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To: swmobuffalo
Despite what a lot of people think, science teachers teach just that science.

I would like to see science teachers teach even more science and less nonsense.

And the anti-science religious fundamentalism that is being pushed in some areas has no role in science education.

Look up the decline in Arab science--there were many centuries when learning was largely restricted to Arab lands; it certainly wasn't in Europe. Look up why that Arab science and learning declined.

53 posted on 01/20/2009 9:40:58 PM PST by Coyoteman (Religious belief does not constitute scientific evidence, nor does it convey scientific knowledge.)
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To: Coyoteman
Science and religion are not antithetical. The problem arises when practitioners of each force them into domains that they were not intended to address. As a committed Christian and one trained in and working as a scientist, I see no disconnect. Many others before me have come to the same conclusion.

By it's very nature, science is limited by the need to observe and to do so repeatedly. The dangers of extrapolation are well known. The problem with the scientific study of origins is that it can never produce more than a theory. One can never observe the process in the laboratory and one's understanding is always based upon extrapolations. In scientific terminology, it is "an ill posed problem." The scientist cannot, nor could they ever, observe all the data and repeat the experiment under controlled conditions.

Religion, by nature posits the existence of a god and is concerned with the relationship between that god and man. Christianity in particular (since that is where your attack appeared to be aimed) presupposes the existence of a God who transcends space and time and who has revealed Himself to mankind throughout history. Orthodox Christians believe that revelation was ultimately through the person of Jesus Christ and that our sovereign God was capable of preserving a sufficiently complete record of His revelation through the ages - in the form of what we today call the Bible. Orthodox Christians generally recognize that God prepared the writers of the Bible to faithfully and accurately record His intended communication. That communication was by nature designed to communicate with the original audience and because of the universal truth communicated is relevant and applicable to people of every time, including today. Again, most orthodox Christians agree that we need to let the author (God) speak for himself and guide our understanding of the record. This brings me to the creation accounts - Genesis 1, John 1, and Col 1:15-16. Looking at these together shows that the point is to present the pre-incarnate Christ as the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists today. The Bible also presents the created universe as evidence of God's power.

The problem comes in when scientists and Christians alike want to look at the Bible and read it like a submission to the Journal of Applied Physics or Nature or some other premier scientific journal. The text of the Bible makes it clear that God did not intend to author such a genre. God's intent was to present Himself to mankind as an orderly creator and sovereign over His creation, not to write a textbook of physics or molecular biology. In the end, those who accept Christ as Sovereign Lord and Creator and those who reject Him in favor of a totally naturalistic explanation do so by faith - either faith in One who gives us sufficient evidence if we care to look or faith solely in one's own reasoning. Either way, the decision is based on far more than "science."

74 posted on 01/21/2009 4:15:18 AM PST by RochesterFan
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To: Coyoteman; swmobuffalo
And the anti-science religious fundamentalism that is being pushed in some areas has no role in science education.

Where? What kind?

Wake up. Evolution has had the monopoly in public education through litigation and the abuse of the judiciary for decades. How can you keep repeating the lie that teaching creation in public schools is going to destroy the science education the kids are receiving?

It's not like science in public schools is anything worth mentioning as it is and creation has nothing to do with it.

86 posted on 01/21/2009 4:58:27 AM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Coyoteman

” I would like to see science teachers teach even more science and less nonsense.

And the anti-science religious fundamentalism that is being pushed in some areas has no role in science education.”

I just said science teachers do just that teach science.

And as for the religious fundamentalism, that’s just a tad bit of a strawman. There’s no real danger of religion replacing science. In many cases, religion backs up the science.

What the idiot Muslims do is there problem.


102 posted on 01/21/2009 4:32:20 PM PST by swmobuffalo ("We didn't seek the approval of Code Pink and MoveOn.org before deciding what to do")
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