I started to do these “Best of the Week” posts a few weeks ago and it seems that my week is consistently 8 days long. Which I have no doubt that people who have to deal with me would agree is pretty much how I work! But hey – it’s my blog and it’s free! (Although you can make a donati0n to support the site … Continue reading Apparently My Week Has 8 Days In It
One of the primary purposes of creation is supposed to be to provide a testimony of who God is. It’s a shame that so many religious people fail to get that. But for anyone who cares to look, the details which emerge are amazing. They are amazing in their own right, but they are also amazing because these details are ones that God put in … Continue reading I Love Evolution! (A Christian’s Perspective)
. At the very end of my book The Upside Down World – A Book of Wisdom in Progress, I have a section which I called “Quantum Christianity”. It consists of several pages of fairly random notes about a variety of subjects ranging from quantum physics to abortion. I don’t usually makes notes, but I do usually think about a variety of odd things. I … Continue reading I think about weird things
I’m going to start my day by ticking people off! Just let me say at the outset that I am not saying that people who hold a belief in what is called “biblical creationism” do not honor God. They may or may not. But the belief system itself does not honor God. Why? Because it denies the work of God’s own hands. The creation is … Continue reading Why Creationism Does Not Honor God
I know that many people are very suspicious of bio-engineering, but what if they could make trees that glow like something out of a Tinkerbell movie? Scientists are working on making glow-in-the-dark plants that could one day replace streetlights. How awesome (and beautiful) would that be? Unfortunately, since the process relies on the chlorophyl found in plants, I don’t suppose it would work very well … Continue reading This would be AWESOME!
For people who are interested in these things, there is a fascinating article in the Washington Post about the genetic code of the platypus. Scientists just finished mapping the odd animal’s DNA and not too surprisingly, it’s odd. What is particularly useful about this is that scientists have been able to map segments of the platypus’ genetic code which are similar to those found in … Continue reading The Platypus and Evolution
The National Center for Science Education has put together a website to respond to the new pro-Intelligent Design movie “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”. It is called Expelled Exposed. I have to say that red flags were raised for me when I heard a podcast about the movie based on this premise:
Have you ever noticed that Christians are fine with having God and science coexist? In fact, Christians see scientific discoveries as strengthening their faith precisely because they reveal the marvel of the world. So why is it that so many scientists seem to hate the idea of God so much?”
Um, yeah. Loonies like Richard Dawkins aside, suffice it to say that this has not been my experience of the “conflict” between Christians and science. I have already made known my stance on creationism and intelligent design.
Part of my problem with creationism and intelligent design has always been the dishonesty used to sustain the argument against evolution. I suppose it isn’t too surprising to see that this dishonesty isn’t limited misrepresenting main stream science and scientists. It turns out that many of the stories used in the movie to demonstrate this supposed intolerance for alternative views are misrepresentations as well.
For example, one scientist featured in the movie, Richard Sterberg, claimed that after using his position as editor of a small scientific journal to publish a pro-intelligent design article, he was fired from his post as editor, forced out of his office at the Smithsonian, and made to turn in his keys which gave him access to the Smithsonian’s specimin collection which he needed in order to do his work. Turns out that he had put in notice 6 months prior at the journal, had to move offices along with everyone else in his work area as part of an office re-arrangement and needed to turn in his keys so he could be issued a key card that would work with the new security system. Continue reading ““Expelled” Exposed”
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on why parents who teach their children creation science or intelligent design in a way which elevates those teachings to a fundamental of the Christian faith are putting their children’s long term spiritual well being at risk. In the comments on that post (which were remarkably civil for this topic BTW, thank you to all who commented!), someone asked how I teach my kids to be faithful Christians while also accepting the science of evolution and geology and such. I think this is a good question and figured I would share how it works in our house.
The first thing I tell my kids is that God is always willing to meet us where we are. He doesn’t wait for us to get it all together or have a good grasp of life to reach out and reveal himself to us. Thousands of years ago the ancient Hebrews had no numbers for billions. They did not know what elements or atoms or DNA were. They did not know where sickness came from or what the stars were. It would have been literally impossible for them to understand a universe which was billions of years old, stars made out of burning gas shining many billions of light years away. They could not have comprehended that life was composed of atoms linked together into molecules which linked together to make macromolecules which worked together to create all the tissues, fluids and such of the human body. They could not have comprehended what DNA does, how it replicates itself, how it gets passed down from generation to generation while various mutations occur which can, over time beyond their words to even name, result in a diversity of life they weren’t even aware of.
In other words, it would have been impossible for the one true God to reveal his role in and purpose for creation to the ancient Hebrews in a way which reflected the scientific reality of this amazing creation. Continue reading “Raising Christian Evolutionists”
There’s a story in the Chicago Tribune about scientists who have figured out how to get a computer to “read” brain scans to figure out which picture out of several choices a person has viewed. This is considered one of the first steps towards eventually figuring out how the brain works, which I suppose if good. However, it could also the be the first step … Continue reading This seems creepy to me
In the “coulda seen that one coming” dept. there’s a report in the Chicago Tribune today about how scientists are unraveling the secrets of the sorts of complex cell designs “intelligent Design” proponents often point to as evidence for their theory. The insistence of IDer’s that some cells are just too complex to have come about through natural processes has always reminded me of the … Continue reading Scientists disproving ID by unlocking cell secrets
The Upside Down World 