Caught Unprepared

”Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15)

I love and respect Florida U. S. Senator Mark Rubio.  So I am sad to relate his recent response in an interview by GQ Magazine.  Following on his statement concerning “six thousand years of recorded history” (no problem so far), the interviewer followed up with the question what he thinks about the age of the universe.  It has been noted by conservatives that the interviewer’s question was unfair since it was not directly relevant to Rubio’s role as Senator.  Some of his supporters suggested Rubio shouldn’t have gone into “enemy” liberal territory at all.  I absolutely disagree with their caution!  Conservatives have been taking the defensive strategy for far too long.  We ought, on the contrary, to so believe in our message that we are bold to reach out, not merely to sympathizers, but to movers and shakers on the other side of whatever argument is under discussion.  And we ought to receive challenges from our “opposition,” not as trials but as opportunities to step forth with our superior ideas.  In order to do that, we must be prepared.  Mr. Rubio is especially prepared for the specific activities of a U.S. Senator.  But as an ambassador of Christ, a status every Christian shares as the highest calling of all, he needs to be prepared for the wider challenges that are actually being posed by our neighbors.

Although I have been a pastor for 30 years, I recently stepped aside for a four-year hiatus before re-entering the clergy.  During that “intermission” I drove a “Shuttle Express” van, carrying scores of passengers a day between the airport and their homes, hotels, and meetings.  It was a wonderful experience since I love driving and I enjoy meeting people and “shooting the breeze” with interested guests.  Occasionally I had opportunity to engage at a spiritual level.  The rules of the company were to avoid politics and religion when several parties were on the van.  My own policy (which had specific company approval) avoided direct initiation of spiritual matters, but I had my ways of encouraging conversations in that direction provided the others showed interest.  On one occasion there was only one passenger in the van as I drove her to the airport a half hour away.  We chatted about our shared interest in hiking in the North Cascades and also of her love of Holden Village, a Lutheran Camp which lies in the middle of it all.  When I shared that I had been a Lutheran pastor she volunteered that she (incidentally a lawyer) was an atheist.  I can only summarize the ensuing conversation, but let me share its most important aspects.  I asked her, “Would you please tell me what led you to become an atheist?”  She replied, “I don’t want to embarrass you.”  I replied in turn, “I am in fact very interested in knowing what you think.”  So she said, “I am an atheist because of the Big Bang.”  After a pregnant pause on my part I replied, “I too believe in the Big Bang.  The Big Bang demonstrates that the universe had an absolute beginning out of nothing…How can you square that reality from the Big Bang with your atheism?”  I did not expect her response.  She replied, “Well, it’s really not very important.”  The conversation continued energetically in a cordial spirit, but turned directions.  As I left her at the airport I chose (and choose) to believe I had sowed seeds of doubt about her atheism by offering far sounder grounds for belief in God.

I often reflect, with frustration, how many times we Christians fret about our “opposition” and therefore miss the opportunities they bring our way, many of them as underhanded lobs that might easily be hit out of the park.  I applaud Senator Rubio for going into the ‘lion’s den.’  But he was inexcusably ill-prepared for the challenge he encountered that day.  Not only was a huge opportunity missed, but an image of religious conservatives was sadly perpetuated that we are very poorly informed about matters of science.  My position on the validity of science and where the best mainstream science leads is being laid out in my postings.  My point here is not specifically to argue with young-earth creationists.  It is rather to say that if we wish to be respected as fellow participants in the rigorous exploration of the world in which we all live, we need to demonstrate that we both know and care about the data in question.  Senator Rubio said that knowing the age of the universe is impossible because it is a mystery that will never be answered.  That is simply not true for reasons I note in my blogs concerning what we can see as we look across the history of the universe.  This is all public knowledge that is conceded by scientists on both sides of the “God debate.”  Rubio gives hints that he knows nothing about any of these things.  I have already argued that these facts provide a superior case for God’s existence.  In the name of the God of the Bible we must use these tools.  If Senator Rubio doubts their validity he ought at least to give evidence that he knows both what the arguments are and why.