Philosophy, Science, and Faith: Exploring the Interconnectedness of Ideas

By Penny Lamb Elementary School Grade 3 Teacher

The poet E.E. Cummings wrote, "Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question." As a teacher, I have the privilege of hearing beautiful questions from students. Recently, I was asked questions by Awana students that illuminated an issue close to my heart. As a passionate writer, it inspired me to begin writing a children's book in the early morning hours. It has a long way to go, and I am so grateful for the inspiration and the journey.

How can we nurture open-minded curiosity? Absolutes (yes or no, for or against, this or that, us or them, patterns of thinking) can be dangerously divisive and limiting. Intellectual humility allows us to inquire, learn and perspective-take. (Dewey, J. 1938) wrote: "Mankind likes to think in terms of extreme opposites. It is given to formulating its beliefs in terms of Either Ors, between which it recognizes no intermediate possibilities." One such belief is that we can either be rational, educated, scientific thinkers or faith-based believers. The picture book I am writing challenges this belief and explores several usual points of contention.

How can we encourage children to ask the kind of questions that lead to more questions? Let's nurture philosophy, oracy, rigorous research, critical thinking and precise language use to develop reasoning and inquiry. Erin Kent urged us to have children "level up their talk" and "relish debate." After all, isn't it the world's mysteries that make children curious and eager to read and research? Job challenges us as life-long learners, "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?"

(Job 11:7-12)

How can we be sure of our facts? Now, more than ever, we need to challenge our thinking and confirmation bias, with AI populating our social media feeds with more of the same. Similarly, with Chat GTP adding to the information glut, our research must be more rigorous than ever. We have to examine the validity of the information we glean. Who funded the study? What do they have to gain by us believing it? By way of example, our daughter challenged my husband and me to question our dietary choices, which resulted in a life change; however, we did as she urged us - researched to discover the truth and affirm our decision. We were shocked to learn about misinformation funded by businesses and upheld by trusted institutions. We learned to critique information sources. A lot of information is promoted as 'scientific', so the onus is on the reader to do the fact-checking.

How can we be sure of our faith? A quote from Einstein resonates with me, "This firm belief, a belief bound up with deep feeling, in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience represents my conception of God." I continue to be in awe of the intricacies and mysteries of life on our planet and the unfathomable universe above us. I am fascinated by all I discover in the field of science, which paradoxically affirms my faith. Juxtaposed to science, I have seen miracles captured in x-rays and medical reports, which science cannot explain. I have experienced God's loving Spirit flooding my soul, and have witnessed instantaneous changes in people who took the leap of faith to believe in Jesus. My faith remains rock-solid.

In closing, are science and faith not inextricably woven together, as both originate from God? I leave you to ponder the words of Einstein, "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

19