Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
Psalm 119:33–34
Greetings in Christ,
There was a time when theology, the study God, was called the “Queen of the Sciences”. It was regarded as the highest study of God’s creation. It was not seen in conflict with the other sciences, but as the source all the knowledge gleaned from these disciplines. It is true that in some instances the Church was opposed to what we now know to be important scientific discoveries, but these were not as common as one would think.
It was the Church, especially the monasteries of the Middle Ages, that kept and protected many of the ancient documents of human study and learning. While giving priority to the study of God and His purposes, the Church in large part kept and promoted learning. Yes, some fringe groups of Christians see science and the knowledge it gives as a threat to faith, but the experience of the Church has shown that each new discovery or advance in our knowledge only serves to further glorify the Creator of all things.
As both the public school year and the Christian school year begin, let us give thanks and rejoice in our God who gives us the wonder of human minds that inquire after the mysteries of His Creation. What is taught and what is learned in one way or another, draws us closer to the One who has made this amazing universe.