Creationism hinders true worship

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
(Psalm 19:1)

I once heard the true story of a woman, elderly and weak, who travelled from her tiny country village to the big city. She hadn't been to the city often, satisfied as she was with the place and way she had known all her life. In the big city she ventured into a shopping mall to buy some big city luxuries now that she was there. A while later she emerged with two bags full of nonessentials, one in each hand. As she walked toward the exit, she suddenly realised how large and heavy the doors she was slowly approaching were. They were truly intimidating. How could a little old lady like her, with two heavy bags in her hands, conquer these monoliths? In her moment of realised weakness she turned to the one for whom she knew nothing was impossible. Silently, still walking, she prayed to God for help. And behold! Just as she was about to stop right in front of the door, the Almighty One answered. Slowly the door opened before her, like the Red Sea before Moses, and she could walk through unhindered. As she did, she praised God for his loving providence and care for even the least of these.

Ok, embellished a little bit, but this is actually true. A person very close to me was actually at a service where an old lady stood up to give a testimony and told that story and praised God for helping her in her time of need.

While worship is essentially a subjective exercise, at least in part, and people may worship God for a number of reasons, some reasons for worship are dubious. While feelings of gratitude to and awe of God might be genuine, they are not necessarily based in truth. The old lady no doubt was grateful to God for helping her, but God didn't actually help her.

I think that creationism similarly hinders its adherents from worshipping God in truth (John 4:23-24).

Creationism places a certain interpretation of the Bible before any- and everything else. Whatever else is said, by people and by nature, should fall in line in a way that supports and follows that interpretation. If it does not, it is to be discarded. Anything that does not support and follow the interpretation is a lie. If you're really strict, that lie might even land you (or, others to be more precise) in Hell. So we have people denying the clear evidence for evolution, for example, and all manner of other scientific phenomena, all because they think the Bible requires them to do so.

So too in regards to astronomy. The cosmic evolution that has taken place over the last 13 or so billion years in all its glory is denied. The background radiation that points to the big bang is also denied. The immense, and beautiful, continuity of star stuff. The deep contingency of life and its environment. And so on. All in favour of that certain interpretation of the Bible.

The result is this: The heavens do not any longer declare anything for the creationist. Their clear witness, discernible through science, is not heard by the creationist, who sticks his fingers in his ears and loudly shouts (maybe chanting the Chicago Statement?) to overpower the perceived threat to his precious interpretation. As a result of denying what the heavens actually declare, scientifically, the substance of the glory of God is not understood - thus hindering true worship.

The creationist may say that the heavens declare the glory of God. He may sincerely believe that his creationist beliefs are supported by the evidence gathered from the heavens. He may even be inspired to worship by the heavens. But his worship is not based on truth because his creationism, his interpretation of the Bible, simply makes it impossible for him to hear what the heavens actually declare. Whatever he knows of the glory of God, and it may be a lot, it does not come from the heavens. The heavens are completely silent for the creationist.

Creationism thus hinders true worship.

On the photo: Cat's Eye Nebula by the Hubble Telescope.
This post is, by the way, an expansion of a comment I made to Intelligent Design vs. Alien Intervention by Gordon J. Glover over at Science and the Sacred.