Can a mortal ask questions God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable.” That quote is from the famous author C.S. Lewis, and can help us get the ball rolling on the debate between science and religion. To start, I will throw out the obvious disclaimer that I am neither a theologian nor a scientist — I am simply a twenty-something follower of Christ who believes the Bible is the word of God.

People from scientific and religious communities argued with each other last week in the shadow of our very own Parks Library. Tom Short came to answer some questions and preach his beliefs to those who would listen, and boy, did it draw a crowd. I was personally there for a good majority of what went down — it was entertaining to say the least. It reminded me of a more moral-driven Jerry Springer show.

Now, I have no problem when people ask me questions about my faith, and I am sure Short does not either, but there is something to be said about the way questions are asked.

A perfect example of this is when people questioned Short, and turned right back to their friends to come up with another snazzy one-liner immediately after having asked their question. Although they did ask a question, they did not appear to care to hear what Short had to say. This is one common problem with the debate between science and religion: often when people are asking for answers, they would like to ask a cool-sounding question rather than hear an answer. I know this is not true for all people who want an explanation about God, but it is something I have found to be prevalent.

So what about those people who do want to know the answers? Those who want to know how the Bible can say the earth is only a couple thousand years old and geological records show that it’s much older, and other things about how the universe and man came to be? To them I honestly say I do not know. I do not claim to know all of the answers to how the universe began, and even if I spent my whole entire life searching like many people have, I still would not find them. What I do know is this: we are not owed an explanation or answers.

What this means is that God is a sovereign God, and that we as humans — created beings — don’t get to know all of the answers to the universe just because we want to. Two great passages to look at for this are Romans 9 and Job 38. Romans 9 explains how God is sovereign, and basically because he is God, he gets to do what he wants and does not have to answer to us. Job 38 runs along much of the same lines, but pertains more specifically to the creation aspect, as God puts Job back in his place as creation and not creator.

What both of those passages mean is that there are some things we as humans just do not get to know or understand, simply because God does not answer to us.

This brings up my next point about the universe, and it is a question, in two parts. Why does God have to make a universe so simple that we as humans can understand it? Also, would you want to live in a universe so simple you could understand it? I, for one, know the answers to these questions as they pertain to me, but chances are they are different for you. For those of you searching for God, look to the Bible where he reveals himself through the word. You won’t find all the answers to everything in your life. But I assure you, you will find more than if you put your hope in other things.

This piece is not meant to endorse Tom Short in any way. This is simply the way someone who is neither a scientist nor a theologian views the debate. I have no doubt in my mind that the more we search for answers in science, the more it points right back to God. Despite what Mama says in “The Waterboy,” science is not the devil.

It’s just another way to prove we have a great, powerful and sovereign God.

 — Justan Spaid is a sophomore in history from McCallsburg.