What would Newton do?? (May 2008)

I love science. I find nature unbelievably beautiful and through the method of scientific inquiry, we get to learn more and more about how nature WORKS. And you know what? The more you know about it, the more beautiful it becomes! Ok, let’s do some examples..

Is it more amazing to believe that the planets in the solar system move because they are being pushed around by angels? Or that countless many perfectly natural processes are responsible for the formation of, and motion of all the planetary bodies?

Is the majesty of the universe more awe-inspiring because someone snapped their omnipotent fingers to creat it just for US? Or does it take your breathe away to consider the unimaginable vastness that is space, and how it not only doesn’t know that we are here, but could care less?

What about the mathematical perfection in some natural occuring phenomena? The molusk shell forming a spiral with perfect proportions? Is it beautiful because someone made it that way, or because the molusk is naturally prone to producing calcium deposites in such a way that they are related to the Golden Ratio, and therefor happen to produce a design similar to the Archimedes Spiral?

How about the many marvels we’rve been able to produce as a result of our scientific understanding of nature? Have you never made breathless by the skyline of a major city at dusk? Ever sat through an entire airplane ride wondering about all the processes and calculation required to result in successful commercial air flight? Have you ever considered how YOU ARE STILL ALIVE thanks to antibiotics and our knowledge of germ theory?

So many things to be amazed over…. Then I see something like THIS:

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With barely more than 9 minutes of video, my faith in mankind is shattered, and my whole experience of the world around me is cheapened by these charlatans brainwashing and indoctrinating those poor children, who have a real interest in science. If sex crime had an intellectual counterpart it would be THIS VIDEO.

So, after spending several hours in the shower, curled up in the fetal position, trying to get the feel of this video off of me, I decided to write some stuff down. To say that I am offended and affronted would be like saying that the Jonestown massacre was a catering glitch.

Here’s the thing. I don’t really understand why there is this dichotomy of religion and science. Science isn’t even a set of beliefs, it’s just a methods of uncovering TRUTHES about reality. So for someone to say that they don’t believe in science is to say that they don’t believe in reality. Science helps us to understand HOW reality workd, not necessarily WHY. Religion and philosophy can keep the why. Their whys, however, should never be exclusive of the hows provided to us by our knowledge of the world around us.

These schmucks want to come into museums, which are celebration of man’s knowledge of nature, and try to say that it’s all wrong, fine. But I bet if I decided to take some kids to a church service and explain to them how all the things the preacher is saying are simply wrong because it’s physically impossible for a virgin to have a baby, for a man to return from the dead, for a sea to be split open at a man’s whim, for snakes to talk, a world-wide flood to occur (while luckily every single species of animal on the planet lived withing walking distance to Noah’s house), or for a man to live several days in the belly of a whale.

That would be unthinkable, and rightly so. Why? Because scientific knowledge (whether it’s true or not) has no place in religion. Those who claim that it does are operating on a logical phallacy. You can follow science and still believe in religion, but you can’t base your religion on science. Well, scientists (most anyway) respect that divide. Non-overlapping magisterium is fine. Why the hell can’t religio-nazis respect it as well?

The biggest debates in this country stem from people trying to make scientific claims on the observable world BASED ON THIER RELIGION! And the next person who tries to tell me that Intelligent Design isn’t religion is going to get a copy of the Wedge document (wiki it) shoved up their righteous ass.

There is a prayer that I used to know as a christian. Tons of people know it but few actually comprehend it I think. “Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the thing I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the WISDOM to know the difference.” News flash! REALITY is one of the things YOU CANNOT CHANGE!