Religion, faith, arts, and sciences

There have been a couple of books that I have read that have shaped the way I think about things. I have blogged about them before so I won't bore you with details about their content and their influence. One that I am just about done reading, Genesis in Space and Time by Francis Schaeffer, has done that for me as I think about the Fall and the ramifications of it all. One of the quotes that struck me was something that was said by Sir Francis Bacon where he said that:

"Man by the Fall fell at the same time from his state of innocence and from his dominion over nature. Both of these losses, however, can even in this life  be in some part repaired; the former by religion and faith, the latter by the arts and sciences."

Schaeffer goes on to say that the Christian has every right to view that the arts and sciences as substantially delivered to humanity by God Himself. The trouble I see is when we, as humans, attempt to utilize the arts and sciences to restore our innocence and right standing with God rather than approach that dilemma through religion and faith. It is completely bankrupt to restore our righteous standing before God. Christ alone is the remedy for this malady. On the other hand we ought not to shy away from the arts and sciences for the are the vehicle for us to restore and exercise our dominion over nature. What freedom this perspective brings and the implications of it cannot be overstated.

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