disciplines ask, and learn the different ways we try to approach and come to answer those questions. Then students can make interdisciplinary connections that provide for a satisfying understanding of themselves and this world in which we live and in which we are called to serve. As a Christian, I take Jesus and his teachings seriously, and as a scientist, I study the natural world, holding to necessary scientific methodologies and assumptions. Those of you who know me know that I get a little excited about insects. Personally, the reason I study, teach about, and care for the incredible diversity of insects we have here right in northeastern Iowa is because of my faith. I believe I am called to care for all of God’s creatures. My research focuses on how we take care of the insects that live in our natural areas, and the impact our land stewardship actions have on those insects. These insects pollinate our crops, control pests, help cycle nutrients through the environment, provide food for the birds and fish that live here, and allow us to live a more sustainable life in this piece of the garden. To again read from Darwin at the conclusion of his On the Origin of Species: “There is a grandeur in this view of life . . . having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.” It is these endless forms that we have been called to steward and care for. So if evolutionary creationism is true, that is, evolution is God’s method of creating, then we can believe both the science of evolution AND the theology of creation. There is no need for the false dichotomy and conflict that seems to have developed on this issue. Christians who are evolutionary creationists propose this view based on their careful examination of God’s Word (in the Bible) and their study of God’s Works (in nature). We can be encouraged and humbly trust that what we see and discover observ44
Agora/Fall 2020
ing the natural world through the eyes of science is true, and contains both spiritual and physical truths that we can accept as gifts from our Creator.
