To Michelle
Well, dammit, that award-winning collage I did in the third grade is totally obsolete now. I spent a lot of hours gluing those packing peanuts on just right. And don’t even get me started about the paprika stains on my mom’s kitchen table cloth that I put there because I had to make the surface of Mars red and dusty!
Ultimately, I’ll get over my science project and a few years after that, I stopped caring about things science-related anyway. I had no choice. In about the fourth grade is when the “experts” start harping on how girls don’t like math and science and how they’re not good at it. So I got paranoid, put away all my cool space books and tried to like dolls. I never warmed to Barbie, but I did fall in love with books and literature. And so with the science drive kicked out of me by statistics, I looked toward my future as a writer.
And thank goodness. Because as a writer today, I think I’ve finally amassed the skills to talk about something science related that I think is quite important.
As a person of faith, a Biblical Christian to be exact, I am often forced to defend myself even if only in my head. There have always been those who don’t believe around and I’m cool with that. People are generally kind enough not to bring up religion in mixed company—unless they wanna rip on the Mormons or Scientologists and then everyone gets on board—and I follow suit.
But thanks to our President, his harping on “family” (read: conservative Christian) values and his very vocal religious right supporters, the topic of religion and especially Christianity has come up quite a lot lately.
Last year, when the school in Maryland voted to remove a paragraph from a textbook that said basically “some people believe in Intelligent Design. Now back to evolution,” my boss said “why is it that only the people with no intelligence believe in Intelligent Design?”
When the DaVinci code book picked up steam, I had more than one person scoff in my face because I was still going to church despite the “damning evidence” that Dan Brown published as a work of fiction.
In a meeting at work, the fact that I used to watch Captain Planet before going to church came up and one of the execs laughed. I thought he was laughing at the fact that I watched such an inane and obviously propgandic show. But he clarified. “Church??” he said, flabbergasted.
And of course, every now and then I pop into an online forum where the argument goes back and forth, back and forth about whether or not God exists and if He does or does not, if people who believe in Him are weak and/or mindless and/or just looking for something to give them false hope.
Let me clarify my beliefs just in case anyone is curious. I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Sure the Trinity is a confusing topic, but I’m pretty sure it holds up. I believe that people are sinners and that Christ died as prophesized to take the blame so that we can be reunited with God.
I don’t hate gay people. I don’t care if they marry or adopt kids. I don’t hate people who have had abortions. I love my tattoo and desperately want another one. I don’t mind social drinking. I think marijuana should be legal. I’m glad the morning after pill is available over the counter. I voted for Gore, then for Kerry. Who do I hate? Dr. James Dobson.
And I’m glad that Pluto has been kicked off the planet list. What has that cold, unfeeling rock ever done for any of us anyway?
I recently attended my brother-in-laws PhD ceremony at Berekely. It was probably the most boring thing I’ve done. Ever. There were only about 32 graduates, so we thought we’d be in and out in an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Two hours later, we were still there and my toes were numb.
His degree was in molecular biology and the program listed each graduate and what specifically they had done. The program might as well have been in Russain. At least then, I would have an excuse for not being able to sound out the words.
Each graduate got up with their professor and instead of just handing them their diploma, each professor shared with the audience of lay people exactly what each project was about.
After having listened to all of the speeches, here’s what I can tell you: the big guy with the beard was the first one in the class to buy an iPod and telomerase makes that one girl laugh.
The profs has no mercy on us folks without science degrees. I wondered whether or not I would have understood more about what was going on if the “experts” hadn’t scared me off of the subject 16 years ago.
But there was one speech that stood out. The keynote speaker gave a speech that really roused the scientists on stage. He started off talking about how important science was in the business of making sick people well, making dirty fuel clean and making regular sized tomatoes much much bigger. He encouraged all of us to follow movements in science and vote accordingly. He reminded us that bills and measures that affect scientific research pass through Washington all the time and we should be aware so that we can make informed decisions.
Then he decided to rip on the Christians. He closed by saying that scientists must do everything in their power to prove that Intelligent Design was totally false and that people who believe in it or in God or in anything but science were misled people who needed to be shepherded back home.
He had me. Then he lost me.
There’s a speech in Dan Brown’s other book, Angels and Demons where a priest addresses a crowd of people. He explains that yes, science is important and a wonderful pursuit. But not at the expense of faith. He asks the people if they’re happier reducing life to only atoms and molecules and bursts of energy. He asks if they feel inspired to go out and do good when they rest in the knowledge that this is all some crazy cosmic accident.
I happen to not believe in macro evolution such as is necessary to create all that we have out of absolutely nothing. I think about a square foot of space and how much nothing there is inside and there’s not a thing that anyone can do to convince me that that vacuum decided to start living. All by itself.
When I think of tar pits and the idea that lightening struck on and random proteins decided to become living cells, it just doesn’t wash.
Not only are we to think that something came from nothing, but that life and the desire to keep on living came from nothing. And in my heart of hearts, I can’t believe that’s true.
Not that I know where God came from either, but hey. He’s God!
