January 19, 2006

News from the church people...

Because I'm sure everybody checking into this blog is at least as church-going and devout as am I, I thought I'd take a moment from the typical innanity and get my liturgical learn on for just a moment.

First up, please note that intelligent design is not science - and it's not just me, regular Joe Schmoe non-expert, saying things here, but rather, it's the Vatican semi-official newspaper. Just in time for tomorrow's edition of Odin's Word.

And secondly, apparently the religious right is mounting a clear and open attack on Roe v Wade. And apparently from the photo found on that website, they're employing tactics by taking advantage for our weaknesses for a certain look that could be kindly described as Ned Beaty-ish or like the salesman from Green Acres

Thank heaven for the devout and blind...

4 comments:

G-Rob said...

My wife and I have discussed this thoroughly as a parent of a 2 year old and knowing she will one day be entering the school system.

It is my opinion that "intelligent design" does not belong in any government funded institution. It is nothing more than a theological explanaation of how we came into being. Anyone who subscribes to reality will have room in their minds to also accept the fact that while it makes for a great bedtime story, science is making the better case.

While God sounds like a very knowledgable and powerful guy, I have a hard time he would be as twisted as to create us immaculately out of Adam and Eve, THEN have the sense of humor to turn around and create beings like apes that include genetic code so close to humans that it makes great minds like Darwin question his "intelligent design" of living things.

And if God's design was so intelligent, how was he so off base as to include such features as the appendix, coccyx, and wisdom teeth? Is someone in Vatican City going to try to convince me that God made physiological mistakes like those?

The way I see it, they'd have to come up with something good, because condeing that God may have been imperfect opens the door to many other debates.

And if it weren't for Darwin, how would we be able to honor the poor saps that kill themselves accidentally every year trying to do something completely asinine? Thank you, Darwin.

Now, that said, I do believe there is a place for "intelligent design" in the educational system. It belongs in the colleges and universities. Places students pay to go further their education, that is where this belongs. Not in schools where they are a captive audience, e.g. high school.

That is just one man's opinion on the subject.

G-Rob said...

And now for Roe v Wade, something else that I am very passionate about.

Besides the religious right telling us all it is wrong, I have yet to hear a convincing argument to take away a woman's right to choose what she does with her own body. This is and always will be a battle based on the beliefs of the church. And last I checked, the church is not where we run this great country from...at least I thought that until G. W. took office.

It is just a real shame that legal precedents like Roe v Wade are targeted for overturning because our own President finds it his own personal mission to outlaw abortion because of his own religious beliefs.

I should shut up now. Sorry for going so lefty here, Lonnie. My respect level for anything in Washington DC is in the toilet these days because I haven't seen a shred of anything beyond Christian motives coming out of there since G. W. took office.

PHSChemGuy said...

You're always welcome to go lefty around here, G. I tend to empathize with you when you do.

The moment that I really wait for - in regards to the fallible God - is if and when we discover sentient life on some other planet. The church - long ago, admittedly - fought science when people tried to say the Earth wasn't quite the center of the universe, and the Church ended up being - um, I think - wrong.

I just can't wait until we hopefully find some sort of sentient life - not mold, not spores, not unicellular stuff, but rather big things that can somehow communicate and show intelligence - and the Church tries to explain how our anthropomorphic God would've created those things as well.

And as for the abortion debate, my firm view is that people have the choice to not choose abortion. That doesn't take any sort of legislation, and that should be good enough for the religious right. Taking away that choice isn't within the freedom from/of religion on which I thought our nation was founded. It is, instead, imposing someone's religious beliefs on others, and that bothers me.

G-Rob said...

In terms of the fact our country was founded on some pretty strong religious principles, our forefathers were very devout and faithful people. They extablished our society based on many of these beliefs and principles. They even saw fit to include some of the symbology and terminology on our currency.

And despite that all, they also had the foresight and sensitivity to write a thing called the Bill of Rights, which included a bit (as you said, Lonnie) that gave everyone the freedom to worship (or not) as they saw fit. And as far as I know, it is still in effect.

On a much more petty note, didn't god create us all in his own image? That means when we find those sentient beings on planet X-719 in the Andromeda galaxy, we might need to re-think how we picture god. No more Alanis Morrisette, eh?