When I was being led by the Holy Spirit out of the theological nightmare that was and is the ELCA, my wife and I had some intense discussions on why I did not swim the Mississippi instead of the Tiber. One key reason was my training in the natural sciences. I could not in good conscience buy into a young earth 6/24 creation. My parents lived near a fossilized stromatolite bed. It was .5 billion years old. I used to love standing barefoot upon it, contemplating the fact that it was ancient when dinosaurs first appeared. GOD IS AWESOME! When I drive the road into town to our house in Mauch Chunk, I drive through the cut in the mountains and see the stratigraphy. And I feel the Ancient of Days.
When Einstein was disturbed by the implications of Quantum Physics, he stated publicly that, "God does not play dice with the universe." Niels Bohr told Einstein, "And who are you to tell God what he can and cannot do?"
My Missouri brothers & sister- listen Niels. This is my theologomenon, but this demand for a rigid adherence to the young earth 6/24 creation has always struck me as nothing more than works righteousness.
Written on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Matthew M. Hummel B.A. Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia 1982