God And Space, And The Human Race
Update: Incorporated sources within post.
(Update Two: Published On Blog Critics)
Space. The Final Frontier. The endless void filled with worlds, wonders and the great unknown that can not be completely measured except in our own imagination. It is in this final arena that humanity will mature, leaving its Earthen cradle behind and exploring the Solar playground that surrounds them.
Conquering their new environment will not be an easy task for humanity, much less exploring its breadth. But before the human race leaves the homeworld to settle on other worlds, they will have to deal with one element that has always guided and divided our species–the concept of a Universal God.
Faith has always guided humanity throughout the centuries, whether one holds to the concept of God’s existence, or one rejects that in favor of nothing at all. Religion affects billions of people on planet Earth, and to the dismay of some atheists, science has not reduced the plausibility of God’s existence but has rather increased it.
Debate on our origins is already raging in American classrooms across the nation, with teachers preparing themselves to counter student arguments in class. Even in Vietnam, many citizens seem eager to view scientific evidence supporting a Universal Deity, despite the governments official policy against faith via torture.
Faith holds a very distinct role in many people’s lives, and it would be silly to expect a venture into the cosmos to persuade the masses to abandon their beliefs of God (as well as the text that surrounds him). Rather than unifying humanity in a common belief system, space may encourage the spread of various beliefs throughout the galaxy as denominations claim worlds or regions as their “promise land.”
Although space will probably increase the fervor amongst the religious, it will also pose new problems for them as well. Importing certain foods (such as meats, wines and bread) may be difficult around the holidays, especially if your planet is unable to support or grow the necessary items. And what if your religion demands that you pray towards a certain city on Earth? This would be difficult to achieve on a daily basis in micro gravity, let alone on a world millions or billions of kilometers away from our homeworld.
Just as much as political parties currently shape a nations path, faith will play a future role in shaping space culture. God will be just a controversial now as he will be in the future (if not more), with the only difference being millions more (if not billions) simply added to the debate.
For those hoping that humanities plunge into the great unknown would resolve world issues and unify our race under a “purely scientific” banner (like Star Trek) should probably take note–religion is here to stay and will probably be around for the next million years.
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Bible Being Taught In Public Schools
This news will probably not make many supporters of “evolution only” advocates happy, but it will open up students towards another perspective.
(Christian Post) The long-dormant idea of teaching public school students about the literary and historic importance of the Bible is getting a fresh look this year from state legislatures and local school boards–though with political bickering and questions about what should be included.
The buzz results mostly from “The Bible and Its Influence,” a glossy high school textbook with substantial interfaith and academic endorsements. It’s available for the coming school year, and some 800 high schools are currently considering the course.
This curriculum is being published by the Bible Literacy Project of Front Royal, Va. and they are even launching a teachers addition next month. Teaching students about the bible will probably expose children to the debate over evolution and theology (which will benefit all) and help them decide on which world view to embrace.
And if any organizations feel threatened by the new curriculum and threaten legal action, the Washington’s Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is supplying lawyers free of charge (although the American Center for Law and Justice probably would help out as well).
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Those Pagan Creationists? (Bible And Science)
(Hat Tip: Around the World with Ken Ham)
Apparently it seems that a Vatican astronomer is calling anyone who believes in the six day theory of creation (that being a divine entity created the world in six literal days) “pagans.” Really?
(Scotsman) Brother Consolmagno, who works in a Vatican observatory in Arizona and as curator of the Vatican meteorite collection in Italy, said a “destructive myth” had developed in modern society that religion and science were competing ideologies.
He described creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a “kind of paganism” because it harked back to the days of “nature gods” who were responsible for natural events.
I guess this probably means that I need to break out the make up and celebrate my favorite pagan holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. If creationism is false, then the Bible is worthless making the teachings of Christ to be at best relative.
But it seems that Consolmagno has not written off religion completely.
(Scotsman) “Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism – it’s turning God into a nature god. And science needs religion in order to have a conscience, to know that, just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do.”
Although Consolmagno’s argument sounds cute, he forgets that morality (which is those pesky rules people say we have to follow) is based upon authority, which in turn must be based on truth. Otherwise, the authority loses legitimacy in the eyes of the world along with any writings, movements, ect. connected with it.
Either the bible is or it isn’t. Either it’s writings are in harmony with science or it is to be placed alongside of other great fairy tales such as Peter Pan, the Three Little Pigs or even Snow White. To claim that the Bible is unscientific yet moral is to claim that oxygen is unnecessary for life yet important.
For those thinking that the Bible lacks anything scientific in nature, here are some verses written thousands of years in advance before they were verified by science.
- The Earth is round not flat (Isaiah 40:22)
- Planet Earth surrounded by a spacial vacuum (Job 26:7)
- Worker Ants being female (Proverbs 6:6)
- The enormous number of stars (Jeremiah 33:22)
- Differing spectra of stars (1 Corinthians 15:41)
- Circulation of the winds (Ecclesiastes 1:6)
- Air actually having weight (Job 28:25)
- The Water Cycle (Job 36:27-29)
More info can be found over at Clarifying Christianity.
Science is nothing more than an attempt to analyze our world and how it functions. If God exists and if the Bible (your basic instructions on how to get the most out of life) was inspired by him, then science and religion (or rather Christianity) should be in harmony with each other. Apparently Consolmagno seems to have forgotten that when he decided that the Bible was fallible yet relevant.
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Can Faith And Science Mix?
