Trouble is, this boy ain’t got no faith. And that’s trouble. It’s all in the Book, and if he feels that somehow he has to figure until he understands God intellectually, well that’s a very big job and no one is up to it. Sometimes science looks pretty pathetic, doesn’t it.
Not really. The wonders and marvels that have been created thanks to science have changed the face of the world. Science usually does a fantastic job of explaining exactly how and why God's wondrous creations work (in the long run, after some theories prove to be a bit off the mark)... and that knowledge leads to creative manipulations of the available materials, and we get wonderful things like buildings, bridges, electricity, communication, travel (including to the moon), adequate food supplies for an exponentially-growing population, etc, etc, etc. Check out that funny little TV-typewriter combo you're using to dismiss science's importance, instantaneously, possibly from the other side of the globe. Hint: the Bible doesn't have the blueprints for it.
If you want to talk about something that does a pathetic job of explaining things, let's talk about the Bible, and it's history of misinterpretations, intentional rewrites by ruling elites, vague stories and parables that continually have to be re-interpreted to match the truths that science reveals, etc. I'm glad The Good Book inspires billions to lead better lives and seek salvation... that's what it was written to do. But that isn't the issue here. It seems rather silly to dismiss science and all it has done, in favor of believing in some theologian's translations through a dozen languages, applied to single verses or phrases, as a way to explain something as complex and massive as the development of species over thousands (and millions) of years. It (the Bible) simply wasn't written for that purpose. Why do so many insist that it was, and that this incomprehensibly strained explanation is somehow superior to the scientific method that has been responsible for virtually every development and achievement of mankind?
The Bible was not written to explain the workings of the universe. The first half explains that you must believe... or else, because God is angry and jealous. That's about the depth of understanding it offers. (It does have some pretty stories about how good things happened to good people, and bad things happened to bad people... but that's anecdotal information, not an explanation of how stuff works.) The second half changes the rationale, and says that you should believe in God and follow Jesus, because they love you... and then there's some more nice stories about people in it... but the message stays the same: believe, and live life His way, and you'll be happier.
Again, it is blueprint for how to live a better life, and it gives a good reason for doing so ('cuz He says so, and that's all you need). It does not offer insights into geology or astronomy any more than "Gone With the Wind" offers insights into the GDP of Russia during the era of the czars. It wasn't written for that purpose. Science does exist to do that, and it does a pretty good job of it. What makes it even better is that the scientific method openly welcomes criticism, dissent, change, and better explanations. The truth wins out in the end, and that's all that matters. That's a system that deserves respect, too.