The Monkey problem in the Church
A conversation at Lunch
By Benjamin F.
Plybon
It is lunch time again for mom, dad and son. Today, at Natalie’s restaurant, was not a good coffee day. The coffee was drinkable, but not really good quality coffee with that magnificent aroma dad loves. Good coffee was important to dad. Eat almost anything if the coffee is good. It was an indicator of the day to come. After two sips dad said, “Breakfast was good, so I guess one out of two ain’t bad.”
Son felt a need to comment. “Now, as an over-age English major, I noted your use of ain’t. That is poor form for a university professor, a bad example for students. Shame on you, but content is important also. The content in this case should be corrected I believe. I’ve always heard the expression two out of three ain’t bad. So we have a problem. If two out of three is good, for full normal value of a day to come, how do we compute the value of one out of two coffee cups is good? “
“That sounds like an interesting math problem”, said dad, “I’ll see if I can figure that one out while drinking coffee. It’s at least drinkable, anyway. Now by habit a mathematician sees mathematics in everything. I do indeed see possibilities here. There is a lot of mathematics and physics in a cup of coffee. I once used that as an example in a seminar I taught on Applied Mathematics. We can use our knowledge of science to compute the rate of cooling, effects of over-cooking, best amount of grounds, it’s properties as a mixture, many things. So I thank you, son, you have asked a good question. I’m going to have to think on that, but I do see a possibility of another paper here. Didn’t you say the other day you thought I should consider putting together another publication, just to show an eighty year old can still produce? Would I publish it in the SIAM Journal or a magazine for diners?”
Laughing, son, said, “Time to change subject before we ruin mom’s appetite. Let’s just enjoy lunch and do your best with coffee, treated as nutrient, not indicator. I think mom is trying to say something. What is it mom”?
Mom is trying to find an opportunity to present a problem she has encountered. “Let me give you men something to think about while eating. Yesterday, a pastor friend of mine told me about an interesting experience he had this last weekend after the Sunday service. While the departing church goers were shaking hands as walking out of the church, saying goodbyes to friends, this pastor was accosted by a lady in his church because of a comment he made during the sermon. She claimed he had said that researchers had shown, chimpanzees and humans have 99 percent the same DNA, or something like that. He didn’t deny that. She accused him of being a believer in evolution. She was irate, demanding a recant of his words. He didn’t but he couldn’t think of a good satisfactory answer at that time. He didn’t want to argue with her and lose her as a member of the church. People leave churches everyday because of hurt feelings.
“At a weekly meeting of some area pastors he asked us for advice. How do you think a pastor should handle a person like that? I haven’t had a problem with that in my churches, and I’m glad of that. So I didn’t give any advice to him. I didn’t know there were people today who think evolution contradicts Genesis, or feel that strongly about the matter. How do you think a pastor should handle that?”
Besides being an English major in college, son has a strong interest in Biology and is knowledgeable about evolution, so he offered his thoughts. “First I think we agree, the three of us, that evolution is an important part of Biological science and most scientists, plus most other educated people, ‘believe in evolution’, as the parishioner put it. I have heard of that genetic study. It’s true that Evolution is a theory, not exactly a fact, but it is founded on facts that are well established. You know that, so we won’t argue about whether evolution is true or not.”
Dad interrupted, “before you go any further, I have an observation I would like to make. As you noted, evolution is a scientific theory, and a very good one, widely accepted by 99 percent of scientists and most college graduates. I believe Darwin was a good man. I am fond of scientific theories and believe in hundreds of them, but one problem we have is that it is incorrect to say an accepted scientific theory is true , while everything unscientific is untrue . Most theories have some truth but are eventually replaced by a better theory. Examine the history of science. In the case of this lady’s problem, she and her friends hear us saying evolution is true and the creation story in Genesis is not true . It isn’t that simple, but I don’t know how you explain that to the creation-science believers.”
Between bites mom said, “I think I understand what you are saying. I’m not a scientist, but I too am a college graduate. I have also studied a lot of Zoology and Botany over the years. I love both plants and animals, particularly cats, and I know something of Biology in general, including DNA and RNA science. Just as Don said, I too have heard of these genetics studies that detected the amazing, surprising similarities between our genetic makeup and that of apes and chimps as well as other animals. Truly amazing results.”
Dad supported her, “Yes, mom knows much about Biology, look what she taught me. She is a very, smart woman. I would never have married a dummy. When I met her, I thought she was the most beautiful girl I ever met. Then I found out she was very smart, too. To me that was mind-boggling. That did it. I had to marry this woman. It was just a matter of time, and I was patient. Aren’t you glad, son?”
“I’m certainly glad. Otherwise I would never have been born, son of a mathematical physicist and a Methodist Minister, expert computer tech and modern da Vinci, and in addition a lovable son. Right, mom?”
