Eastern Church News
“The heavens declare the glory <strong>of</strong> God;the skies proclaim the work <strong>of</strong> his hands”(Psalm 19:1).Many <strong>of</strong> us who have beenraised in faithful familieshave been taught how to prayand have learned the fundamentals <strong>of</strong>our faith <strong>at</strong> home or in the church. Atthe same time, for those <strong>of</strong> us who didnot have the opportunity to get theappropri<strong>at</strong>e teaching and growth infaith, in numerous cases, the churchhas nourished our spiritual needs.Little by little we got acquainted withthe Holy Bible. For example, how theworld was cre<strong>at</strong>ed by God and how theSon <strong>of</strong> God was born from a virgin.Moreover, we learned th<strong>at</strong> in His earthlylife Jesus performed many miraculoussigns. Above all, we came tobelieve and we experienced His miraculouswords th<strong>at</strong> have touched our heartsand have given peace, joy, and hope togener<strong>at</strong>ion after gener<strong>at</strong>ion.In high school, or maybe in college,we were taught scientific studies andtheories, in diverse classes like biology,chemistry, astronomy, etc. Hence, wegradually became familiar with manycharacteristics <strong>of</strong> the physical world.We all know th<strong>at</strong> there has been a lot<strong>of</strong> controversy about God’s cre<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong>the world and the scientific explan<strong>at</strong>ion<strong>of</strong> the existing world. It is apparent th<strong>at</strong>the theories and descriptions based on thescientific studies do not correspond withthe writings in the Holy Bible.For example, in the biblical cre<strong>at</strong>ionnarr<strong>at</strong>ive we read th<strong>at</strong> the world was cre<strong>at</strong>edin seven days. On the other hand,according to modern science all the m<strong>at</strong>terand energy in the universe was compressedinto an extremely small volume,and about 14 billion years ago,exploded and began expanding in alldirections (the “Big Bang” theory).Also, for instance, almost five billionyears ago the Sun and planets<strong>of</strong> the solar system started to formfrom dust and gas.We hear frequently th<strong>at</strong> in scienceclasses some students asktheir teachers, “Do you believein God?” and if the answer is“Yes, I do,” they go on to ask,“Then how come you teach science?”Even some individuals with college educ<strong>at</strong>ionsask these same questions.Now let us go back to the OldTestament and read the very first chapter,where it says: “God blessed them andsaid to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase innumber; fill the earth and subdue it. Ruleover the fish <strong>of</strong> the sea and the birds <strong>of</strong> theair and over every cre<strong>at</strong>ure th<strong>at</strong> moves onthe ground’” (Genesis 1:28). So, Godactually gave authority to humankind torule and discover the world.The records <strong>of</strong> human history showth<strong>at</strong> from early civiliz<strong>at</strong>ions up to thepresent time the human understanding<strong>of</strong> science has been on a p<strong>at</strong>h <strong>of</strong> growth.From another perspective, we need tounderstand th<strong>at</strong> the Bible, including thecre<strong>at</strong>ion account, was written accordingto the understanding <strong>of</strong> the era.It is important to remember th<strong>at</strong> theBible is not a book th<strong>at</strong> teaches scienceor records scientific events. R<strong>at</strong>her, thewriters <strong>of</strong> the Bible, inspired by theHoly Spirit, interpret the historicalevents, as well as individual lives, inconnection with their faith and God’splan <strong>of</strong> redemption.For instance, according to somescholars, the narr<strong>at</strong>ive <strong>of</strong> the sevendays <strong>of</strong> cre<strong>at</strong>ion was written when theIsraelites were in exile, captured by theBabylonians, and was intended toremind them th<strong>at</strong> God Almighty is theLord <strong>of</strong> cre<strong>at</strong>ion and the whole universeis under His control and dominion.The message, therefore, is this: donot give up your faith in Him andobserve the Sabb<strong>at</strong>h (the seventh day)in prayer and hope, because God willredeem you from captivity.Interestingly enough, when weexamine the scientists who have playeda significant role in discoveringFaith and Scienceby Fr. Tomy Tomikehunknown scientific phenomena, we seesome priests who have made criticalcontributions to the development <strong>of</strong> science.While practicing their ministry inthe Church, they pursued their interestin science, and succeeded in revealingnew domains <strong>of</strong> modern science.Out <strong>of</strong> many priests who were alsoscientists, let us briefly review the livesand works <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> them.F<strong>at</strong>her Angelo Secchi was born June29, 1818, and ordained a priest in1847. He made contributions to manyareas <strong>of</strong> astronomy, and was one <strong>of</strong> thefirst astronomers who said the Sun is astar. His main area <strong>of</strong> study was astronomicalspectroscopy, which is thestudy <strong>of</strong> light and colors given <strong>of</strong>f bydistant stars and galaxies.F<strong>at</strong>her Gregor Mendel was born inJuly 17, 1822, in wh<strong>at</strong> is now called theCzech Republic. He is called the“f<strong>at</strong>her <strong>of</strong> modern genetics.” The Law<strong>of</strong> Segreg<strong>at</strong>ion and the Law <strong>of</strong>Independent Assortment are known asMendel’s Law <strong>of</strong> Inheritance.Monsignor George Lemaitre wasborn in July 17, 1894, in Belgium. Hewas ordained a priest in 1923.Monsignor Lemaitre was the first scientistto propose the theory <strong>of</strong> the expansion<strong>of</strong> the universe, which has beenmis<strong>at</strong>tributed to Edwin Hubble. Twoyears before Hubble published an articleon this topic, Lemaitre made the firstestim<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> wh<strong>at</strong> is called “the HubbleConstant.” He also proposed wh<strong>at</strong> isknown as the “Big Bang” theory.In many psalms the psalmist praisesthe Lord by referring to the n<strong>at</strong>uralworld. And in mystical poetry writtenby many Christians, as well as non-Christians who were influenced byChristianity, we find verses th<strong>at</strong> rel<strong>at</strong>ethe beauty and splendor <strong>of</strong> n<strong>at</strong>ure asreflections <strong>of</strong> God’s glory and as signsth<strong>at</strong> the n<strong>at</strong>ural world praises its cre<strong>at</strong>or.At every sunrise, let us start our dayby glorifying our God and Lordthrough prayer, and open our hearts tothe rays <strong>of</strong> the Holy Spirit, in order toillumin<strong>at</strong>e our souls with peace and joy,and to enable us to reflect th<strong>at</strong> light tothe hearts <strong>of</strong> others. †Fr Tomy Tomikeh is a Assyrian-Chaldean priestoriginally from Iran. He teaches m<strong>at</strong>h and science<strong>at</strong> Richmond High School in Orange, California.ReflectionSummer 2012 • SOPHIA 25