When I told family, friends, and business associates that I was writing a book, and the book was about Charles Darwin, the Big Bang, and Christianity, I got a broad range of mostly "funny looks". You probably know the sort. They smile and say, "that's interesting", or "that's nice", but you know they're thinking, "is he out of his mind?" Here is the South, the response might be along the lines of, "Well, bless your heart …" For Southerners, that's "code" for, "he may be too dumb to come in out of the rain!"
But while it may seem crazy, three things inspired me to spend more than three years writing and researching this book.
The Christian Church Has Been Hurt Because of the Issue
Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species more than 150 years ago, and the Big Bang Theory was formulated almost 100 years ago, yet the Christian Church is still arguing about this. In the meantime, lots of people have given up on Christianity because they perceive that the Bible is at odds with what the science shows. It's especially a problem when young people go off to college: many grow up learning one thing about Christianity and science, then confront something very different at a university. While young people have long experienced a crisis of faith as young adults, they very often come back when they're a little older. This seems to be different, and many aren't coming back, even when they're older.
Christianity and Science
Many non-Christians perceive Christians to be anti-science, and the issue of Darwin and the Big Bang are "exhibits A and B" for this. Unfortunately, non-Christians have a tendency to think that if Christians have seemingly weird views about Darwin and the Big Bang, then they must have equally weird, and wrong, views about other matters of science, so they conclude that Christians have nothing worthwhile to say about science. When Francis Collins was recommended to take over leadership of the Human Genome Project a few years ago, despite the fact that he was a very accomplished scientist, a number of people feared that his strong Christian views would somehow taint his ability to lead the project.
This is happening at precisely the time when science and technology are playing ever greater roles in ordinary life. Moreover, new science is creating ever bigger ethical and moral dilemmas. The very latest is "gene editing". Christians need to be very involved in these debates, but to the extent that we're perceived as naïve about Darwin and the Big Bang, we'll be similarly perceived when it comes to these other science-related issues. We need to be taken seriously about all science matters that have ethical and moral components, but we won't be taken seriously until we figure out a better answer to subjects such as Darwin and the Big Bang.
Stupidity
And then there is what in my mind is the worst one of all. Many, maybe even most, non-Christians perceive that Christians believe things that seem to be at odds with modern science. While they may be polite about it, what they're really thinking is, "Christians are just plain stupid!" That's clearly the narrative of militant atheists, who'd like you to believe that for one to hold religious beliefs must be stupid because "they're so clearly wrong!" Even Christians, to some extent, buy into this narrative: I know many committed Christians who privately laugh at fellow Christians who believe Adam and Eve were contemporaries of the dinosaurs. There are even Christian theme parks that promote these views. And, doubtless, many of these non-Christians also are reminded of comedian Ron White's famous line, "you can't fix stupid!"
I don't think the average Christian is stupid or anti-science, even if they strongly believe in Creationism. Instead, the average Christian believes what he or she believes because of an abiding faith. On the other hand, my argument is that, notwithstanding the solid scientific arguments of non-Christian scientists, in the mind of the average Christian, no compelling reason has been offered to make one want to believe in Darwin and the Big Bang. Thus, my goal has been to reframe the entire issue. The starting point has been to ask a different question: what would have to happen in order for Christians to want to believe in Darwin and the Big Bang? The answer is, Darwin and the Big Bang would have to reinforce something that Christians already believe, and it certainly would have to accord with a conventional understanding of the Bible. When I started, I didn't know if I could answer this question affirmatively. Having done the research, and written the book, I can authoritatively say the answer is a resounding "yes!": not only should Christians accept Darwin and the Big Bang, I think they should love these ideas even more than committed atheists like Richard Dawkins.
