Throughout the history of man, our ancestors attempted to explain the phenomena of the earth and heavens through the work of supernatural deities. Many polytheistic religions came and went, evaporating into the history books and then reemerged later as new ideas. With the coming of Christ, Christianity was born from the principles of Judaism, and, in the following years, would spread throughout Judea through the work of the disciples. Eventually, God was revealed to the world yet again.

As the years have gone by and man has become more knowledgeable of his physical surroundings through scientific breakthroughs, there are many who now believe there cannot be a coexistence between God and science. Scientific experts, such as renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, have used their platform to question whether the need for God exists to explain the origin of the cosmos. In a lecture I came across while clicking through videos (you can view the video here), Tyson points to statistics that the percentage of religious people decreases across a spectrum of higher education, particularly those in the science fields. Among those he would call the ‘elite’ scientists in the world, only 7% of them are people of faith. In the video, he was baffled that an ‘elite’ scientist would have any room in their mind for a deity given what they know.

On the flip side, there are also those of faith who discredit science and believe it to be contrarian to the Bible. As an engineer and a Catholic, I consider myself to be part of both communities, and I find the lack of faith among scientists and those highly educated to be troubling. However, I believe that this is not necessarily rooted in science as much as it’s the faithful’s inability to understand and convey their beliefs in relation to scientific facts. This may have its roots in the early Church’s suppression of the scientific community as heresy against God. However, today the Vatican has one of the preeminent science institutions in the world in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The Church has long embraced science and faith as coexistent and not mutually exclusive. So, what’s the deal? How do we as a community of faith find our place in a community of science? I believe this starts and stops with our ability to interpret and comprehend scripture.

Our adherence to sacred scripture, particularly the Old Testament, tends to be the center of most debate when it comes to faith and science. Non-believers may use stories such as that of Job, Noah and Moses to claim we base our faith on fables of the ancient community and ignore scientific facts. In contrast, some of the Christian faith tend to believe in all the stories of the Bible to be historical non-fiction. I believe the appropriate approach to understanding the intent of the holy scripture falls somewhere in between. St. Thomas Aquinas, in his work the Summa Theologica, writes as a response to the question of whether scripture may use metaphors, that “it is befitting Holy Writ to put forward divine and spiritual truths by means of comparisons with material things.” Further, “that spiritual truths be expounded by means of figures taken from corporeal things, in order that thereby even the simple who are unable by themselves to grasp intellectual things may be able to understand.” In essence, St. Thomas concluded that scripture can and does include metaphors in its explanations of the concept of faith in God.

Let us also consider St. Thomas’s words in reference to the Holy Trinity. In explaining the relation of the Word to the Father, he writes that “when the intellect understands something other than itself, the thing understood is, so to speak, the father of the word conceived in the intellect, and the intellect itself resembles rather a mother, whose function is such that conception takes place in her. But when the intellect understands itself, the word conceived is related to the understanding person as offspring to the father.” Therefore, if we define the word of God as God’s complete understanding of himself, then “the word itself must be related to God, from whom the word proceeds, as Son to the Father.” When God sent us his only son, he sent in him a preacher of his word. In the Gospel, Christ frequently preached in parables so that the masses, whether educated or illiterate, rich or poor, could understand his meaning. This is further confirmation that God has spoken to us using metaphors.

So, if we come to understand some parts of scripture not necessarily as historical fact, but God’s explanative stories, we will not only be better prepared to rebuke those who may question Him, but also use science to strengthen our own faith in Him.

Let’s take this lens and examine the story of creation in the book of Genesis. The non-faithful may argue that belief in an all-powerful being creating the entire universe and all its intricacies in a mere 6 days is simply too much to believe. However, when you interpret it as God’s explanation of his ability to do so, and the order in which he did it, it’s not so crazy. Let us simply consider what God meant by explaining his work in ‘days’. Some faithful might think that God works quite literally on a 24-hour clock. Some may argue the Hebrew translations of the word ‘day’ and even attempt to put a certain number of years to it. I am of the belief that we can simply ascertain that when God presents us ‘days’ of creation, He is simply trying to convey that his work took time and was not instantaneous. By presenting his creation in a familiar and simple unit, rather than billions of years, they are able to understand his power without being overwhelmed with confusion and doubt.

Let’s also consider the theory of evolution and its place among the faithful. There are various reasons many Christians choose to deny the theory of evolution, but I will focus again on the book of Genesis. To some of the faithful, our creation in the image and likeness of God is as it pertains to the physical characteristics. To believe in evolution would mean that the human form has evolved beyond the image our Creator intended. However, our depiction of man is based on what we know, and what we know is what we can see in the mirror. This tends to be how we depict Adam and Eve. But what if image and likeness refer not to physical appearance, but something much deeper? Again, let us consider the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, who explains that there must be an imperfect likeness between us and God, as a perfect likeness is not possible, for man cannot be perfect as God is. He writes “we find in man a likeness to God by way of image in his mind.” Further, St. Augustine writes that “man’s excellence consists in the fact that God made him to His own image by giving him an intellectual soul which raises him above the beasts of the field.” Simply put, our relation to God’s image can be considered that of our souls and our intellect and not necessarily our physical appearance. It is with these attributes that we have the capability to love and worship God. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to believe that our physical appearance and cognitive abilities have in fact evolved over time.

This also relates to the Bible’s story of original sin. Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the forbidden tree to obtain further knowledge of their circumstances and surroundings, all of which was against the will of God. With this, they knowingly disobeyed and doubted God’s intentions. If we analyze this story as a metaphor, we could consider Adam and Eve not to be literal figures, but instead represent mankind. As man evolved both physically and intellectually, they became more capable and knowledgeable of their world. With this knowledge they did not come to know God but doubt Him. They grew not to love Him, but love things of lust and greed. Certainly, there are many other possible interpretations, but the main idea is that if we consider the stories of Genesis and other books of the Old Testament as having been conveyed metaphorically, we can actually use science and history as tools to strengthen our faith.

I could go on rambling about every argument I’ve heard against my faith based on science versus the Bible, however I’d be ignorant to claim I am the most qualified to do so. I am neither an expert scientist nor a Christian theologian. The point of this post is not to try and roll the dice in a game of science versus God but to introduce a different perspective on how to interpret holy scripture and relate it to what you are taught in the classroom. This approach can lead you to use scientific knowledge to strengthen your faith, not discredit it. I believe that as we learn more about our universe and all its intricacies, that all signs point to a creator with an intent. God gave us the gift of our intellect, and allowed us to evolve not to grow distant from him, but to be closer to Him. We must continue advancing our knowledge of our physical universe, while also using scripture as God’s explanation of his intentions and actions. Further understanding both will lead to a stronger link between them and, I believe, a closer and more loving relationship with God.