Listening to Versus Believing the Science

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve geeked out on science. I used to hang out at my local newsstand when the new issue of Popular Science came out. As a psych major in college, one of my favorite classes was the physiological psych class. I spent hours fascinated with the chemistry of nerve synapses and the structures of the brain. I never found this in conflict with my faith but rather delighted that God gave us minds and means to understand his world and the cosmos beyond so that we could take better care of it and ourselves.,

There is quite a conflict these days between science skeptics and those who “believe the science.” As in so many of the binaries created in our divisive discourse, I find myself in neither camp. The very act of writing this piece depends heavily on numerous scientific breakthroughs and the applied technologies that result. On the other hand, “I believe in science” is not part of the creed I profess. I have encountered reductionistic scientism that makes science the be-all and end-all, sometimes as rigidly dogmatic as the most rigid fundamentalist.

My own posture is one of listening to science. Particularly, I am listening to see if the conclusions of scientists are the best explanation of their data. And if it is, I consider the implications of what they propound–for my health and for the welfare of my fellow creatures. My listening leads to prayers for discerning wisdom in the application of scientific findings–which can help or harm.

So I will continue to read, review, and recommend science writing. Contrary to the portrayals of some, I know too many dedicated scientists who have devoted their lives and energies to understand creation, and to turn that knowledge to benefit the common good. They have earned a hearing, at least from me. So I will listen and learn to better understand the real world in which we live.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Speaking of science, I’ve mentioned Nature’s Andrew Robinson who reviews the latest science writing. “DNA need not apply: Books in brief” is his latest installment and offered some interesting recommendations, including a book on AI.

Haruki Murakami’s long-awaited new novel is out. Junot Diaz thinks that dedicated readers of Murakami may have a sense of deja vu, which he elaborates in his review: “Haruki Murakami’s New Novel Doesn’t Feel All That New.”

It has become increasingly common for people who were raised Christian to look beyond the bounds of their traditional religion to find spiritual life. “In Search of a Faith Beyond Religion,” a review of a new book, helped me understand some of the reasons people turn away from institutional Christianity.

Open Culture posted a fascinating clip, “The Final Days of Leo Tolstoy Captured in Rare Footage from 1910.”

Vanity Fair broke a story this week (behind a paywall) that during his forties, Cormac McCarthy engaged in an intimate relationship (statutory rape) with a seventeen year old who served as something of a muse in several of his works. O. Alan Noble, an English professor who uses McCarthy’s work, discusses “When Your Literary Heroes (Inevitably) Fail You” and how he is thinking about McCarthy’s moral failures and using McCarthy in his classes.

Quote of the Week

South African novelist Nadine Gordimer was born on November 20, 1923. This statement defined for me the difference between formal, positional power and moral authority:

“There is no moral authority like that of sacrifice.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I’ve started a new feature at my Bob on Books Facebook page, a weekly “reel”, Bob on Poetry. This past week, I recited William Butler Yeats “The Second Coming.” The poem seems quite prescient for our current day. You may listen here and read the text of the poem here. By the way, if you haven’t discovered it, Poetry Foundation is a wonderful online poetry resource.

I’ve been reading Adam Higgenbotham’s Challenger and came today to the part where Challenger blows up. It was hard to relive that day and the images from 1986. I kept hoping that, this time, the story would be different. What was more sobering was to imagine the engineers who argued vigorously against the launch only to be overridden by senior executives, watching the launch.

It was fun to receive the mail Tuesday and Wednesday. Between those two days, nine books arrived, kind of like Christmas coming early. Among them was Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, Hanif Abdurraqib’s latest, and a graphic biography of the life of Jakob Hutter, an early Anabaptist.

Next Week’s Reviews

Here’s what I expect to be reviewing next week:

Challenger, Adam Higgenbotham

The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion

The Integration Journey: A Student’s Guide to Faith, Culture, and Psychology, by William B. Whitney and Carissa Dwiwardani

Remarriage in Early Christianity, A. Andrew Das

Well, that’s The Weekly Wrap for November 17-23, 2024!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page.