Mom smiled, “I’m not sure you are all of those things you described, but I’m glad we three are here today, thanks be to God. You two still haven’t answered my question, guys. How does a pastor handle the pastoral problem? Knowing about evolution as well as Genesis forces a pastor to find some way to balance these different accounts of the creation of living things. I have no doubt God created everything. That is Christianity 101, very basic. You and I, dad, know there is some truth in Genesis, so I would never say Genesis is untrue . But the Genesis account of appearance on earth of living things is not a scientific account. Genesis is definitely not a scientific theory. Hence, Genesis is no competition for evolution as a scientific theory. I could give her a lecture on Genesis, what it is and what it isn’t, but that wouldn’t change her mind. She would still refuse to believe anything different from her current ideas. I’m sure she wouldn’t budge. I could tell her the story of Darwin and the Beagle voyage, his studies as a naturalist, the Geologic record of fossils, including human bones over a million years old. That would only irritate her and exhaust me. I am glad I don’t have this problem. My friend does. But I am troubled by the fact that I really don’t know how I should reply to any pastor asking for advice with this kind of problem with a parishioner.”
“Well”, dad says, “You have to find some way to be honest about what you believe, and also be diplomatic. The question is. How do you balance one truth against an apparently contradicting truth? This may not help, but I have to remind you that we have had a problem like that in physics for almost 100 years. You know what I mean, don’t you, son?”
“Of course”, said Don, ”the wave versus particle problem. Electrons discovered in 1899 were treated as particles. Everything seemed to indicate that. There was a problem with the electrons created in the photo-voltaic effect. Young Albert Einstein found a solution. In 1905, Einstein introduced the idea of photons, as a part of his work on photo-emission of electrons from metals. He treated light as a stream of particles he called photons. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for that work. Prior to 1905, light was treated as electromagnetic waves, with the emphasis on waves. Einstein knew that as light waves strike a metal surface, the EM energy is absorbed by electrons in the metal, and the electrons are released from the metal. But experimental studies showed the amount of the energy given to electrons seemed to be dependent on the frequency of the light waves, not the intensity of the light used. Einstein assumed light energy was passed to the electrons as bundles of energy, like particles. He developed his theory and solved the mystery. He called these energy particles, photons.”
Don smiles as he writes the formula E = hv on his napkin and holds it up and announces, ”the energy of a photon is given by this little formula, where nu is the frequency of the light, a formula learned by all physics students today as well as E = mc2, right dad? I’ll bet you are surprised to find I know that formula. The energy of the photon is proportional to the frequency. I learned that on TV. So, now we have a paradox. Light, long believed to be EM waves, sometimes behaves like particles. Newton believed light is a stream of particles. His friend Christian Huygens believed light is a wave motion. By 1890, most physicists believed Huygens was correct. Isn’t TV educational, dad? Can light be both a particle and a wave? It can’t possibly be both. Then in the early 20’s a young man named De Broglie, made the radical proposal that if a wave can sometimes be like a particle maybe our particles can behave as waves. He combined the two formulas used by Einstein, E = hv and E = mc2 to calculate the frequency of any particle such as an electron. In 1924, a famous experiment showed electrons behave like waves, under certain conditions. The idea spread that all so-called fundamental particles need to be treated as both particles and waves. That idea has been accepted as true over the last 80 years. It is true an electron is a particle, and it is also true an electron is a wave. We have contradicting truths both in physics and in theology.”
Dad applauded. “Excellent lecture, son. You should have studied more physics and become a physicist.”
“I am impressed”, said mom, ”but I’m afraid you are not as smart as I thought.”
“But mom”, complained Don,” you said you were impressed. Now you tell me you don’t think your only son is not smart.”
“Sorry, Don, I didn’t mean it that way. Let me explain. When I was in college my friend once commented about her favorite professor. He was homely, but she liked him. She told me she was impressed by him, and thought he was brilliant, because she never understood a word he said in his lectures to her mathematics class. To her that was true brilliance. Now you failed today. Your little lecture was impressive, but I think I actually understood most of what you said, excepting the bit of math. See, if you were smarter you would find a way to make your lecture incomprehensible. Remember that, the next time you want to explain something to a new lady friend. Be sure she doesn’t understand a word you say.”
Don laughing, saying, “I guess I have dated some very smart women and didn’t know it. I’ve known some that speak a language incomprehensible to me. So, that is brilliance? As your Irish Catholic friends may say ‘May the Lord above preserve us from such brilliance’, lead me to one girl beautiful and dumb, and obedient, I might say. No, let me take that back. I’ve known the beautiful and dumb type also. I want a girl friend both beautiful and smart. You know, the old song, ‘I want a girl, just like the girl, that married dear old dad’, or something like that.”
Dad said, “Your wish may be fulfilled, but you must keep looking. I warn you such women are very rare.”
“So, that raises a question., said Don. “How does evolution explain these women I’ve met? By evolution, aren’t females supposed to get smarter, or some how better?”
Mom felt the need to jump in, “Please men, don’t turn this into an attack on women’s brains? I’ve seen some men who certainly seem to be close relatives to apes, but not as intelligent as a chimpanzee. The ape resemblance seems proof of evolution. I would say the football and basketball managers probably are thankful evolution didn’t overdo it for some men. Their ape-like physical strength is needed. How would they build championship teams with out these relatives of our ancient ancestors?”
