An inevitable conflict

As I work on tumblon, I'm intensely aware of the public/private and fact/value division that Lesslie Newbigin describes as the central feature of the modern scientific world view. He captures that tension well in this passage:

Of course, if religion is construed in essentially mystical terms -that is terms for which the idea of purpose is not central - then there is no clash. The modern scientific world view coexists peacefully and naturally with that kind of religion. But if we are talking as the Bible talks about God, who is Creator and Governor of all things, who acts in specific ways, and whose purpose is the criterion for everything human, whether in the public or the private sectors, then there is an inevitable conflict. Is it or is it not the case that every human being exists for the joy of eternal fellowship with God and must face the possibility of missing that mark, forfeiting that prize? If it is the case, it ought to be part of the core curriculum in every school. It will not do to say that the determination of character by the structure of the DNA molecule is a fact that any child must learn to understand, but that the determination of all proper human purposes for the glory of God is an opinion that anyone is free to accept or reject. The question of which world is real simply cannot be permanently evaded. There can be no genuinely missionary encounter of the gospel with our culture unless we face these questions. (Foolishness to the Greeks p67)

That question, Which world is real? is the question that parents must answer for their children. To answer that the material world must be understood by school children, but not the God who made it is simply to say that God is not the really real. That is precisely the message that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of school children have internalized from their parents answers and actions.

I am coming to realize that the conflict is inevitable. It can be hidden or dismissed; but it is inevitable. From this conflict flow two questions:

1. How do we demonstrate integrity to children in teaching them the truth about God and the world?
2. How do we demonstrate integrity in conflict with the dominant world-view in a way that is confessional and not isolationist, and in ways that are humble and not arrogant?

Those questions need working out every day.