The way, the truth and the life

"Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life".  This iconic claim, reported in the Gospel of John are words which have echoed down the centuries. 

They are words which cut to the heart of the truth claims of our faith. Claims that Christ reveals the truth, most particularly the truth about God.  These are claims which are hotly disputed, not least by some scientists and this morning I would like to spend a little time exploring with you the current conversation between science and Christianity.

I want to begin with Professor Stephen Hawking who last week gave a lecture entitled, ‘Why are we here?’ In it he declared that, “The brain is a computer which will stop working when its components fail.” He went on, “There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Such issues of the afterlife, belief and truth loom large in our Gospel reading this morning. Indeed, the word ‘belief’ occurs five times and the doubts are offered by Philip who wants to see a vision of the Father and that patron saint of doubters, Thomas, who wants to know the way to the Father. Underlying both of these enquiries are questions about the afterlife.

This passage is part of Jesus’ long farewell to the disciples. In it Jesus explains that he is the full and complete revelation of God and that through him the disciples are able to share in the eternal life of God. It contains one of John’s great “I am” sayings which are designed to get us to sit up and take note as Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

This is also a passage that may be familiar to us from funerals. In it we hear that, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.”  I presume that it is just this kind of passage that Professor Hawking would dismiss as a fairy tale.  But just because it is comforting, does not mean that it is untrue.

Dawkins and the current debate

Professor Hawking is one of a number of scientists publishing popular books denying the truths of Christianity. However the best known of these is Richard Dawkins who is professor for the public understanding of science at Oxford University. Despite this seemingly objective role, he says that he wishes to convert the religious to atheism.

In his book ‘the God Delusion’, Dawkins pulls no punches. He describes God as a “psychotic delinquent invented by mad, deluded people”. Instead he argues for an evolutionary understanding of faith. Once we believed in many Gods, now the main world faiths promote just one God and so his logical next step is to dispense with this last God as an infantile, irrational and improbable idea.  For him religion is a global evil, inspiring fanatics to fly planes into tall buildings. Instead he encourages his readers to embrace a godless future in which he says there is “no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference.”

Dawkins extreme views have come in for much criticism, not only from theologians. Fellow scientists have accused him of ranting and a lack of scientific discipline. Meanwhile atheist philosophers have criticised him for a failure to study Christianity or to engage seriously with its ideas. Leading to what they describe as, “silly, grotesque and immoral claims”.

In counterpoint to Dawkins stands another evolutionary biologist Dr. Francis Collins. He led the Human Genome Project and recently wrote a book entitled, ‘the Language of God’, which reflected on this work. In it he speaks of a richly satisfying harmony between religious and spiritual world views and suggests that the wonder and order of nature point towards a creator God.  My last scientist this morning is Nobel prize winner Sir Peter Medawar who suggested that the natural sciences, far from providing the answer to everything, have their limits. Whilst they excel at exploring the organisational structure of the material universe, he suggests that they are a poor guide for transcendent questions such as, ‘how did everything begin?’ and ‘what are we here for?’

"What is truth?"

I cannot hope to do more than touch on the surface of these arguments this morning and I am no scientist. But several things seem clear.  Firstly science does not disprove God, though suggesting it has- does sell books.  Secondly, there are fundamentalists on both sides of this debate who prefer to shout rather than listen to one another.  Thirdly, there is a quiet common ground between the natural sciences and theology where people of good will are seeking after truth and we would do well to welcome and embrace this shared endeavour.

By way of a conclusion, I want to end where I began, with Jesus’ proclamation that he is ‘the way, the truth and the life’. A response to the disciples intellectual questions through which Jesus invited them to go on a journey with him.  It is clear, here and elsewhere in the Gospels, that Jesus claims to reveal universal truths. Truths about humanity, our beginning, our end and most importantly about God. But it is equally clear that these are truths which science can do little to test.  Rather Jesus seems to be saying that the best way to test the Gospel is by making it a way of life. And as we walk in this way and live this life- so we will discover the truth of what he said.  This, I think, is what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  

Unfortunately, like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking- I cannot prove it.  Amen.