Genesis, Evolution, and the Sistine Chapel

August 06, 2010 by Elizabeth Scalia

Continued from Page 2

"‘I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord." Millennia later, there was a train, then a car, then a plane. Then there was a spacecraft landing on a distant moon where, unbeknownst to billions, an astronaut -- launched into space on a giant fireball of science -- ". . . gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility," using the primitive and eternal elements of Holy Communion.

The outreach continues, and so does the unfathomable evolutionary journey of matter, mind, and Maker. The psalmist tells us "our span is seventy years, eighty for the strong . . . no more than a watch in the night," in the sight of God. And each life, concentrating on what it sees and what it knows (and what it suspects), cannot begin to imagine how the goods and evils brought forth in day may further God's purpose. Each step forward or backward on the trail of human wisdom is sufficient unto its time; we are on an evolutionary crawl to the next era and the next revelation -- and then the next -- in accordance with a plan.

What an invitation to Trust. And with that trust, what could Christians possibly fear from science?

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About Elizabeth Scalia

Elizabeth Scalia is a weekly columnist at First Things.

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