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As recent court battles attest, the long-standing conflict over evolution in public schools continues. However, it always seems to go the same way: Creationists—or, more recently, supporters of Intelligent Design (ID)—score a political victory with some school board, evolutionists dig in and refuse to compromise with "fundamentalists," and the media make a mockery of it all—particularly the Christians. The recent stickers on Pennsylvania biology textbooks that insist "Evolution is a theory, not a fact" look likely to do nothing but increase the rancor between the two sides; even some ID advocates voice skepticism about the strategic merit for fighting the battle. Meanwhile, the court orders fly in to undo it all anyway.

This conflict becomes all the more complicated as many Christians (particularly Christian scientists) affirm the theory of evolution. For those who see no conflict between evolution and their faith, the continuing fight to restrict or discredit evolution is a continuing embarrassment, an unnecessary stumbling block to sharing their faith.

Others, while they might privately dislike the seeming disconnect between science and religion, are more than willing to let the entire matter drop, and become annoyed by the hostility and divisiveness shown by all sides of the debate. Why should so much energy be spend over what is, at best, a tangential issue tacked on to the grand truths of Christianity? And why should Christians, even among themselves, show so little of virtues like understanding and charity?

Of course, if supporters of ID are right, then like any other newly proven scientific theory, their views should receive due credence, and the outdated theory of natural selection should be put to pasture. Science textbooks would then change, as they always do, with the consensus of the scientific community. ID supporters claim, however, that the animosity Darwinists hold toward any insertion of the supernatural is so ingrained that their opponents simply refuse to see the truth of ID and will never accept it. How do we bridge the divide?

It doesn't help that Christians are already perceived of having a long history on the wrong side of science. Fundamentalists suffered a rout at the Scopes trial in 1925, and the current generation of evolutionists seem happy to recall Clarence Darrow's statement to Williams Jennings Bryan: "We have the purpose of preventing bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the education of the United States." Bryan claimed that Darrow's actual intent was to mock the very idea of Christianity and biblical truth. He was at least partially right: Attempting to mix faith and science is, in the current atmosphere, a sure invitation to scorn. The intellectual stigma attached to opposing evolution runs deep.

But focusing exclusively on the Scopes trial helps to cement the perception that Christians have always been reactionary toward new scientific developments, a claim inconvenienced by the fact that Christians invented science. The idea that rational laws govern the universe only arose from a culture that believed in a rational Creator God. Without the belief that something intelligent lay behind the laws of the universe, there was no reason to assume there were laws in the first place. Many of the early pioneers of science, like Newton, Kepler, and Boyle, were not just religious but extremely so, taking from their faith the solace and motivation they needed to press on. And many other scientists of their periods pressed on with their research with the understanding that they weren't just learning about the natural world, but about the majesty of God and his creation.

Likewise, the story of Galileo, upon close examination, reads more like a petty university squabble rather than a stirring martyrdom of a secular saint by a rigid and dogmatic church. Far from being an outcast and a pariah, Galileo was a widely respected scientist honored repeatedly by the Catholic Church. Only when Galileo began to critique Aristotle (whose philosophy formed the basis of physics and Catholic metaphysics) did the Church respond critically, and even then it took nearly a decade for the political situation (note, not the theological situation) to fully turn against him.

So science and Christianity are not naturally opposed. Indeed, even in the supposed squalor and backwardness of the Medieval period, Christian monk-scholars were eagerly copying, studying, and debating any new manuscripts they could get their hands on, treating rediscovered Greek texts with respect while carefully holding up their views to the standard of Christian truth. Rigorous debate, openness to new evidence and, most importantly, the belief in a universe that could be rationally understood and explained, were all evident in early Christian science. If Christians had not shown such traits, it's unlikely that we would have science today.

But it would be a mistake to think that the specific contributions of Christians to science ended shortly after they invented it. Christians can still offer much to the scientific disciplines, not just by joining the next generation of scientists, but also by offering a unique perspective that modern science not merely lacks, but desperately needs.

Science came about because of a belief that the universe is rational, governed by mathematics and laws created and instituted by God. Modern science, however, has largely abandoned this view, instead first accepting the deist ideas to which the Royal Society fell prey and then developing those into a full-blown naturalistic worldview. Thus, the natural connection between Christianity and science has been crippled, creating the climate of hostility between the two communities.

What Christians can do—and, more often than not, need to do—is correct the rather dismal state of philosophy of science, specifically its current dependence on naturalism. As Thomas Woodward points out in Doubts About Darwin, ID's greatest success has been its critique of naturalism, and this victory, certainly, is worth celebrating.

Christians have nothing to be ashamed about in their relationship to science, and still have much to contribute. Dr. Charles Townes, renowned for helping invent the laser and a recent recipient of the Templeton Prize for achievement in researching spiritual matters, offers something of a model for this integration. Those who are really concerned about the education their children are receiving shouldn't limit themselves to challenging a specific science curriculum. They should impress on their kids that scientific study is a birthright Christians should continually claim.