And as a reason why I continue to believe as I do, all I can say is this: my life is better when I make God a part of it. I have specific examples too involved to mention here, but they’re there. Times when I’ve prayed and something so exacting has happened that it is impossible for me to think even for an instant that it was an accident.
And I agree with the priest in Angels and Demons. For all of our advancements in science and policy, what has it gotten us? The United States leads the world in the diet industry, yet we’re the fattest nation in the world. Only about a third of our citizens are at a healthy weight.
We have a billion dollar self help industry, yet divorce, drug and alcohol abuse, STDs and every other social ill is on the rise. We’re putting our faith in books, pills, sex, even science. And it’s not working.
One of the arguments people give for not believing in the Bible or in God is that things change. Why was it okay to own slaves in ancient times? Why were women so subjugated. We know these things to be unhealthy nowadays, they say. The Bible changes and so therefore it’s bunk.
Or. How can you prove any of it? We can’t see it? We can’t talk to these people. So it’s possible that it was 100 percent falsified. So there, it’s bunk.
Well, Pluto has been a planet for 76 years. And today, it’s not. It’s gone from a basic fact to just a mislabled rock running around in a weird-shaped orbit somewhere out in space. The science that we’ve had faith in for so long has changed. Not that Pluto was going to make or break someone’s life. But it was a “real fact.” And now, it’s not.
There was a story hidden in the back pages of The Seattle Times years ago about how scientists were not as sure as they were about dinosaurs. Evidence had come up that because fossils are often found all mixed up, it was possible they’ve been put together wrong. For years.
If you look hard enough, you will find these little chinks in the armor of science. Does that mean that I think the pursuit of it is worthless? Not at all! I think science is one of the most important things we can pursue. But should it replace God as where we lay our faith? No. Not even for a second.
The truth is, neither theory is anything special all by itself.
If science and only things you can see and touch are where you lay your faith, then were is your reasoning for being anything other than the sum of some impulses? Where is your justification for self control, discipline or striving to be better than you are? It doesn’t matter in the end, right? And we’re just animals, so you can’t blame us for screwing around, right? Do you find comfort in that? And if it the idea of “dust we are and to dust we return” doesn’t bother you, why attack someone because it gets under their skin?
And to the people of faith. Salvation is the most important thing personally, but after that, then what? Is it enough to believe and silently judge those who don’t? No! What are you doing with the riches and wonders that God has given you. If you truly have the joy in knowing that you are something more special than an accident that crawled out of a pond, why not share it with someone. Tell your story. Learn about science and your faith. And help others to bridge the gap.
And throw away those old astronomy textbooks. You never know what’s going to happen next.
Ultimately, I’ll get over my science project and a few years after that, I stopped caring about things science-related anyway. I had no choice. In about the fourth grade is when the “experts” start harping on how girls don’t like math and science and how they’re not good at it. So I got paranoid, put away all my cool space books and tried to like dolls. I never warmed to Barbie, but I did fall in love with books and literature. And so with the science drive kicked out of me by statistics, I looked toward my future as a writer.
And thank goodness. Because as a writer today, I think I’ve finally amassed the skills to talk about something science related that I think is quite important.
As a person of faith, a Biblical Christian to be exact, I am often forced to defend myself even if only in my head. There have always been those who don’t believe around and I’m cool with that. People are generally kind enough not to bring up religion in mixed company—unless they wanna rip on the Mormons or Scientologists and then everyone gets on board—and I follow suit.
But thanks to our President, his harping on “family” (read: conservative Christian) values and his very vocal religious right supporters, the topic of religion and especially Christianity has come up quite a lot lately.
Last year, when the school in Maryland voted to remove a paragraph from a textbook that said basically “some people believe in Intelligent Design. Now back to evolution,” my boss said “why is it that only the people with no intelligence believe in Intelligent Design?”
When the DaVinci code book picked up steam, I had more than one person scoff in my face because I was still going to church despite the “damning evidence” that Dan Brown published as a work of fiction.
In a meeting at work, the fact that I used to watch Captain Planet before going to church came up and one of the execs laughed. I thought he was laughing at the fact that I watched such an inane and obviously propgandic show. But he clarified. “Church??” he said, flabbergasted.
And of course, every now and then I pop into an online forum where the argument goes back and forth, back and forth about whether or not God exists and if He does or does not, if people who believe in Him are weak and/or mindless and/or just looking for something to give them false hope.
Let me clarify my beliefs just in case anyone is curious. I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Sure the Trinity is a confusing topic, but I’m pretty sure it holds up. I believe that people are sinners and that Christ died as prophesized to take the blame so that we can be reunited with God.
I don’t hate gay people. I don’t care if they marry or adopt kids. I don’t hate people who have had abortions. I love my tattoo and desperately want another one. I don’t mind social drinking. I think marijuana should be legal. I’m glad the morning after pill is available over the counter. I voted for Gore, then for Kerry. Who do I hate? Dr. James Dobson.
And I’m glad that Pluto has been kicked off the planet list. What has that cold, unfeeling rock ever done for any of us anyway?
