical faith as complementary, rather than opposed, and actively encourages exploration in the nexus where faith and science meet?
Christ Crossman UMC is a church that has been doing that for 15 years now. So, I reached out to some of its former youth members and asked these three questions:
- Do you remember any activities, discussion, or events that highlighted the complementarity and harmony between science and Christian faith (including evolution and Creation)?
- What do you think you learned about the relationship between science and Christian faith while a youth at Christ Crossman?
- What difference, if any, has that made in your adult journey as a practitioner of Christian faith?
This response comes from Bridget, now age 29 and growing a family of her own:
I have fond memories of spending Wednesday evenings in the youth room discussing all the “hard topics”. These topics (like creation and evolution) were often the center of those discussions. I remember specifically talking about who Cain was talking about when he said to God that he was afraid to be banished because someone would hurt him. That of course led to many more discussions that seamlessly allowed science and religion to co-exist. We had a few sessions where the church went on a day trip to places like Great Falls and reflected on how God created everything here, but also allowed science [evolution] to happen in order to create the world that we now know. Sadly, it has been a while since I was in youth group so the specifics are slipping 🙂
I am proud to say that as an adult I have no conflict between science and religion in my mind. Being “raised” in a church that not only believes in God but also in Science has done me well as an adult too. I have lasting opinions that are backed up by both the Bible and Science. I have been able to engage in conversations on both sides of the fence… It was reinforced with me that the Earth was something that God trusted us with and we were to take care of instead of destroy. It was easy to see that God clearly was a Creator, and that He so easily could allow science to happen.
As an adult Christian, I often feel like I meet people… that are just blind sheep following a book that was written over 2000 years ago. They don’t ask questions or seek understanding in a way that we were trained up to. I have found that I often offer up scripture that leaves room for science, and fellow believers are astonished by the fact that maybe, just maybe, God did leave room for science on purpose. I think my upbringing with Christ Crossman has also made me a more open minded believer. There is some mystery in how Creation happened, and being able to faithfully say that I just trust that God wanted it this way, that way or the other, makes it easier for me to believe that He also could want other topics a certain way without having to fully understand. I am well aware too that I was raised in a part of the world where education is of the upmost importance and it would be crazy for a group of pastors and leaders to try and “go against” what we were learning in school science classes. It’s nice to know that we were not only raised in Biblical Truth but in Academic Truth as well.
So, what might happen if a young person is raised in a church that sees science and biblical faith as complementary? She might grow up to be a well-equipped Christian living faithfully and fully in a culture shaped by science.
1 Kinnaman, David. 2011. You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church… and Rethinking Faith. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI.
