Crystal Clear

Caution: Science fiction post below.

I’m waiting for some thoughts to coalesce. They are doing so as I’m reflecting on the book I read on Origins, watching the Matrix trilogy movies, and some recent SF novels and short stories I’ve read.

I wonder about Christianity and theology and whether we will be able to allow them to change if some of the things postulated in SF ever actually happen. I hope and pray there are theologians and Christians out there already thinking about these things.

Things like multiple sentient species and what that means regarding our concept of the image of God and sin affecting the cosmos. Things like the expansion of humans throughout the solar system. Things like nanotechnology, lack of disease and artificial intelligence.

I get a sense that most Christians in the Western world believe that Jesus will return pretty soon, maybe in about one to three hundred years. I definitely do not get the sense they anticipate another millenia nor multiple millenia.

Partially I’m wrestling with how do we integrate theologies, doctrines and beliefs with what we learn about the world. If they do not match, are we willing to adjust our beliefs should what we learn be indisputable? I’m worried that much of the Christian response to evolution shows that our theology is a little less flexible than maybe what it needs.

I need a theology that can’t be shaken or cracked because of some discovery or advancement. What I hear is that a discovery or advancement will not be possible since by our theology it will never happen. But what happens then if it does? I don’t have complete faith in the theology we’ve worked out since I know that I and all theologians are fallible.

I need something to hold on to, but something with flexibility and that hasn’t maybe worked out everything, because we just don’t know everything, do we?

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