Science has very little to say about origins. We can theorize about the origins of life, but no one has been able to demonstrate that it’s possible to create life—either purposely or on accident. I don’t mind scientists concluding that God’s existence (or non-existence) is outside their purview. The problem arises when we are told with certainty that nature is all there is, was, and ever shall be. Do they tell us that? Oh, yeah; they tell our children that. That sentence comes straight from a children’s book about nature. American scientist Will Provine said this:

Modern science directly implies that the world is organized strictly in accordance with deterministic principles or chance. There are no purposive principles whatsoever in nature. There are no gods and no designing forces rationally detectable.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, writing in First Things, made an important point on this issue—more than one point, actually, but one that made me lay down the journal and stare into space for a few minutes. Get a grip, because this may seem counter-intuitive at first. Here’s what he said:

Prior to both science and theology is philosophy, the science of common experience. Its role in these crucial matters is indispensable.

Now, let me see if I can explain this science of common experience in terms of theology.