I just read a long blog about how scientists think religious people are all insane. Having been interested in both subjects since I was a kid, I can't understand why there is a whole lot of animosity between these groups - since both groups are trying to reach the truth. My guess is that the vast majority of people in both groups could care less about what the zealots on either end have to say - that there are just as many scientists who think their "all religion is crap" brethren are narrow minded bigots as there are religious people who think their "all science is crap" brethren are narrow minded bigots. I don't understand how a rational person can't look at a butterfly and not be fascinated by the way it flies and eats and changes from a caterpillar into a butterfly, and also be deeply moved by the experience of seeing such a wondrous creature up close. Those at the far extremes would have you believe either a)what the butterfly does for a living is unimportant because God takes care of it for you or b)its just a leptidopterus that came from a long line of leptidoterae before it, having evolved from a small insect sometime during the paleolithic era (or some such).
However, regardless of how we feel about science and religion, us religious types are going to lose the incessant flame wars on the web, so we'd probably be better off not participating in them. When it comes to slinging cold hard facts around like sledge hammers, our scientific brethren have been bred and trained for combat. We religious types might believe that we have truth on our side, but since the scientific method is formed by the same logic required for a proper debate, the deck is stacked in science's favor. Ultimately, all we can say is, "You're wrong. But we still love you." Which might be the truth, but isn't a very thrilling come back.
No, better still to concentrate on the things that make religions thrive - faith, hope, charity, and love. Whether they want to admit to them or not, it's these four cornerstones that all humans feed upon, and as far as I know, there isn't a scientific explanation for any of them.
3 comments:
And if we participate in a "flame war", we wind up exhibiting a lack of love, most often, because we wind up entrenching ourselves in our position even further.
Good post, good reminders...
Absolutely, Andy. I think sometimes I have forgotten more things about the Love of God than I ever knew. Every once in a while I "learn" something that I should have known a long time ago and it makes me wonder if I did know it at one point and have simply forgotten it.
The problem Will is that "Truth" is singular. It cannot be separated into its component parts, which happened with Kant's Critique Of Pure Reason. The search for truth begins with asking questions. Truth cannot be obtained if a certain subset of questions is not allowed.
Cheers.
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