Angels & Demons

To the chagrin of the conservative religious folks, I risked corruption of my mind today and took my beautiful wife on a date to see the new Tom Hanks movie Angels & Demons based on Dan Brown's book. It made for some very interesting conversation over dinner!

Faith & Science
One theme that was front and center throughout the movie was the tension between religion and science. Without giving away too much of the movie, the Catholic Church is forced to revisit its stance on scientific advancement and acknowledge its poor track record. One does not have to be a history buff to recognize the dismal stance of the church on anyone with a scientific belief that would in any way challenge their authority - Copernicus, Galileo, etc.

One statement in particular garnered my attention: "Science and religion are not contradictory but rather two different ways of telling the same story." As a physician and a minister, this particular debate is very close to my heart. And yet these questions of faith and science are not simply historical hobbies but are brought the forefront in our day of stem cell research, human genome mapping, research into a possible genetic basis of homosexuality, eugenics research, etc.

How does the catholic church - not just the Vatican - respond when our scientific prowess marches forward at incredible rates creating new ethical dilemmas almost daily? Theological issues such as how we view the Bible and its "inspired" status, how we view truth & who can possess it, and ultimately how we view God are all wrapped up in the conversation. Often we ask the Bible questions it was never designed to answer and God is reduced to a "God of the Gaps" (Belief in God is there for those parts of the universe we don't understand). And yet, the god revealed in Scripture is the creator of the universe and the source of all truth - scientific, theological, psychological, philosophical. All truth is God's truth! I love Rob Bell's statement that when Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life," he is essentially stating that he leads us into all truth. The world is created through him and faith in him allows us to pursue truth wherever it rests!

Church & Power
Much ink has been spilled in refuting the historicity of Dan Brown's claims but to me those arguments are simply nauseating. It's a novel, not a history book. Let it be a novel and take it for what it is. And though it is fiction, it does offer a very pointed critique of the religious world.In the same vein as the DaVinci Code, this movie offers a very poor picture of the Roman Catholic Church. Both of these movies beg the question: To what lengths will the church go to maintain its current position of power, wealth, and prestige?

It is no secret that the Roman Catholic Church commands an enormous amount of power and wealth in our world and especially in the religious world. The storyline of both movies has to do with a secret the church wants to keepunder wraps and the steps it takes to prevent those secrets going public. When the church of Jesus Christ jumps in bed with power and wealth, what happens? When the center of your faith is a man who willingly gives up his power and position in exchange for death as a criminal, how like Jesus can a church be when money and power are involved?

In the USA, the church has been moved to margins of society and no longer holds a place of widespread respect. We as the church have a very fundamental question to answer - What do we do now? Do we try to get that place in society back or do we embrace our new wilderness and explore what God has for us? It is the question of liminality.

If you are still reading thank you! I would love to know what you think. Blessings...