A Night at the Theatre and the Right to Think

(This article originally appeared on One Flew Over the Church - Thu, 02/12/2009)

My wife and I both enjoy the theatre. Last weekend we attended a local performance of "Inherit the Wind". The play is based on the real-life drama surrounding the Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee in July of 1925. A science teacher was placed on trial for the crime of teaching the information found in Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species". Dayton, a small town in the rural South, was almost consumed by the religious beliefs of the local church and while that sounds like a good thing, it is often dangerous for any system of thought (or lack thereof) to reign unopposed.

A friend of ours was there as well. I hold her opinion with respect because I know her heart and her faith. She told us that the play lit a fire in her to study the history of the actual story. She commented that the play cast the Christians in such a negative light but she really believed that it probably wasn't far from the truth. That isn't an exact quote but it was the sentiment - one that we both shared with her. We all know that there is probably some exaggeration or sensationalizing of the actions of the people of Dayton but let's face it, probably not very much. The zeal of the people blinded them to the injustice they were forcing on someone and they were incapable of seeing that they were nailing someone else to one of Christianity's worst fears - being persecuted for what they believe. The preacher praying for judgment and wrath to fall upon the malefactor and a curse upon any one who offered or wished him grace. We all do that sometimes. God bless and forgive us, we do that. And if we should really fear what may happen to us do we really need to give our detractors any ideas on ways to silence and persecute us? Maybe we should remember the Golden Rule ourselves.

The comment is made in the play that "the right to think" is actually what is on trial. Considering that what Scopes was doing was offering the tails side of the coin to people that had no shortage of knowledge of the heads side, I have to say that that assessment is accurate.The right to think for yourself is dependent on your commitment to understanding more than one point of view on the topic at hand. You don't have to burn a book to destroy it, it only has to go unread.

Which leads me to the question of this article. It is a question that I have asked in other articles but it still goes unanswered. What are we so afraid of? My wife and I are both Christians. Our friend I mentioned earlier is a Christian. Many of the cast members of this play are Christians. And the best we can tell, none of them are abandoning their faith over the considerations of the theory of evolution.

If we believe that the process of discipleship leads us into the Mind of Christ, why do we so fear using the mind that He gives us? Why does the Bible tell us that His people are destroyed from lack of knowledge? What is the use in a renewed mind that collects dust? Is our faith so weak and unreliable that it cannot coexist with a seventh grade science book?

My kids believe that God created the world and everything in it. They know that He created the entire Universe. I don't fear million year old rocks at a science museum. I am not afraid of light from distant stars that takes millions of years to get here. I have addressed this topic in a previous article ("Bang!") and I am still of the firm belief that we are trying to oversimplify the creation story.

Let me elaborate a little. There are undeniable adaptations and changes in humans and other animals as well as plants and fungi. Environmental adaptations, breeding techniques, improved nutrition, genetic mutations - they all happen. None of them destroy your faith - not if your faith is real. Through the strength of your faith, you can have the right to think - to ponder difficult questions and decide for yourself, to hear about theories and weigh them in your own way, to listen to scientific evidence without fear and arrive at your own conclusion.

Darwin's theory is exactly that - a theory. It has segments as solid as Georgia granite. It has segments as unstable and unreliable as quicksand. It is what it is and we should consider it as such.

I came away from that night with the joy of a night at the theatre with the love of my life. I also received the gift of some excellent conversation with her about the topic at hand. As a special bonus, I got the reminder of my right to think and the freedom from fear to exercise that right.