Conversation Point

In This Moment

God and Creation

The NBC drama, The West Wing, is giving us something this Sunday evening that real life doesn't deliver, a real, live debate of the political issues facing the fictional presidential campaign of Democratic Congressman Matthew Santos and Republican Senator Arnold Vinek. These characters, played by Jimmie Smits and Alan Alda respectively, decided between themselves in last week's episode to set aside formal negotiations, canned formats and the wishes of their campaign staffs, to simply debate openly. Now, the actors playing the roles are spending this week preparing by reading position papers, practicing with their coaches, wondering how they will perform, and who will win.

It has been an interesting process, this campaign from behind-the-scenes that is only implied in the news blasts we receive from the media in real elections. Both fictional candidates have struggled with the balance between personally-held beliefs and publicly-declared responsibility to represent their constituency. What is most fascinating is how each man articulates this balance. Wanting to believe our real-life candidates are as imbued with passion and integrity for the political process, and those of us they represent, I am still anticipating my conversation experience.

Intelligent design, as an educational alternative to evolution, is one of the campaign topics already addressed. If may or may not be entered into the Sunday night debate, but it is an interesting new label for what in the past has been called creationism. Creationism indicates a belief that God created the earth, and continued on to finish up the world in six days, resting on the seventh day. Intelligent design similarly focuses on a larger power creating the world in an orderly fashion, with purpose in each step, but does not place a time frame of one week around the process. Evolution presents the concrete process of what we know, so far, of how we as human beings came to be, as well as how the whole of our environment shaped itself.

The usual argument is, at its core, a proof text for the separate but equal attitude we as a culture attach to concepts that demand too much of us, and with which we really don't want to struggle. Inviting all perspectives to this table means each participant would have to be served with hospitality, kindness and respect, but not necessarily be as clear on their original position as when they first sat down. Dismissing any long-held belief would be shown the door, because disrespect would not, could not be tolerated, in order to develop a true discussion of openness and mutuality. Quite frankly, separate but equal suits us because then we don't have to explore our faith or expand our understanding of scientific values, and how they benefit us in highly practical, and sometimes mysterious, ways.

Those who reflect on the theological concept of intelligent design, pose the idea that we as human beings are more comfortable, and I would add, more confident, in believing there is a purpose to our presence here, and how we arrived in the first place. The randomness of asteroids, dinosaur deaths as precursors to our own opportunity for life, and who happens to avoid the many pitfalls of the natural selection process, makes us nervous. It is disquieting to, say the least, whenever our faith is challenged, but particularly in its foundational belief that God has this whole creation process wrapped up, that this is one thing on which we can rely. Those who have a belief system that does not depend upon the juxtaposition of faith and science might say that God, as Creator, has many tools with which to work, and many people with whom to share them. Contrary to an either/or debate, the belief that God created the universe in the first place doesn't follow through to the point that God completed the whole creative process related to humanity.

While the earth as we know it was ready to receive us, however many years ago, we have also moved forward a bit culturally since we began our stint here as cave dwellers. We have chosen, through all these years, to move out of the caves and into progressively more comfortable dwellings, not because God planted them in front of us and turned over the keys, but because we created the path, with God, in each new step of our evolutionary process. Fire didn't come from Ebay in a FedEx box delivered to the front door. The wheel didn't arrive from Goodyear just as we decided we had to get home in time for Christmas. My point is that we have been granted the gift of creativity by our Creator, and in many ways, we have done well with it. We live longer, more healthy lives than ever before. Many of us have the luxury to take time to determine our own futures. In other ways, we have ignored our responsibility to this creative process to which God has called us. At the most basic level, there are still people who die from lack of food, medicine and shelter that could be provided by more equitable distribution of wealth. When we stay rooted in the belief that either God or evolutionary process created us, we deny our sacred responsibility to use what skill we can to continue to craft the world into a worthwhile place for all humanity.

So, I will be watching The West Wing debate this Sunday night, if only to see what a real debate may look like, one in which the participants don't spout party lines, and don't assume that the United States population can only see the world in poorly packaged dualities designed to divide and conquer. I do want to believe that we, as citizens of this country are imbued with passion and integrity for our political process, and how we choose to use that to impact the world.

Until next time, God's blessings.

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 4:43 PM