Dual Citizenship

I have read articles in a few publications lately, Time Magazine, CNN.com, a Ben Stein film, and the Washington Post, that have had extensive coverage of the ongoing debate between the scientific and Christian communities. I say debate, but it's really more like a marital spat with both sides yelling and neither side attempting to make logical points. I also single out Christians as a religious group, but only because I am not sure if Hindus and Muslims and such are engaged in the same brouhaha.
I happen to be a card carrying member of both communities. I was raised Baptist and continue to attend a gospel preaching church. I also was a Salutatorian (confound you for that A-minus, Mrs. Della Pia), attended Space Camp, and worked my way through a Masters of Science degree in mechanical engineering). And to me, there is no need for the animosity.
First of all, both camps ignore their own foundational principles when confronting the issue of a God-driven or physics-driven universe (trust me, bio/zoo/ecological students, it all falls back on physics). Scientists are supposed to be open to all ideas, no matter how seemingly unrealistic, and only cast those ideas from consideration after extensive experimentation allows proof that the hypothesis is inaccurate. We haven't disproven the existence of God, and shan't soon, so please have a seat, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. In the meantime, Christians are supposed to focus on the essence of Faith as laid out in the Bible, ignore any dogmatic window dressing created by man, and show childish love for everybody. ESPECIALLY those you don't like, and that means you, Church Lady. Neither camp abides by those tenets. Many Scientists roll their eyes at the mention of God, let alone Jesus, and many Christians turn red in the face at any attempt to lift the veil from the workings of the universe around us.
So, if we agree to relax a bit and have a civil discussion, more people would join the debate, good points could be made, and we'd all walk away... (wait for it)... a little smarter!
Why is Science evil? Yes, Scientists want to determine what happened the femtosecond before time began, or whether the universe will tend to collapse on itself in billions of years. Does that mean they are trying to overthrow God? They also want to know what happens to things when they are cooled to absolute zero, or when you wire a computer straight to a person's brain, or if by some chance there are little tiny bacteria living in the presumed water under the ice they think is on some God-forsaken (ooh, ironic phrase!) moon of another planet. I fail to see some Manchurian Candidate-style plot to corrupt all Christian Faith here. Anyway, by it's logical essence, Science cannot be evil, so now what?
On the other side of the coin, Christians are not ignorant because they look to something that cannot be proven. They live with the recognition that there is perfection in the form of a Sovereign and Omnipotent God, and every step of life is to know his Will for our lives. The whole concept is balanced by first admitting our own imperfection, then acknowledging Jesus's role in bringing us full circle. That ethos is hardly a threat to science, eh? Of course, some of the governing principles of scripture (the Christianity of I speak is a muscular variety, scouring out relativism) do address ethical concepts that bring Christians into confrontation with Scientists. However, it's good that they do so, because, by it's logical essence, Science cannot consider that some things can even be immoral, much less that research should perhaps be discontinued on grounds other than lack of funding.
I Tell You What, what it all comes down to is a lack of perspective on the part of both groups. It is evident that there are laws (physical laws, hence physics) by which our universe, our reality operates. It is the role of Scientists to define those laws. For instance, water boils at a given temperate when at a consistent pressure, every time. That should be no threat to Christians, who with their own eyes observe the same thing, and with their hearts believe that if God wants that water to boil, He will make it so, and for reasons we can't truly comprehend. It is the role of Christians to define the ends to which those laws work, even though as I just said we cannot predict which means will be used to work toward those ends.
See, this little blog is hardly even an adequate forum to BEGIN the discussion. After all, I only had a half an hour to write it! There are scriptural references, texts by the great scientific minds of the twentieth century (all physicists, interestingly), and even personal experiences of my own that could be brought in to consideration. It's just a brief thought or two on the matter. How do you feel?