You know, I was thinking, I think Thomas is right that Creationists - whether in America or elsewhere - are doing themselves and others a disservice ... but it's not just because they misrepresent Christianity. They also misrepresent
science. What we end up hearing is the familiar
false dichotomy of
Creationism vs. Evolutionary THEORY (as some are keen to call it)
.
Most of us know good and well that the scientific teaching of evolution has, itself, evolved MUCH since it was originally presented
in modern form by Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin in the middle of the 19th century. The ancient Greeks were also evolutionists, Aristotle being a foremost scientist in his day, helping to guide the thinking of his peers [I mean
real thought], soliciting inquiry regarding
how we study and classify flora & fauna, and thus laying foundations for the future understanding of the world we live in.
But let's not confuse the scientific method, which does include empirical observation and the goal of producing
measureable, repeatable evidence ... with any particular set of teachings, or theories, which we have posited about Nature, since these ideas and theories we know to
always be subject to further revision as new studies are conducted, and new information becomes available for review.
Not everyone, as yet, can look out into the starry heavens and
see, either with naked eye or even with powerful telescopes, PROOF that there is anything like
Intelligent Design underlying all of Cosmos. But that does not mean that this is not the case.
Where such perceptions [as astronomers have every day] are lacking, it is quite understandable that the average citizen does not as frequently
ponder the idea of the meaning and Purpose for all of existence
... unless s/he is of the contemplative, philosophical mindset
.
But you see, we have just as many opportunities to
ponder the verities, and to recognize the
hand of the Creator, the proverbial
John Hancock [the
signature of the Divine in the HANDIWORK of the latter] ... if we observe the smallest ant, the ant building his anthill, or the majestic mountains in the distant landscape as they rise heavenward and remind of us of what human hands have
not done.
Evolution, for those who understand something of its inner workings, is no
blind process, either set in motion by a
clockwork God [although this is the belief of Deists, and I certainly think they are on the right track!] ... or so imperfectly conceived as to require such
Divine Intervention as many theologies are forced to invent, as they deviate further & further from the plausible and the
observable.
Again, the signature of God is evident, and many a scientist has already affirmed this in her awe and appreciation of the
ORDER apparent throughout all of Nature. We see this on every level, in the Macrocosm and in the micro ... in the DNA spiral and on sub-atomic levels as we come closer & closer to certain breakthroughs regarding the true nature of
matter.
We do know, as you point out, Thomas, that a more accurate picture of the
ESSEntial Nature of things is what Buddhists call
Interbeing. In this, there is a HIGHER revealed in the lower [even in the
least], just as we may soon also discover that in fact, Humanity is
not so alone after all ... meaning that the evolutionary process will soon enough be shown as the RULE [or
Law] governing all of Existence.
In the classrooms, we must stick to what we can presently defend, and although I admire what Dawkins says in likening the
Creationist myth to something like Holocaust denial [
Youtube link, from another IO thread], he is quite harsh in the treatment of the
Faith card.
At the end of this short clip, Dawkins calls attention, not just to
the American influence - as Thomas points out - but also to Islamist fundamentalism and the dangers of giving every crackpot idea under the sun equal airtime, all in the name of
multiculturalism.
You see, this is where, as a student of the Ageless Wisdom, knowing full well that the ancients in some cases were FAR more enlightened regarding Spiritual Evolution, Higher Powers in both Nature and man, even pondering the
raison d'etre for planets, stars and LIGHT ... I would say, YES, we
need to be having these discussions ~
~ and not just so we can
dismiss the notion of `equal airtime,' for although I quite agree that we must advance the scientific method as part of the FOUNDATION of Western society and a necessary mode of inquiry in the New Era, it is undoubtedly the case that additional lines of approach - to Wisdom, to knowledge, to Insight and
moral evolution also exist.
These, thank GOODNESS, cannot squarely be gathered under the roof of
one world religious tradition, or even among a collection of the most popular. They do not exist
"in their purest form," these lines of approach, in some particular country, or within the sacred halls of any one man's familiar trappings and preferred style of WORSHIP.
America, you see, was founded on the notion that we have
LIBERTY when it comes to matters such as this, along with the RIGHTS and privilege, so well enjoyed by participants in discussions such as this
from every country [or so many], to EXPRESS our point of view ... provided we do so Responsibly and without violence & bloodshed.
In fact, whether in America or
ANYWHERE ELSE in our world at the present time, it should be abundantly clear to anyone with a Conscience who is even halfway awake and paying attention, that certain
ancient lines of conflict and OUTDATED ideologies or
assumptions about human nature are being thoroughly put to the TEST.
It is clear to some, that either we
EVOLVE through, and BECAUSE OF - rather than despite - the present conflict, or ... and some would feign pretend that the
Cause and Effect relationship is not apparent ... Nature may wrap the matter up in Her own, tried and True, but sometimes cataclysmic fashion.
The stage is being set, the major Powers active in the world today are battling it out, and while scientists like Dawkins do have good points to make, they are still content to smirk at those who have the strength of religious Conviction on their side. I would agree with Dawkins, NOT that religionists are
hallucinating, but only that there is often a MISinterpretation of what they have experienced. For, as often as one man experiences JESUS in his out of body experience, another has met MOHAMMED.
When these two cannot sit across a table and acknowledge that what was most important was the EXPERIENCE ITSELF and its implications for a possible, necessary and
inevitable World PEACE [seems like a jump, but sometimes a LEAP OF FAITH is
precisely what is required] ... I shudder to think of what further cataclysms may
literally ROCK our world.
Either we get it together regarding this
Higher Power thing tout de suite, or I have a feeling all of the HYPE that Hollywood has been feeding us regarding 2012 and
Mayan Calendar catastrophes is going to start actually looking GOOD.
Yes, friends, the Yellowstone Caldera is still sitting there, just kind of slowly going ~
bubble, BuBble, BuBBle ...
So, you know, sorry to burs- wait, I mean ...
Fundamentalism, as many know, is simply the
death throes of the old world order, working itself out not simply in the religious or even the political arena ... but in
every Life upon our planet. When are some of us going to get the message, that what happens on the LARGER[est] scale affects what happens on the
smaller[est] ... and vice versa?
Butterfly effect, anyone?
This cycle repeats itself, it is well known and studied, and major world changes [Progress, Growth, all in accordance with a Divine PLAN] are coordinated ... Age after Age, as has ever been the case since the world began.
Why on EARTH [or, umm, any other planet with a Humanity!] would we find this surprising ... is a worthy subject of discussion, and this is what the world's many religions have tried to assist us with, down through the ages, though each has clearly offered a slightly varying means of SOLVING our dilemma.
I wonder, now that science and religion, with an Internet just teeming with philosophers, has entered the 21st Century ... will we survive long enough to work out the SOLUTION to our present Crisis?
If so, what will that SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY look like, which some have been envisioning and trying to help develop or Evolve since time and the human Journey first began? Certainly it will be a WORLD Civilization, even if there are still many and diverse Cultures, and even though a religious pluralism of expression must for a time characterize the coming Universalism.
Hmmm ....
