The answer to this question depends very much upon where you are when you ask it. In some situations, you might answer that the gospel is being heard. All well and good. In others, the answer might be that no-one is telling the story. In some, however, the answer is quite clearly that the gospel is misunderstood.
Take the example of Robin McKie. I don't know for certain whether he is a Christian, but I would not be surprised if he has rejected the possibility of ever becoming one. In a way, I can hardly blame him. He is the science correspondent for The Observer, and his recent article (14th September 2008) on creationism in schools demonstrates how easy it must be to reject the gospel because of a basic mistake about what the gospel is about.
The mistake is probably not even his. The thrust of his article is that the Royal Society should oppose religion in the school science lab, and his reasons are based on the bizarre way in which some religions people (Christians and others) allow their interpretation of scripture to interfere with their understanding of scientific theories. Quite rightly, he sees great danger in allowing creationism' to take a place alongside scientific theories of the origins of life and the universe, as if it were a substitute for scientific theory or Biblical scholarship a substitute for scientific research.
Where many Christians might see fascinating connections between faith and science, McKie can only see a radical contradiction. In particular, he is baffled by the appointment of an Anglican clergyman as the Royal Society's education director. Why? Because the Royal Society stands for research, experiment, and independent thought, whereas an ordained clergyman is committed to believing the word of God without question'.
Really? In the whole of my Christian life, including my ordained life, I have never believed anything without question. Sooner or later, there are always questions. The first of them might well be about how to identify the word of God. I almost despair of my fellow Christians who imagine that the word of God is to be heard in a literal interpretation of the creation narratives in the Bible, because I am convinced that the word of God is found primarily in Jesus Christ. How odd that church-loads of people who believe that there is no other name by which we can be saved' are willing to let their whole way of life stand or fall on a disputable matter of the interpretation of Genesis.
Do we want the gospel to be heard in our land? I take it that the answer is yes'. In that case, it is time we agreed on some basic facts about it. I'm not nave enough to imagine that all Christians will sign up to my summary of their faith, so I'm not bothering to give it. On the other hand, I do hope that most Christians see the gospel as the key to answering one vital question.
How should we live our lives? No scientific theory can hope to answer that question, and no amount of religion posing as science' will help Christianity to answer it. Render unto science that which belongs to science, and let our lives proclaim the glory of God.