tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post113636171259395272..comments2024-02-25T10:39:55.184-08:00Comments on Grunt Ahoy!: A Letter To a Certain Co-Worker: Your Brain is Your Friend (Please Use it).The Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03845796879498225434noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136664070034996982006-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:002006-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:00I'm finding all your comments to be thought provok...I'm finding all your comments to be thought provoking and reveals that we're not shallow, superficial creatures talking here. It has been a good exercise of our minds, I belive. I like thinking about the great mysteries of the universe. <BR/><BR/>Shalom.The Grunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03845796879498225434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136626303006283632006-01-07T01:31:00.000-08:002006-01-07T01:31:00.000-08:00RJW,Darwin's theory did shake up some Christian th...RJW,<BR/><BR/>Darwin's theory did shake up some Christian theologians, but some actually had no problem with it. They saw God as the maker of all things, regardless of how he did it. There are Christians who feel the same way today, and recognize that the Bible was based on the science of the day. However, there are others who have unfortunately and wholeheartedly adopted the idea that evolutionary biology (not necessarily science itself) and religion cannot coexist. <BR/><BR/>I totally agree with you; science need not compromise faith.Emhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01327484562514817972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136524529722239502006-01-05T21:15:00.000-08:002006-01-05T21:15:00.000-08:00Hi pokey, it's good to hear from you. I've learne...Hi pokey, it's good to hear from you. I've learned that it only takes a few wackos to distract or irritate the flock.<BR/><BR/>RJW said:<BR/>"Grunt, you've set me off....."<BR/><BR/>Hey, It looks like I did my job! I hope that it was in a good way, though.<BR/><BR/>This is a touchy subject, for sure. <BR/><BR/>Science is just a systematic process of collecting evidence and data, interpreting that evidence and data, then making conclusions based on the interpretations. You then revaluate everything and do more studies. Anything that is found to be factual should not contradict the process of creation that God uses--assuming that God (take your pick) exists. <BR/><BR/>We may not be there all the way, but if the research continues to evolve we'll get closer to the truth. This is why scientists shouldn't just lay back and settle on "God did it". They have no physical evidence of God. Their hands are tied in this matter; therefore, a scientist cannot include God into their theories. So when science is taught in the classroom, it should be done in a manner consistent with the processes of science. Intelligent design and creationism could be taught in social studies as part of a philisophical/cultural subject, but not in any of the sciences.<BR/><BR/>I think that there are separate realms in which religion and science exist. They serve different purposes. Just as many scientists become dogmatic and fanatical as there are of the garden variety religious zealots. <BR/><BR/>I once studied Parapsychology for a brief period and found that my professor for those courses was shunned by his peers (other psychologists) for exploring these things (TK, PSI, ESP Ghosts, Aliens). His scientific method was nearly flawless, but because of his interests, he was treated as a joke. I admit, the guy was a bit of a goul, but I learned and experienced some interesting things going out and doing investigations with him. It just goes to show that even some groups of scientists are clannish and unwilling to revolutionize thier own fields by attacking previously held notions, hypothesis, and theory. Everybody needs to exercise some humility in this matter, including me.The Grunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03845796879498225434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136514276455685642006-01-05T18:24:00.000-08:002006-01-05T18:24:00.000-08:00It's fascinating to me (perhaps as a non-American)...It's fascinating to me (perhaps as a non-American) to witness how hot a debate this is in your land; the reconciliation of the notion of a creator-God and "the findings of modern science." I suppose it all came to a head in Darwin's age when serious doubts about the age of the earth troubled eminent Victorians who were, hitherto, comfortably men of science and God. The idea of evolution - new species (including humans) evolving under their own steam - must have been shattering. Some went with science, some with God and others settled on absurd compromises eg Divinely - placed fossil records.<BR/>Surely people must now see that their particular faith is one of many on (God's) Earth and is rooted in a place far away in time and space, subject to centuries of historical forces, schisms and myth-making. Science, only really the mapping out of observable forces governing the material world, is something we have always done. The problem seems to be in basing one's cosmic view on an understanding of the world generated in ancient palestine and admitting of no further developments. Today's magic is tomorrow's science. A motor car trundling into Judea 2000 years ago would have qualified as a supernatural event yet today's 'fundamentalist' Christian would presumably not regard it that way. The point is - Science need not compromise Faith - if you believe in a Creator then he created all this.