I’m fascinated by the whole “God does [does not] exist debate” raging between militant atheists like the Dawkins cabal, and the shrill screamings of Fundamentalist-Creationists. So like a crow drawn to shiny things, I’m drawn to read essays and articles about this debate – and usually fall over laughing. Ocasionally, however, there is a refreshing breeze in the thick miasma of hystrionic shrieking and name-calling. Here’s one I found this morning from HE Baber at Guardian CIF Belief:

Does God exist? I don’t know and neither does anyone else. But Science has not, will not, and cannot disprove the existence of God. Scientific hypotheses can only defeat other scientific hypotheses. Theological claims, however, are not scientific hypotheses and do not purport to explain natural phenomena.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this debate lately – largely because of the many articles, essays, exhibits, and documentaries now swirling about celebrating the 200th anniversary of Darwin. How does this science and religion debate fit within our OC/IC context?

One thing that stands out, and proud, for me is a central pillar of our tradition: free enquiry and good scholarship. A surprise to some given our history over the the past 85 years but it is indeed the case that our OC/IC tradition emerged largely due to the defence of free enquiry and scholarship.

I would even go so far as to suggest that it is a religious duty to engage in, or support scholarship within our OC/IC community, and wherever else it might be found. Thus, since evolution is the best factual description of the mechanics of the natural world we’ve yet found – it is our religious duty to accept it, defend it, and indeed celebrate our curiosity, our desire to understand the world we live in.