“Please, mom”, said Don with lowered voice, ”we don’t want to say that too loud in here. There are sports fans in here, and I have football, loving friends in here, close by. Shush, mom.”
Mom whispers, “OK Don, sorry, but truth will come out, you know.”
Dad grunts, “Time to get back to where we were. Where was that? Speaking about truth? You pastors do have a problem. I could say, send all of these people to non Methodist churches; but not Episcopal. I’m sure all Episcopalians believe in evolution. They are smart people, and proud of it. The ones I know prefer science to the Bible. Elsewhere, the creation-science people have company out there, with pastors that will agree with them, and gladly condemn all believers in evolution as unsaved souls, unfit for the glories of heaven. I’m glad to say I’m convinced those pastors are wrong. I can explain my own way of resolving this paradox of truths, Genesis versus evolution. You would understand, but it would not be acceptable to a Bible literalist, unable to comprehend my thinking. If I had to speak to a lady berating your friend, I would try to be courteous and polite, but I would feel obligated to correct her misunderstanding of both science and the Bible. I guess pastors can’t do that?”
“I’m afraid not”, said mom, “ it’s interesting. Scientists claim to be seekers of truth and over the centuries they have found some. We see the evidence around us every day. On the other hand, Christians have been given truths about God through revelation and the earthly ministry of Jesus. We read these truths in our Bibles. There we have truth, to live by. Jesus said, ‘Ye shall know the truth…’, and we do. We are taught to love all people, including scientists, and even including evolutionists. We know that, but we don’t always practice what we know is right. It is troubling to see Christians expressing hatred of others because of a difference in interpretation of Biblical scriptures. Somewhere the gospel of salvation got lost. If we love only those who agree with us we are in trouble. What happened to, ‘love your enemies’? Of course, part of the trouble is literal reading of Genesis, even by some pastors. In the original language, Hebrew, the first chapter in Genesis is a poem. In seminary I heard it read aloud, as it was written thousands of years ago, in Hebrew, by the author, or authors, not a translation into English. It was beautiful, sounding like the voice of God as one might imagine that would sound. God does speak Hebrew you know. Poems express truth, but should not be read literally, like prose. If you do that to Shakespeare, we lose the beauty of the poetry and can distort the meaning. Isn’t that true , Don?”
“I certainly agree with that. Don’t the literalists realize that Genesis was probably written in ancient Hebrew? How do they handle that? If the people who read the Bible as prose had more education in literature arts, that might help. This sounds like some kind of failure in our public school system. The Bible can be taught as literature, not as a religious book. That actually has been done in some schools. We are forbidden to do that in our public system. A great loss. In the past, in America and in Europe, all educated people were required to know the Bible. Isaac Newton and Galileo knew the Holy Scriptures well. Newton was an expert on the scriptures. All of the founding fathers of this country knew the Bible well and were influenced by the teachings found in that book. In 1800, there was a Bible in almost every home. In the 17th and 18th centuries all great writers such as Shakespeare, Ben Johnson, Voltaire, and most others, were well acquainted with the Bible, and borrowed material from it.”
“Let me add something to that”, said dad, ”from teen age my primary focus was on science, but at a very young age I was exposed to the Bible. My ancestors were Bible readers. My father had read and studied his Bible from Genesis to Revelation many times. Thanks to my father, I became familiar with the book, as a great book, but did not believe when young. My father was a literalist. He poked fun at evolution, and did not take this tale about man descending from apes as a serious, believable story. To him it was a story believable only by fools. I didn’t care one way or another in those days. I never became a Christian, a believer of the Bible, until long after my father was dead. I disagreed with the man, but I did love him, and glad we never had a knock down drag-out argument over Genesis. My ideas were different from his. I know that. We never argued about Genesis vs science. My science was astronomy and he had no problem with that. I don’t know how I would have dealt with such a problem with him. I think I would have tried to explain that my science did not contradict Genesis as I understood it. My soul was not in danger. I hope, where he is now he can understand that, if he can hear us.”
“Well geniuses, time to go”, said mom, “I don’t think there is any simple answer to the question I raised. But, as dad suggested, all I can do is be honest, caring and loving while dealing with members of my church. I cannot disown my real beliefs in any truth, scientific or otherwise. I need to be prepared to explain why I believe as I do. Jesus told us when confronted, wondering what to say in matters of faith, never fear, the Holy Spirit will provide the words needed. I believe and trust in that. That works for me.”
As they walked out the door, dad said, “Isn’t that warm, fresh, clean air refreshing out here? It looks like this will be a great day. On days like this I feel young again. A good day to be alive. Right mom?”
Son, Don, laughed. “Do you feel a strange, wild urge to just run and jump, with the energy to climb a tree and swing from a limb, high above the grass in that park across the street, dad?”
Mom whispered in Don’s ear. “Do you see that gleam in dad’s eye? Help me get this old man in the car quickly before he does something foolish and embarrassing.”
(Copyright © 2015 Benjamin F. Plybon. All rights reserved.)
