I don't understand all this hullabaloo over religion vs science. Why does it have to be "vs"? I think that The Creation, Genesis and all that are quite compatible with science and Darwin, or whomever. What neither science nor Darwinism nor creationism nor intelligent design-ism are compatible with is this; "this kind of belief is damaging to the well-being of the human race," from Herbert A. Hauptman, who shared the Nobel chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on the structure of crystals, on belief in God.
Hauptman may be highly educated and skilled in the workings of crystals but is woefully ignorant of the human race. Woefully ignorant and his statement is irresponsible and borders on insanity. Maybe his brain crystalized during one experiment or another.
Genesis says that the world was created in six days and then, on the seventh day, God kicked back on His sofa with a remote and watched the Steelers kick butt all over the field or the Yankees blow another World Series, depending on the season. How long is a God day? Well, since God has been around forever, I would think that a God day would be a long one. A very long one. A billion years, maybe. Ten billion, maybe. Maybe we don't know. 24 hours just seems to be a bit stingy where God is concerned. If we don't know, today, how long a God day is, what chance could the writers of Genesis have had to know? They were just guessing, which is the best that they could do in those days. Shoot, they didn't even have a cure for the common cold back then.
I think that religion should embrace science, and vice versa, because science is perhaps bringing us ever closer to knowing just how long God's day might be. Now, consider this. Since The Big Guy Himself doesn't reside here on earth, how could His day possibly be from sunrise to sunset? The 24 hour day, at least to the best of our knowledge, exists for the earth and nowhere else (a Mars day is pretty close). If God lived on Jupiter, His day would be only about 10 hours, or roughly 5 hours from sunup to sunset. Really short, really stingy. Jupiter spins really fast. God would get dizzy if He had to live there. Dizzy enough to create Democrats, I suppose. Or maybe He did that out of spite after the Yankees lost, again. If God lived on Mercury, His day would be 58 earth days long, or 29 earth days from sunrise to sunset. So, where does God live? Where is His house? Where does He walk His dog, or whatever? How long is His day? Who knows? Anyone who insists that a God day is the same as an earth day is just as misguided and ignorant as the aforementioned Nobel prize winning Herbert A. Hauptman.
Now, let's talk about Darwinism and intelligent design. How can anyone argue against intelligent design? Are you saying that God is stupid? Ever taken a close look at a rose? On the other hand, how can anyone argue against the theory of evolution? Haven't you ever seen Jurassic Park I, II, and/or III? Are you saying that Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg are liars? Curse you for eternity if you are.
I think the big thing here amongst the non believers is that they want to get a solid fix on everything. They want bricks and mortar and nothing ephemeral is allowed. They want to know. Being unable to know is unacceptable, so they simply claim to know. Since no one knows God, at least not personally or on a first-name basis, until it's too late, anyway, it is easiest for them to claim that He doesn't exist. They exacerbate this bit of foolishness further by claiming that belief in Him is dangerous. Dangerous to whom? I don't feel the least little bit threatened. They do, however, because, They. Do. Not. Know. Can't see it, can't feel it, can't smell it, can't hear it, can't be, period.
The true believers, on the other hand, insist that He is, and six 24 hour-days was all it took to create this mess, and Darwin was simply mistaken. Well, if six earth days were all the longer that it took to create this disaster (see Hotel Rwanda), then I should think that He could fix it in just a couple more. I do have some sympathy for the true believers because, if they ever allowed themselves to think about a ten billion year God day, then they might realize that it is going to require a long long time for this nightmare we call humanity to be fixed (see the Cold War). And further, they might have to consider fixing it ourselves, rather than wait for The Big Kahuna to do it for us. That would require some sweat on their part. I know I am changing persons here, left and right. Call it poetic license.
So, we end up with the ACLU, bloodless pagans all, versus the evangelicals, so blinded by the revelation that I wonder at their ability to navigate back and forth to church 6 times a week without stepping in holes and breaking ankles. Must be a miracle of some sort. Don't tell me that Jesus didn't feed thousands with a basket of trout and a couple of loaves of Wonder bread. I've seen Kreskin and Geller at work. And don't tell me that Darwin was a fake. Have you ever seen a platypus?
Others with opinions, misguided or otherwise:
Cosmic Variance, Pharyngula, Challies Dot Com, Political Mess, Woodshavings, Robot Person
I'm having big troubles with Blogger, or maybe my broadband carrier. It is raining like hell here. If you get a trackback ping from me but no link, please try back in a couple of hours. It will take you that long to read all of August's posts, anyway.
Running Scared, Alex Whalen, Telic Thoughts, Peace Like a River, Societas,
TAGS: Darwin, Darwinism, intelligent design, God, ACLU, pagans
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