So… how might I overcome that “irrational fear” of being both a Christian and a Biologist? To put it differently, how might I reconcile my faith with science, so that I am comfortable calling myself both a scientist and a Christian?

The first step (and often the hardest step) is to recognize that, while the conflict itself is irrational, it is still a very real conflict. It’s an irrational conflict because there really isn’t a legitimate, rational, logical reason as to why science and faith can’t go hand-in-hand.

To me (and many others), science can answer our “how” questions about the natural world, while faith can answer all of the “why” questions about the natural (and supernatural) world. Clearly, those things don’t oppose each other, but instead complement each other very well. The “conflicts” between science and faith don’t show up until ideology is introduced. 

It’s perfectly reasonable and reconcilable to believe that God created the universe, and that we can study the universe to figure out how God made it. But, the second that an idea such as “Biblical Literalism” is introduced, suddenly, there are some serious conflicts between science and faith. 

Some people respond to that by becoming atheists/agnostics. Others dig their heels into Biblical Literalism and deny modern science’s views on evolution and the age of the earth. 

Then, there are people like me; those who initially lose their faith in God entirely and become atheists, only to later come back to God having reconstructed and reconciled their faith. 

For the record, the process of deconstructing then reconstructing my faith was anything but easy or fun. I can understand why so many people would rather just remain an atheist or a fundamentalist Christian, instead of dive, head first, into college-level Theology, Hermeneutics, and Science. 

But, for reasons I can’t really put into words, I felt that I had no other choice but to dig deep into that stuff. So… I did. 

To be continued...