Join me on a journey into the unknown
Quentin de la Bédoyère introduces his new Science and Faith column
25 April 2008

The motto of this new column is Sapere Aude - Kant's great cry of "Dare to know". In our society today it has never been more important for Catholic lay folk to understand how the secular world works and thinks, and to understand how this relates to our religious beliefs. A large body of people, many of them influence-formers of importance, hold that we are soft in the head, often positively dangerous and, at the very least, meriting no more than a paternal pat as a consolation for our naïvety.

In another part of the wood, where the sun breaks through, we stand confident that every single person is called to act up to being created in the image and likeness of God, made "to know him, love him and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him forever in the next".

But we are not just souls, temporarily inhabiting rather unsatisfactory bodies. We are created as whole people, body infused by soul, we are saved as whole people, we will rise as whole people. So the things of this world, over which man was commanded to have dominion, are integral to our Christian vocation. St Paul speaks not just of man but of "the whole creation (that) has been groaning in labour pains until now." Restoring harmony and order, through charity, to the wounded material world is an element in the process of redemption which is entrusted to us.

Our understanding of the physical sciences, particularly as they bear on the dignity of man and his vocation, is part of our territory; so is the role of psychology; so are matters of life and death. We are concerned about social issues: the organisation of society, the bringing about of justice, and the nature of authority and autonomy.

And all this, and more, is permeated by questions of morality - or, more precisely, what love demands. I do not favour the word "sin" because it stops the brain in its tracks. I prefer the term "missing the mark" which is its etymology in Scripture. So we have to discover as well as we can how our decisions and our actions are aligned on our target: the love of God and man, in all its deepest senses.

First, we have to have our facts straight - both the spiritual and material facts - and our consciences in good working order. And we will need to look at the great thinkers of the past, sacred and secular (Pope Benedict has given a lead on this). On what do they agree? Not much. What can we learn from them? A great deal.

As lay people we have always been called to live out our lives in the eye of God, and to communicate the Good News in a way appropriate to time and place. But the Second Vatican Council corrected a tendency for the laity to live somewhat passively in the shadows. The priesthood of the laity requires us to be out in the marketplace, active in the community of Christ. And, within the community, we must be attentive to those who have the authority to teach, as they must be attentive to our witness. We are one believing Church. So who are my readers? There are those who are content to bear their witness simply in the commitment of their lives, and the example they show to others. They seek to understand how our developing secular knowledge touches our faith. And there are those who feel ready and willing to explain to others who question us about our beliefs.

Most favoured of all (but only from my selfish point of view) are those of you who want to argue the toss - lay or cleric. I am not speaking of barrack-room lawyers but people who believe that the Church can only grow through active exploration. In their love for the Church, they take seriously that, based on sound foundations, she is always a pilgrim growing in truth. You may well want to disagree with some of my views. Tell me so. I may want to disagree with some of yours. Perhaps you can offer different or additional angles. Maybe you are an expert in a particular field, scientific, theological or philosophical, and have facts we need to hear. I have made provision for you all. For this is an exploration through which we will all grow.

Good scientists do not speak of absolute truth because every scientific proposition is open to being revised, at least in principle, as new evidence appears. They speak of a convergence towards truth. And the theologian is similarly placed because we can only speak of the infinity of God in human language by analogy and metaphor. We are promised the aid of the Holy Spirit to get more deeply into the understanding of the mysteries. That is our convergence towards truth.

But why is it daring (to use Kant's phrase) to seek the truth? The truth can be uncomfortable when it disturbs our assumptions, knocking ourselves off our comfortable perches. And we can no longer rely in the same way on authority (vital and proper though it may be to do so in some instances) - we have to grasp our truth with our own understanding, and not be contented with it being ladled out to us like mendicants. If I am critical of some scientific views when I believe them to be wrong or inadequate, I shall be equally critical of ecclesiastical views when I feel this to be required. You will find it hard to label me as either progressive or conservative (unless you label me as both). I am just a fully paid-up member of the Catholic Church.

There are so many topics to consider, aren't there? At the moment we are all much pre-occupied with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, but my net will be spread much wider than matters concerned with sex and reproduction. There is "assisted dying"; the Big Bang and creation; evolution; our quickly growing knowledge of the brain; ecology and global warming; lies, truths and exaggerations in the marketplace and in the laboratory; the dangers of groupthink - and that is a list straight off the top of my head. What will the questions be tomorrow?

But I shall not just consider separate issues. From time to time we must review more general topics. What psychological factors interfere with us coming to reliable judgments? What does moral responsibility mean? What good methods do we have for arriving at moral decisions? And our old friend, the natural law, which spans the sacred and the secular. I expect to conduct interviews with experts, and occasionally to ask an expert to write something for us. And I shall certainly expect you to suggest topics, or share your concerns.

Provision will be made for this by a blog on my website, which our valiant online editor Milo Andreas Wagner is preparing while I write. Readers can contribute anonymously, but I would welcome those who wish to use their proper names. I am sure all readers will use Christian courtesy, however strong their opinions may be. The blog will not be a place for essays; if you need to express your ideas at considerable length then e-mail me directly - either via the newspaper or my email, which you can find on the home page of my personal website.

The Science and Faith column will appear fortnightly, starting on May 9, by which time the blog will be up and running. As far as we know, this column will be a first for a Catholic newspaper (just as its unfettered letters page was a first 70 years ago).

Its success depends on you and me, and our determination to dare to know.

quentin@blueyonder.co.uk