The conflict between science and religion with which we are most familiar has to do with scientific results like evolution and a literal interpretation of Genesis One. The resolution to that conflict is now quite simple—a better form of biblical interpretation—namely, a recognition that biblical truth is not about the ancient science of the biblical writers. The Bible is about something far more profound. The contents of the Biblical symbols are capable of evoking deep truth about our own human existence.
For example, we can view the first chapter of Genesis as about the goodness of nature and about the goodness of the essence of our human nature, rather than about how many days it took for the cosmos to arrive at its present state. Similarly, the virgin birth of Jesus as not about his literal biological origins, but about the quality of his relation with the Final Originator of all things, a type of “birth” that is possible for you and me as well as Jesus. As John’s gospel so clearly points out, those who can receive the truth that Jesus presents are also virgin born.
In this essay I am going to deal with a more difficult issue: what do we say to people who misunderstand the nature of science as support for their conviction that the cause-and-effect thoughtfulness so prominent in our sciences supports the notion that there is no freedom for which we could be set free by any means—by Christ, by psychology, or by the meditation practices of the Buddha?