Extra Grace Required in Science-Faith Relationships

We all know people who tend to deplete our reserves of patience and good will. (Perhaps we’ve even been one of these folks.) I’ve taken to identifying such people as “EGRs”: extra grace required. This label, which I adopted from a guest speaker at my church, helps remind me to reign in my irritability and pray for an extra measure of patience when dealing with difficult people. After all, I require extra grace, too.

Interactions within the science-faith arena provide plentiful examples of EGRs.

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A Spoonful of…Vinegar?

As a child I went through my fair share of antibiotics, but on occasion my mom used home remedies to cure ailments. She made me drink tons of milk after I consumed oleander leaves. Lukewarm oil relieved my earaches. In one particular instance, my mom made me swallow a large spoonful of brown liquid. Obediently, I opened my mouth as she poured the spoon’s contents down my throat.

My whole body went rigid with shock.