<BR/>It's getting tricky now that many atheist scientists are actively insisting that the universe spontaneously arose. If they had just been content to MEASURE things and count insects we might not be in this pickle.<BR/>One thing I'm sure of though - if God does exist - he surely isn't playing absurd games with us. That's our own doing.<BR/>Grunt, you've set me off.....rjwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00469217721538821351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136490842152071142006-01-05T11:54:00.000-08:002006-01-05T11:54:00.000-08:00So these are the kinds of "Christians" that really...So these are the kinds of "Christians" that really get on my nerves and make me not want to go to church. <BR/><BR/>They take everything in the Bible at face value and refuse to have an open mind. I honestly believe that for anyone to believe in God they would need an open mind and be able to understand the world around them and the possiblity that the Bible could in fact be nothing more than a book of fairytales.Pokeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03292414619488656730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136484869672559552006-01-05T10:14:00.000-08:002006-01-05T10:14:00.000-08:00Great to see Scott and Maura, my regulars, here an...Great to see Scott and Maura, my regulars, here and in full force. Welcome to my blogmare, mhn for short.<BR/><BR/>Maura, I think that I originally started off the post in a serious, introspective tone, then my usual tainted humor mixed in with some aggravation and things might have past into the red. I'm only a cynic because I truly want to believe the theistic way, but am confronted with the brick wall of hard science. Ultimately, tests of faith can lead to transformation and increase your spirituality. I'm hoping that is where this struggle leads me. Even Darwin took his bible with him on the H.M.S. Beagle.The Grunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03845796879498225434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136482528493130462006-01-05T09:35:00.000-08:002006-01-05T09:35:00.000-08:00I love your tag line! got here via Thomas!I love your tag line! got here via Thomas!Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12936978108782777531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136470008823748212006-01-05T06:06:00.000-08:002006-01-05T06:06:00.000-08:00K, got to start off with saying that I am not real...K, got to start off with saying that I am not really a religions fellow, but I actually like the theory of intelligent design. It seems to make a lot of sense. I wouldn't even have a problem if they taught it in school, as long as it is taught as simply one theory that people have. I can not be presented as fact, but hey, neither can the big bang really, i mean you always get back to the "In the beginning" question... where did all those gases come from? Where did God come from? It is all based on some level of faith I guess. Fun to see the Religious wackos take it all so seriously.<BR/><BR/>ScottScotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16177305700247905809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136450101918184942006-01-05T00:35:00.000-08:002006-01-05T00:35:00.000-08:00Gotta say, Grunt, that sounded *slightly* cynical....Gotta say, Grunt, that sounded *slightly* cynical. In defense of the people who adamantly refuse to believe that evolution has any credence, they truly believe it to be a threat. The automatic reaction is hostility.<BR/><BR/>I used to believe that the earth was 6000 years old, up until and including my high school graduation. Later, as I started taking university level biology, I began to wonder. How could an enormous section of this branch of science be based on a false theory? I decided to start searching, and so far evolution is winning by a landslide.<BR/><BR/>Who was I going to believe? My Sunday School teacher, who I'd known my whole life? Or my biology teacher, a man with a red beard who looked like a lion? (He really did. Or maybe more like a hippie.) Really, they were both feeding me information of which I knew little of the back story. But I knew God, so I bought into the false dichotomy of "Science vs. Religion," "Creation vs. Evolution" and went with religion.<BR/><BR/>I've now seen past that, and can truly believe in both without fear of compromise. For anyone with questions about it, I recommend checking out http://www.ualberta.ca/%7Edlamoure/beyond.html ; an interesting lecture on the subject. (And if you're as nerdy as me, you could even take notes.)<BR/><BR/>And for the record, I am a regular.Emhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01327484562514817972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15402237.post-1136398662302518842006-01-04T10:17:00.000-08:002006-01-04T10:17:00.000-08:00(Rolls out red carpet)Ah, thanks for dropping by, ...(Rolls out red carpet)Ah, thanks for dropping by, Thomas. I refer to my blog as a "boutique". Hardly anyone drops by and buys anything (yeah, the stories do seem far fetched, but are based in fact).<BR/><BR/>All my regulars* have good blogs: Maura, Scott, RJW, Pokey, DaBugg. Thomas may not be a regular here, but I check out his blog quite often. It's worth the visit.<BR/><BR/>*regulars are people who have left more than two comments (pathetic, I know).The Grunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03845796879498225434noreply@blogger.com