Philosophical Ramblings

I am often asked about my beliefs and opinions, and upon answering, very similar questions and comments often follow.

Comment 1: Religious fervor has been the source of so much violence in world history.

I reply: It sure appears that way. But this is not the work of God, it is the fault of man. Man has many faults, and in my opinion, the greater majority of wars have been fought over want of land, over pride, over vengeance, over greed ...

Religion is often blamed when no other cause or scapegoat is apparent (much like race, gender, financial status). It has been used as a cover by some decidedly UNreligious people in carrying out their own agendas. To borrow a phrase: Religion doesn't kill people, people kill people.

On the other hand, one can also argue that religious faith has been the foundation beneath some of the worlds greatest minds, and some of humanities greatest acts of compassion.

Comment 2: What about evolution? Are you a Creationist, or something?

I reply: I am not a Creationist. But, I don't believe the Bible and science are at odds, necessarily, either. Much heated debate over this one area almost always results from either a misunderstanding of science by theologians or an incorrect assumption by scientists of what the Bible itself claims. Science cannot prove there is a God, but neither can it prove there is no God. Real science is neutral. Real science, in my view, is merely the logical human description of how God's universe works.

As an engineer, I will freely admit that while I do believe that the human mind is a truly wonderful thing, and that the scientific method has produced a steady stream of fascinating discoveries over the centuries, I also believe that we should not be too smugly arrogant about ourselves and our abilities as thinking creatures. We are all too often reminded that while we may think we understand the universe around us, we are by no means masters of it, and are constantly being shown our first assumptions were wrong. In my opinion, given the several billion years that this earth has been around, to think that we, as thinking creatures, have figured out how things work largely within the past 100 years or so, would be the peak of arrogance. In the coming century and millenium, how will our current knowledge be viewed in the future?

Finally, the Bible is not a history book, nor a science textbook, but there are hundreds of millions of people at least who will claim that it has changed their lives.

As far as evolution goes, this is where I differ with fundamentalist idealogy. I have read parts of Darwin's "Origin of the Species". I strongly urge anyone who wishes to argue evolution vs. creation to read it. I admire Darwin's very reasonable and careful approach at formulating his theory. He wasted no opportunity to show how this whole theory could fall apart like a house of cards. He also offered logical explanations on how these pitfalls could be overcome. His adherence to strict procedures of scientific theory was admirable.

I also do not believe the theories proposed by evolutionists threaten my religious beliefs. A good, close, study (and I repeat: study - not a casual reading, not a children's story version of the Creation) of the first chapters of Genesis will reveal it is not incompatible with anything we "know" now about our own origins and the origin of the universe around us.

Personally, I am about as much like the Biblical "Doubting Thomas" as they come. There are many questions that I feel the church has had a poor record of addressing

Nevertheless, the most important point I'd like to make is that you do not have to give up your scientifically trained minds, your logical way of thinking, to have a strong spiritual life, or to have your life enriched by study of the Holy Bible. In fact, maybe you can bring to the church a new insight into it.