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"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication and courage.
But if we don't practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us -- and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along."
Dr. Carl Sagan - The Demon-Haunted World "The fine art of baloney detection" |
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There is a lot of discussion today in the media over the so called war between religion and science. Religious leaders and lay persons attempt to replace proven scientific knowledge with unfounded beliefs derived from misinterpretations of the scriptures and even political opinions. Demonstrable scientific theories such 
as the Big Bang and Global Warming are being publicly attacked and ridiculed. Efforts to move forward in scienfitic knowledge and capabilities are stifiled by this fanatical religious thinking and our children are being taught fairy tales and even nonsense in place of proven and demonstrable scientific principles. Key to this discussion is the central topic of creation. Creationists claim science is wrong and that the bible contradicts our current understanding of the origins of the universe. Leveraging clever and creative teaching aids such as the famous "Creationist Museum", along with political pressure in some states to include their religious dogmas with scolastic works on the subject, creationists push their beliefs on the general public as if these beliefs held water, even though the most casual observer can quickly see that they do not. From the age of the earth to the age of the cosmos, no matter how much scientific evidence and supported theory is introduced creationists simply dismiss it in favor of their own preconcieved beliefs.
The Bible teaches us that God created our brains and commanded us to use them. Burying our talents is contrary to the lessons from the scriptures. Understanding our existence and the environment in which we exist means using our minds and resources. Science permits us to understand the universe we inhabit and how and when it came into existence. Religion and Faith permits us to examine the why, behind the how and when. Using Science means using the talents and capabilities that were given us to understand the universe around us. Without science man is left groping in the dark, and mysticism and superstition find fertile breeding grounds in such environments to thrive in. Science shines a light on reality and the environment in which we live and helps us understand the nature of God by examining his creations and seeing how he chose to design the universe in which we exist. Combined science and religion can bring us closer to understanding our environment and purpose here
Let There Be Light
Their fundamentalist claim is that the earth is merely 6000 years old, or roughly thereabouts. It varies depending on which one you ask. But generally the earth's age falls into that period. Of course the error is presuming the Bible says that, when in fact it does not. Nor was any such belief ever stipulated as a tenet of faith by Christ in any of the 4 Gospels. So while some may choose to believe this untenable concept, the truth is it is unecessary for a conviction of the Gospel of Christ. It is ironic therefore that some vocal Christian groups have been able to reduce the argument to "Christians and Non-Christians" beliefs, rather than the beliefs of a few uber fanatical Christians and the beliefs of everybody else", which is really what the argument is. After all the Catholic church not only effectively gave us the science of the Big Bang courtesy one of their Priests, but officially embraces it. And since the Catholic church is the largest Christian church in the world it is contradictory to claim "Christians" or "Most Christians" believe in a 6000 year old earth. They do not. The Catholic church is just one albeit the largest one that does not. And many other religious groups from Mormons to protestants accept science and still manage a belief in God. Thus science and religion is not inherintly divided as some today claim |
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The truth of course usually lies somewhere in between. And with regards to creation it is an untenable position to assert that the two are at odds over creation. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is science's core doctrine, the "Big Bang" was introduced courtesy of one Father Georges Lemaitre who's expanding universe theory gave us the Big Bang theory that dominates current scientific theory on the creation of all things. | Christ gave us a parable of the talents,(a measure of currency) which was a metaphor for our using the God given skills and abilities that he gave us, or burying them and never growing, adapting or enlarging ourselves. God gave us brains capable of understanding science and the environment around us therefore it is illogical that Christ or God would ever have intended on us burying the "talent" that is our brain. One simply needs to contemplate our massive brains which God gave us over all other creatures of the earth, and the abilty to utilize them in relation to the Parable of the Talents to see who are the sheep and who are the goats in the analogy. Those who "bury" their higher learning ability and encourage others to do likewise clearly fall into the latter category. We honor God when we use the brains he gave us to understand the world around us. And when we "bury" our ability and refuse to expand ourselves and instead seek to stifle knowledge and have effectively a "lazy mind", we dishonor him and the "talents" he gave us.
One simply needs to contemplate our massive brains which God gave us over all other creatures of the earth, and the abilty to utilize them in relation to the Parable of the Talents to see who are the sheep and who are the goats in the analogy. Those who "bury" their higher learning ability and encourage others to do likewise clearly fall into the latter category. We honor God when we use the brains he gave us to understand the world around us. And when we "bury" our ability and refuse to expand ourselves and instead seek to stifle knowledge and have effectively a "lazy mind", we dishonor him and the "talents" he gave us. The Bible tells us God created the heavens and the earth and all things that in them are. It does not tell us "how" he created those things. It also does not give us the age of the earth or the universe. But it does give us peeks into the events. We see the big bang when God looks into the darkness and says, "Let there be light". We can picture that. BANG. And there was light. Then we see periodic development of the earth over several periods of creation. Some uninformed Biblical evangelisists call these periods days, however the Hebrew word "Yom" can and does mean periods of time and not a literal 24 hour day as we address in the link below. Therefore it is important when approaching the scriptures to view them in the keen light of faith, and not with psuedo-scientific dogma given us by the mind of man. The Bible tells us the way to go to heaven, it does not tell us the way the heaven's go.
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