"Science": What's Faith Got to Do With it?

If someone were to say to you that a “virgin” birth is possible, you would probably say no, it isn’t. If they were to tell you that you could live forever, you’d probably say no, nothing lives forever. Yet two discoveries from the world of science turn that thinking on its head.  Scientists have just recorded the first known case of a “virgin birth” in a female crocodile that “had no contact with males for about 16 years.” The reptile was “able to produce a fully formed foetus that was 99.9% genetically identical to her (the mother),” according to The Guardian.  “Also known as facultative parthenogenesis, virgin birth has been documented in species of birds, fish, lizards and snakes, but never before in crocodiles. It is the process by which an egg develops into an embryo without fertilization by sperm.” A virgin birth.  And according to a scientist friend at church, and supported by a story in BBC Earth, there is in fact a creature that is “immortal.” When the medusa jellyfish dies, the story reports, “it sinks to the ocean floor and begins to decay. Amazingly, its cells then reaggregate, not into a new medusa, but into polyps, and from these polyps emerge new jellyfish. The jellyfish has skipped to an earlier life stage to begin again.” Born again. The story continues, “Once the process begins, the bell of the jellyfish (the ‘parachute’ part at the top) and its tentacles begin to deteriorate. It turns back into a polyp, attaches itself to a surface and begins to grow into a jellyfish all over again, and it can do it over and over.”

Ok, so what I am thinking? I’m thinking that if our Creator can orchestrate this kind of magic in nature, that defies what we think we know, what is impossible for God?  Who’s to say the virgin birth story in the Bible, the resurrection of Jesus and other miracles are impossible fictions because they defy the laws of nature as we understand them? Who’s to say that any mystery that we can’t understand or accept at the moment, isn’t just too round to fit into our square, rational minds. God moves in mysterious ways. I recently read a book that points out that Jesus was an itinerant preacher, meaning that he spread his message village to village on foot, telling and retelling the same parables over and over during his three-year ministry, adapting and refining depending on his audience. The Bible contains various versions of events and teachings, miracles, and signs and wonders, recorded by numerous observers at different locations and using distinct language, that differ in detail, yes, but always seem to resolve to a similar resonant truth. The details may differ, but the message that rang true to those who heard Jesus preach 2,000 years ago, still rings true today, to those who have the ears to hear. Keep your mind open and your ears sharp. Until next time, stay safe, be brave and keep walking in the light.

The song pairing is Signs and Wonders.