mm: That's certainly a matter of opinion.
I'll say, metmom! My own view is, not only is science not in an "unprecedented golden age of discovery and utilization," but rather that it's in the throes of a profound intellectual (one might even say spiritual) crisis. It has come the end of the road of the Newtonian Paradigm. That paradigm is eminently suitable to the investigation of material mechanical systems in Nature. But that's it.
Increasingly, it turns out that living organisms are not material mechanical systems. So for science to treat of them as if they were, i.e., that they are "meat machines," is inevitably to hit the wall. And it seems to me that's pretty much where the biological sciences in general are nowadays IMHO.
The Newtonian Paradigm is utterly unsuitable to the investigation of life and consciousness. Though it is "heretical" to say that. (A person even hinting this would never get published at JourTheolBiol nowadays, and that's for sure....)
Status quo biology is freaking out. Abject denial in the face of massive evidence will do that to you. The Darwinians cling to life only by virtue of aggressive and highly unprincipled tactics against all dissent and dissenters.
Something's got to give.
Thanks for your great post metmom!
They can however continue to make discoveries (e.g. pharmaceuticals) of great value.
Thank you so very much for sharing your beautiful insights, dearest sister in Christ!
Remember this guy???
All he said was...
In his speech, Reiss said that while creationism had no scientific basis, science teachers risked alienating pupils who believed in the idea by dismissing it out of hand. “They should take the time to explain how science works and why creationism has no scientific basis,” he said.
And for that he was forced to slit his own throat:
The Royal Society announced Reiss’s resignation in a statement today. It said: “Some of Professor Michael Reiss’s recent comments, on the issue of creationism in schools, while speaking as the Royal Society’s Director of Education, were open to misinterpretation. While it was not his intention, this has led to damage to the Society’s reputation. As a result, Professor Reiss and the Royal Society have agreed that, in the best interests of the Society, he will step down immediately as director of education.”
In short, the Temple of Darwin does not allow even the slightest deviation from the party line to go unpunished.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/sep/16/michael.reiss.resignation