I recently attended my brother-in-laws PhD ceremony at Berekely. It was probably the most boring thing I’ve done. Ever. There were only about 32 graduates, so we thought we’d be in and out in an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Two hours later, we were still there and my toes were numb.
His degree was in molecular biology and the program listed each graduate and what specifically they had done. The program might as well have been in Russain. At least then, I would have an excuse for not being able to sound out the words.
Each graduate got up with their professor and instead of just handing them their diploma, each professor shared with the audience of lay people exactly what each project was about.
After having listened to all of the speeches, here’s what I can tell you: the big guy with the beard was the first one in the class to buy an iPod and telomerase makes that one girl laugh.
The profs has no mercy on us folks without science degrees. I wondered whether or not I would have understood more about what was going on if the “experts” hadn’t scared me off of the subject 16 years ago.
But there was one speech that stood out. The keynote speaker gave a speech that really roused the scientists on stage. He started off talking about how important science was in the business of making sick people well, making dirty fuel clean and making regular sized tomatoes much much bigger. He encouraged all of us to follow movements in science and vote accordingly. He reminded us that bills and measures that affect scientific research pass through Washington all the time and we should be aware so that we can make informed decisions.
Then he decided to rip on the Christians. He closed by saying that scientists must do everything in their power to prove that Intelligent Design was totally false and that people who believe in it or in God or in anything but science were misled people who needed to be shepherded back home.
He had me. Then he lost me.
There’s a speech in Dan Brown’s other book, Angels and Demons where a priest addresses a crowd of people. He explains that yes, science is important and a wonderful pursuit. But not at the expense of faith. He asks the people if they’re happier reducing life to only atoms and molecules and bursts of energy. He asks if they feel inspired to go out and do good when they rest in the knowledge that this is all some crazy cosmic accident.
I happen to not believe in macro evolution such as is necessary to create all that we have out of absolutely nothing. I think about a square foot of space and how much nothing there is inside and there’s not a thing that anyone can do to convince me that that vacuum decided to start living. All by itself.
When I think of tar pits and the idea that lightening struck on and random proteins decided to become living cells, it just doesn’t wash.
Not only are we to think that something came from nothing, but that life and the desire to keep on living came from nothing. And in my heart of hearts, I can’t believe that’s true.
Not that I know where God came from either, but hey. He’s God!
And as a reason why I continue to believe as I do, all I can say is this: my life is better when I make God a part of it. I have specific examples too involved to mention here, but they’re there. Times when I’ve prayed and something so exacting has happened that it is impossible for me to think even for an instant that it was an accident.
And I agree with the priest in Angels and Demons. For all of our advancements in science and policy, what has it gotten us? The United States leads the world in the diet industry, yet we’re the fattest nation in the world. Only about a third of our citizens are at a healthy weight.
We have a billion dollar self help industry, yet divorce, drug and alcohol abuse, STDs and every other social ill is on the rise. We’re putting our faith in books, pills, sex, even science. And it’s not working.
One of the arguments people give for not believing in the Bible or in God is that things change. Why was it okay to own slaves in ancient times? Why were women so subjugated. We know these things to be unhealthy nowadays, they say. The Bible changes and so therefore it’s bunk.
Or. How can you prove any of it? We can’t see it? We can’t talk to these people. So it’s possible that it was 100 percent falsified. So there, it’s bunk.
Well, Pluto has been a planet for 76 years. And today, it’s not. It’s gone from a basic fact to just a mislabled rock running around in a weird-shaped orbit somewhere out in space. The science that we’ve had faith in for so long has changed. Not that Pluto was going to make or break someone’s life. But it was a “real fact.” And now, it’s not.
There was a story hidden in the back pages of The Seattle Times years ago about how scientists were not as sure as they were about dinosaurs. Evidence had come up that because fossils are often found all mixed up, it was possible they’ve been put together wrong. For years.
If you look hard enough, you will find these little chinks in the armor of science. Does that mean that I think the pursuit of it is worthless? Not at all! I think science is one of the most important things we can pursue. But should it replace God as where we lay our faith? No. Not even for a second.
The truth is, neither theory is anything special all by itself.
If science and only things you can see and touch are where you lay your faith, then were is your reasoning for being anything other than the sum of some impulses? Where is your justification for self control, discipline or striving to be better than you are? It doesn’t matter in the end, right? And we’re just animals, so you can’t blame us for screwing around, right? Do you find comfort in that? And if it the idea of “dust we are and to dust we return” doesn’t bother you, why attack someone because it gets under their skin?
And to the people of faith. Salvation is the most important thing personally, but after that, then what? Is it enough to believe and silently judge those who don’t? No! What are you doing with the riches and wonders that God has given you. If you truly have the joy in knowing that you are something more special than an accident that crawled out of a pond, why not share it with someone. Tell your story. Learn about science and your faith. And help others to bridge the gap.
And throw away those old astronomy textbooks. You never know what’s going to happen next.
posted by The Minority Report at 4:13 PM
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