Science does not know its debt to imagination. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is this theory that I find compelling, probably because I find it to be equally offensive. It is the idea that while the Scientist has free reign to let their imagination explore the Universe and discover the function and depth of every facet, the Christian – or otherwise man of faith – is limited, finite and unable to consider life beyond that which their very controlled and very closed-minded religion dictates.

This theory stems from the idea that people of faith have a religious answer for every question, and if they don’t, then they don’t really care what the answer is.

The image that comes to my mind is something like this:

The Scientist is to the Christian like the children from Narnia are to the preacher from Pollyanna. (Stay with me).

As a Scientist – not dictated by answers already bound in Scripture – they are able to perceive the world with child-like wonder. Everything in the Universe is uncharted and beautiful – untouched and virginal. When Lucy crossed through that wardrobe and in to a fresh snowy world, so it is when an astronomer peers through a telescope and discovers distant galaxies.

The Christian, however, is a nay-sayer. The Christian hates imagination and anything apart from the concept that is: If you’re perfect you can go to Heaven, but if you drink or have sex, you’re going straight to Hell. The Christian is quintessentially any extremely pious or severe person that is ever depicted in cinema or television, for instance: the priest from Chocolat, the aforementioned preacher from Pollyanna, or Angela from The Office.

What I find particularly saddening about this is that faith is exactly the opposite of the deflated, stagnate and unimaginative reputation that it currently carries. Yes, it is true that Christians can be close-minded, some more than others, but faith is and will forever be more enlightening than anything that we can perceive solely through our senses. Christians accept certain truths – for instance that Christ died on the cross for our sins – but it is no different than people accepting that there is gravity or that sharks exist. I may not ever see Paris or Rome, and I could argue consequently that they don’t exist, but that’s asinine and doesn’t change the fact that they do. A Scientist builds on established theories and a Christian acts on established principles. That does not mean that a Christian has no scope for imagination or creativity.

As a Christian I look out at a starry sky and I marvel. Yes, I know that God created everything – and at the end of every experiment or exploration, God is the key component – the One who set everything in motion. But how does that make it any less remarkable or interesting to discover new things? I know that God exists, but that doesn’t mean I have no interest in tuning in to the Discovery Channel and watching Planet Earth. Have you ever SEEN Planet Earth? That stuff is freakin’ amazing. I am totally in awe of what scientists are able to discover and figure out. I think it is so unbelievably humbling that there are galaxies upon galaxies upon galaxies and that we are a tiny little speck in that. I am frightened as well as fascinated by the creatures that are showcased in River Monsters. The human body is marvelous and it is positively incredible that people have been able to determine how every microscopic part functions. There does not need to be a battleground set between Science and Faith. Science is simply an observation of the things that were already created, and faith gives us hope and knowledge of the things that we cannot currently see.