Tattoos and Dinosaurs

On Sunday night, I decided to visit a new pub for the Packers game. As I escaped the winter chill and surveyed the scene around me, I realized there were just three of us.

The bartender has two degrees in political science and will be starting doctoral work next year. We quickly set upon some of the old debates and key figures (i.e. the various schools of economics). He also asked me why I became a Christian. He grew up Jewish and was genuinely curious. I told him a bit about my background, but also explained that only the Bible has given me a satisfactory explanation of why both this world and human nature are so irretrievably broken.

Our conversation soon gave way to the random thoughts of the other guy. He, like most people here, had grown up religious, but now had come to believe in science (a claim repeated by another friend later in the night).

A couple of quick observations (more heady, so feel free to skip through #4):

1) Darwinism and evolutionary theory both offer some helpful insights into scientific inquiry (for example, studying adaptations over time). They are both part of the physical sciences, however, and are best served when relegated to the task of studying the physical realm--not making claims beyond it.

2) In making claims about human origins, (philosophical) Darwinism not only goes beyond the proper bounds of the physical scientific inquiry, but outside the bounds of what can truly be studied by the senses. Cosmology (the study of origins) stands above the physical realm. We are reaching further than they physical sciences can take us--hence, the traditional emphasis on philosophy and theology to understand origins.

3) In the quest to physically explain the world's origins, Darwinism naturally eliminates the inclusion of metaphysical (above-physical) data in its quest. So in order to answer what has typically been understood as a metaphysical question through physical means, they eliminate a whole category of data from the outset, corrupting their quest.

4) Why does Darwinism eliminate metaphysical data from the outset? Because metaphysical data cannot be studied and verified by the human senses. Why is it that the human senses are considered the standard for truth (commonly called "empiricism")? Because its adherents say so.

In other words, Darwinism rules out creationism and sets up an entire cosmology based on a single article of faith: Seeing is believing.

Sorry for the digression, but this is important. Science is only able to be wielded against faith because it is being misused. And its misuse is rooted in a competing religious system--human autonomy (also called "paganism"). That is why science is erroneously propped up against faith.

Back to the story--I spent a good part of the night talking with a tattoo-clad she-beast (seriously, this girl did four years of mixed martial arts and was tough as nails). She told me about all the times that "religious types" have criticized and belittled her for her tattoos. Even if her claims were exaggerated, this sort of knee-jerk judgmentalism is appalling. Even if one believes the Bible prohibits tattoos (I do not believe so), we have no right to bind consciences on the matter unless the Bible clearly weighs upon the issue--and then, only for the believer. There is a reason Paul didn't circumcise Titus--it was not part and parcel of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ. He left a tattoo of flesh upon that young man that might as well have spelled out "L-I-B-E-R-T-Y."

And as they did with my writing here, the tattoos were merely a distraction from the deeper issues of this gal. She grew up with an abusive father. When she was eight, she was in a car accident, broke her femur, and watched as her mom died in the car beside her. Wow! She tried to explain it away as being in the past, but I stopped her, took a moment to compose myself and not let such a horrible fact pass with little mention. We talked more about her broken past. See what we miss if we focus on the marks on her flesh and not the wounds on her heart?

Tattoos and dinosaurs, people. Neither of these are obstructions to the Gospel. Christ, through whom all things were created--including dinosaurs--carries with Him physical marks of His crucifixion. Our wounds cannot compare to His, for by His wounds, we are healed. Thanks be to God.