As I contemplated the recent creationism v. evolution debate, I came
across two articles that provided interesting context. One was a
short essay by Charles H. Townes, inventor of the laser and Nobel
Prize laureate in science.  He has been advocating recognition of an
essential relationship between science and religion for over 40
years.  As a scientist he has been principally interested in
understanding "our world --the universe, including humans-- what it
is and how it works.  As a religiously oriented person [he] also
try[s] to understand the purpose of our universe and human life."  It
seems self evident to me, an interested non-expert in science and
religion, that that the two inform one another.

A second article reported on an initiative of the National
Association of Evangelicals, that claims to represent 30 million
Americans, to join the cause to fight global warming because "the
Bible mandates the stewardship of God's creation."  The Rev. Rich
Cizik, an officer of the Association is quoted as saying, "I don't
think God is going to ask us how he created the earth, but he will
ask us what we did with what he created."

As politics has forced secularists to pay more attention to religion,
any common cause they may achieve with such religious groups has the
potential of changing the political and moral dynamics and of
engendering real sympathy between these long-time antagonists.  It is
perhaps good to remember that while the disciple, Thomas, best known
for his doubt and desire for proof, is never-the-less a saint.  For
those of us without the training or, perhaps, the intellect, it may
take as much faith as it did Thomas to believe that Jesus has risen
from the dead, to grasp the more complex findings of science,.

It seems to me that the state of our politics, particularly economic
and cultural politics, are a principal source of division. Throughout
history, a truly moral point of view has often led to a progressive
politics. Without a moral point of view, I believe, there can be no
progressive politics.  This same group of Evangelicals has advanced
such other politically progressive causes as standing up against the
genocide in Sudan, fighting child sex trafficking  as well as AIDS in
Africa, and promoting civil rights worldwide. While they have
received a generally tepid response from their putative political
allies in Washington, they have the ear of the current regime.  In
embracing both physical and social sciences on the issue of global
warming the Evangelicals are framing a moral imperative that most
secularists would share. "Christ said 'What you do to the least of
these you do to me' . . . And so caring for the poor by reducing the
threat of global warming is caring for Jesus Christ," says the Rev.
Jim Ball, another representative of the group.

Points of disagreement on substance and tactics will no doubt
persist, but even this small bridge in the divide that links the
physical, philosophical and moral dimensions of the world we share,
can lead, if we take the opportunity, to sufficient trust that we
might begin to find a language to talk about the problems that
confront us.