The age-old debate about the conflict of the biblical view of the world and the scientific view is relentless. Advocates of both sides heatedly defend their side in this science-versus-religion debate. Fundamentalists proclaim that the religious view is comprehensive and complete. Progressives disdain that picture as outmoded by the new world of scientific discovery. They add evidence from linguistic studies, archeological discoveries, and scientific advances.
Focusing on the center of it all, the person of Jesus, we have the one side totally committed to the Christ of faith. The other side is obsessed with the Jesus of history.
The Christ of faith arises from reported miracles, sermons, teachings, and events - with the conclusive account of the resurrection. Jesus is seen to be the exclusive Son of God. This view satisfies the search for meaning in life as well as the possibility of eternal existence.
The Jesus of history is understood to be a Galilean peasant-evangelist who challenged the authorities and was put to death by them. The man had sisters and brothers and spent some time in Jerusalem. This view holds that the elaboration of his life story, like leading a group of disciples, healing the sick and raising the dead, are all products of the imagination, fashioned to further the evangelistic enterprise.
Today's Christians are asked to choose which of these views they accept. Sometimes the effort is made to combine them in an acceptable compromise, an accommodation that sees the two approaches as compatible.
But the basic supposition here is that the human being is incapable of holding antithetical positions - the choice is depicted is an either-or option. I think of the mind as a two-sided coin - there is no such thing as a one-sided coin. We have a poetic side which sees life in terms of wonder and beauty and symmetry and joy. And we have a realistic side which sees life in economic, visible, materialist and practical terms. Both sides are essential ingredients to an abundant life.
It would be unrealistic to hold that we must choose which side we adopt as our rule of life. The poet needs to eat and exercise; the workman needs to find the depths of imagination and richness. Life that excludes one or the other is not possible. There is no such thing as a one-sided coin.
Larry Gruman. 2013
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