Apparently a reader of Answers in Genesis thought that wasn’t the case and wrote a letter to AiG about their displeasure of them “blurring the line.”
(Letter sent to AiG) Science can neither prove, nor disprove the ultimate quest of faith: a personal relationship and understanding of god. After all, the ultimate expression of faith is that it exists in the absence of proof, scientific or otherwise.
Although faith may seem like “blind devotion” to those outside of it, only a foolish individual would trust the sayings of any text, prophet, etc. without some form of evidence.
Other religions may or may not demand unconditional questioning of its tenets, but this is not the case for biblical Christianity, Judaism, etc. The being described in these pages was constantly trying to prove himself to those he loved, which often produced faith which is based on evidence.
The rest of the article provides some great points for all those interested in the realms of science and religion.
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Teaching Both Sides Of Evolution In Ohio
According to a poll by Zogby International, residents of Ohio favor teaching the weaknesses and strengths of evolution.
(Evolution News) “Ohioans want Darwin’s theory of evolution fully and completely presented, including the theory’s strengths and weaknesses,” said Robert Crowther, director of communications for Discovery Institute, which commissioned the Zogby poll. [...]
Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they agreed with the following statement: Biology teachers should teach Darwin’s theory of evolution, but also the scientific evidence against it. Less than 20 percent supported the alternative statement: Biology teachers should teach only Darwin’s theory of evolution and the scientific evidence that supports it.
This is encouraging as it would allow students to understand the debate around our origins more clearly and perhaps validate why some have left Darwins faith in the first place. It also seems that the populace are willing to go a step further, one where the politicians do not–teaching Intelligent design in the classroom.
(Evolution News) “Surprisingly, Ohioans want to go further than their leaders with 75% favoring teaching intelligent design alongside of Darwinian evolution,” added Crowther. “Even after all the attacks on intelligent design by the dogmatic Darwin-only lobby, the public clearly wants to know more about the theory and make up their own minds.”
Although Intelligent Design has yet to prove itself as scientific it may open the doors to other theories bashed by some in the scientific community (such as Creationism). Just as one discusses politics before choosing a party so one must discuss the theories of origins before choosing a system.
Only by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the evolution theory (of which the latter there are many) can we enable people to decide for themselves and thus hopefully end the debate.
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Intelligent Design, Fact Or Fiction?
(Via Answers In Genesis, Published on Blogger News)
Update: Removed photo.
While the debate over God (and what he consists of) rages throughout America and in a few locations throughout Europe, a “new philosophy” seems to be attracting the attention of clergy and scientists alike.
Intelligent Design, (also known as ID) is championed as an alternative towards evolution and a legitimate theory of the origins of our species.
But despite the press about this theory from the right and the left, this belief system lacks a critical element key for any scientific faith which can be boiled down in one word–clarity.
Evolution and Creationism are classified as theories because both have a clearly laid out thesis stating the origins of the human race. This allows outsiders, believers and the curious to test out both of these theories to see if any of them hold up under serious examination.
Despite what proponents might say, Intelligent Design lacks a clear thesis stating humanities origins, which leaves the origins of man open ended. This formulates “a big tent” philosophy club where theists and atheists can come together respectively, despite the contrast of ideals.
One can examine whether or not Noah’s flood happened as well as if there is any evidence to support the fossil record (despite its many gaps). Even the Raelian Society (viewed by many as “a fringe group”) has a testable thesis, something the ID movement lacks.
Although fought in courts and class rooms throughout America, Intelligent Design seems to be lacking in the substance arena. Unless this is provided, ID will be nothing more than a philosophy that satisfies the phlegmatic agnostic rather than stimulating us all towards scientific enlightenment and discovery.
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Are Humans And Chimps Really Cousins?
(Update: Article corrections made on February 6th, 2:32 pm).
Despite what may be taught in the classrooms of America, our associations with “our cousin” may not be as close as many people think. Scientists have for many years declared humanities close ties with the chimp, boasting the similarities between our genes.
Dr. Georgia Purdom, a molecular geneticist takes a closer examination and publishes her observations.
- The chimp genome is 12% larger than the human genome.
- Only 2.4 billion bases have been aligned between the two genomes, leaving a maximum similarity of 68-77%.
- In many areas of the genome, it appears major rearrangements of DNA sequences have occurred, accounting for another 10-20% dissimilarity.
- Chimps have 46 chromosomes and humans have 44 chromosomes (excluding sex chromosomes for both species).
- To save money and time, the chimp genome was assembled using the human genome as a template (because of the presupposition that humans evolved from the same line as chimps); it is currently unknown if the pieces of the chimp genome “puzzle” were put together properly.
This comes to no surprise to this author, who at one time submitted his views towards the theory of evolution. Despite the thousands of books that have been written about this theory, it yet to provide an explanation refuting the serious holes in Darwins faith (such as the gap in the fossil record and why only one star system is similar to ours out of 150 worlds discovered).
The debate over who founded the universe will probably be discussed and debated fiercely well into the next century. As Purdom notes, all scientists have their specific biases before entering the lab, and generally look for clues or evidence backing up their theories.
Evolutionists do not understand why Creationists pray to a being they reject as existing, while Creationists are surprised that Evolutionists refuse to bring the debate into the classroom.
Although this author does no longer adheres to Darwin’s faith, discussion of our origins between the two philosophies is important, and will hopefully lead towards a final conclusion to our beginnings.
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