I just started Eifelheim but I have been thinking the pastor is just the sort of character I was talking about in one of my earlier posts. He's someone comfortable with both God and science, infact he might even be insulted if someone told him science was anti-religion.
You're in for a treat, IMHO.
I think the statement wouldn't make any sense to him. For him science is a means by which to know God better. At that time God was the explanation for why things worked. I read somewhere that people of the middle ages believed that dew on the grass in the morning was a miracle that happened nearly every day, a pretty little gift from God. Since it hadn't rained the night before, the dew could not have come from anyplace else. These days even the very religious use science to explain most things. God is used more for moral guidance.
I am both devoutly religious and an ardent believer in the scientific method. I don't see the least conflict between the two, in fact I think the whole "science vs. religion" paradigm is spurious. My knowledge of God fuels my belief in science and my knowledge of science increases my respect for God. To me, science and religion are happily married.
I don't think "Christian" literature or art has to explicitly mention Christ, and I would say that some which does mention Christ is not Christian at all. For instance, most vampire stuff uses Christian iconography, but this rarely has anything to do with Christianity. The cross is just a tool of the trade, along with the silver bullets and garlic. In contrast, one of my favorite musicians is Andrew Osenga (andrewosenga.com), and, while his lyrics rarely mention Christ directly, I think he is a great Christian artist. He doesn't say "I love Jesus" in every song, but his lyrics demonstrate an underlying Christian worldview and values.
I think the religious character of a work has more to do with its overall ethos, outlook or worldview than with explicit religious content. You can have a Christian story where every character is an atheist and an anti-Christian story about the 12 Apostles. The question I ask is not "what words does this use" but rather "what is this saying?"
Comment to jrderego: I dig those samples you posted. Great style, IHMO.
