Saturday, February 07, 2009

Forum: Christianity & Science In Plain Language



Ron Choong: "I left my home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for London in 1984 to read law in preparation for a legal career. There, my personal faith in Jesus underwent a vital transformation. I saw the need to renew not just my heart but my mind. I began to read the Bible seriously. In renewing my mind for God, I noted the inherent challenges scholars and marketplace professionals face. How can Christians reconcile their personal faith with their world of politics, business, the sciences and the humanities?

Sensing a call to an evangelistic ministry to fellow international scholars, I came to New York and started International Student Ministry: ‘to serve locally while reaching globally’. As our ministry footprint expanded, ISM became ACT, with a fresh mission. I invite you to join us in this exciting enterprise to equip the church through discipleship of the mind to worship God."

Ron founded ACT Ministry and read law, the natural sciences, international relations, the humanities and theology in Great Britain and the United States. His academic training includes BA (Open, UK), LLB Hons. (London), MDiv, ThM (Princeton Seminary), STM (Yale) and PhD (Princeton Seminary).

He will be doing a forum on Christianity And Science which will be followed by an interactive questions and answers with participants:

Venue: City Discipleship Presbyterian Church (map at link)
Date: 21 February 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 6 pm
All are welcome. Free of charge.

There will be two more forums on the following:

1. What Every Christian Ought to Know About Islam
2. Christianity, Evolution, & Evolutionism in Plain Language

It will on Monday (Feb 16), 8 pm at CBC Sea Park, PJ. Free of charge, although a free will offering will be collected after.



"Christian theology through the Church ought to welcome responsible articulations of scientific knowledge as natural scientists within and without the Church discovers (investigates) divine disclosure (revelation). If science is discovery and theology is confessional, knowledge can only assume the status of wisdom when it becomes understanding. Mere knowledge shaped by wisdom provides true understanding.

For example, science alone explains the composition of the human material self so that we can maintain our lives but does not comfort our desire to find the meaning of life (so religion became the most persistent and consistent act of human culture). Theology alone teaches us that we were made from created dust for fellowship with God, but without science, we cannot maintain our existence for very long (if for example, we do not learn to abstain from poison or forget how to feed ourselves). The knowledge from science coupled with the wisdom of the scriptural theology helps us understand why we exist as we do at all, carbon-based auto-poietic reproducing pods of chemicals which cognize.

The Christian commitment to its convictional confession (CCC), must lie at the center of any discovery of divine disclosure (DDD), which includes both the natural sciences and the non-natural sciences. From such an integration of knowledge (‘what, why and how” questions) springs forth the resources for wisdom (“why” questions) to announce the Good News that Christ has come, Christ has risen, Christ is Lord indeed."

1 comment:

Jack Hartland said...

A very worthwhile column that seriously requires consideration by Christians.

Christianity and science are not at odds with one another.
It is written, "A wise man accumulates knowledge and Wisdom is the diligent application of knowledge".

According to scripture, "All the knowledge of the universe is hidden in Christ". The implication is that it is up to us to explore this information/knowledge.

Therefore the more we get to know about the creation, the more we get to know about the creator.

Science is a tool that helps us to understand our universe better so that we can deconstruct and reconstruct our universe, thereby participating in God's cosmic creative endeavor.

According to scripture we are made in the image of God ... rational, intelligent creative beings.

Jesus is the WORD, without words we lack the ability to reason or manifest creativity.

I believe that this is a good place to begin the discussion.