Interesting blog on Newsweek

[YOhio]

Newsweek is hosting an "On Faith" group blog and Michael Otterson (Church spokesman) even has a handful of posts. One of them that stood out in particular was entitled "God is even Grander than Even Believers Know."

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/o...hink.html#more

A couple of good quotes from this post:
"The universe is vaster, more intricate, more mind-boggling and complex and a more exciting place than is found in the confining strictures of biblical literalism that insist – quite unnecessarily - that the earth was created in six 24-hour days"

and

"Scientific breakthroughs and understanding can be seen either as a challenge to religious faith, or as yet another glimpse into the working of the mind of God and how He might have created the universe. I don’t expect we will find answers to very many pieces of this complex puzzle, but I don’t resent science for trying."

Anyways, the blog shows a different side of Otterson where he seems much more engaged. I'd recommend checking it out.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/o.../archives.html

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by YOhio

A couple of good quotes from this post:
"The universe is vaster, more intricate, more mind-boggling and complex and a more exciting place than is found in the confining strictures of biblical literalism that insist – quite unnecessarily - that the earth was created in six 24-hour days"

and

"Scientific breakthroughs and understanding can be seen either as a challenge to religious faith, or as yet another glimpse into the working of the mind of God and how He might have created the universe. I don’t expect we will find answers to very many pieces of this complex puzzle, but I don’t resent science for trying."

I like those quotes. I've been reading about the compatibility of relgion and science.

This one thing I've never understood. Why do people allow themselves to embrace doctrines so tenuous that they have to live in fear of science?
Why would anyone want to insist that Genesis has to be interpreted strictly literally when such interpretation sets up a scientific rebuff. You'd think Christians would have learned something from the Copernican revolution. You can't put God in a tiny little box.


.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

I like those quotes. I've been reading about the compatibility of relgion and science.

This one thing I've never understood. Why do people allow themselves to embrace doctrines so tenuous that they have to live in fear of science?
Why would anyone want to insist that Genesis has to be interpreted strictly literally when such interpretation sets up a scientific rebuff. You'd think Christians would have learned something from the Copernican revolution. You can't put God in a tiny little box.


.

I had a conversation about evolution with a Pentacostal neighbor who was talking about a recording he had of a Christian pastor that had fully debunked Darwin. I didn't want to be confrontational, but asked how this pastor would explain dinosaurs (they lived with man), carbon dating (it's wrong), and the fact that the deeper we dig into the earth, fossil evidence shows that life become less and less complex (no response). I didn't have the heart to raise questions about us seeing light from stars that started its journey millions of years ago, and how that could square with his assertion that the earth and the universe are roughly 13-14 thousand years old.

All the time I kept thinking, "Why do you feel the need to paint yourself into this corner? I seriously doubt salvation depends on one's views about evolution."

Perhaps Aaron, if he is still lurking, could shed some light on this.

[BarbaraGordon]

Yes, Noah. That is correct.

The earth is 6000 years old. Carbon-dating is inaccurate and a tool of the scientific conspiracy against religion.

Dinosaurs did in fact coexist with man, and there is evidence of this in the O.T.

Methusela really did live to be 500 years old. We live shorter lives now because of the irreparable harm done to our atmosphere during the global flood.

The speed of light is not constant. It has slowed considerably over time. That's how we're seeing light from so far away. That light need not imply that the earth is an older than we originally thought.


Who needs Occam's razor, anyway?

[myboynoah]

The sad, yet interesting thing, Bat Girl, is that many Mormons would espouse much of what you've just written. I'm not an expert, but it seems that 40 years ago there was an internal movement within The Church and some of the leadership toward a more literal interpretation of Scripture, particularly when it came to how we all got here.

Happily, more enlightened minds won the day and this conservative position was never codified, although there was what now seems like a fairly humorous and partially successful attempt to make an end run to draw Mormons into lock step with their Evangelical third cousins. The tendancy still exists among our more conservative elements (I suspect my parents would fall into this grouping until given the chance to really think it through). Nonetheless, The Church wisely takes no position on evolution.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

Yes, Noah. That is correct.

The earth is 6000 years old. Carbon-dating is inaccurate and a tool of the scientific conspiracy against religion.

Dinosaurs did in fact coexist with man, and there is evidence of this in the O.T.

Methusela really did live to be 500 years old. We live shorter lives now because of the irreparable harm done to our atmosphere during the global flood.

The speed of light is not constant. It has slowed considerably over time. That's how we're seeing light from so far away. That light need not imply that the earth is an older than we originally thought.


Who needs Occam's razor, anyway?

That's silly. Everyone knows that the earth is now 6007 year old.

[Archaea]

Interesting blog, but after reading much of it, if I weren't LDS, I'd be Catholic, Adventist or Jewish, or perhaps Chinese Buddhist. Otherwise, atheism would be a great way to go.

However, the Bible Bashers are obnoxious. Geeze, I can see why some wish to be Democrats.

How does one function as a fundamentalist? That is what is amazing. One simply dismisses all that one finds inconsistent as some big scam?

[tooblue]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

I like those quotes. I've been reading about the compatibility of relgion and science.

This one thing I've never understood. Why do people allow themselves to embrace doctrines so tenuous that they have to live in fear of science?
Why would anyone want to insist that Genesis has to be interpreted strictly literally when such interpretation sets up a scientific rebuff. You'd think Christians would have learned something from the Copernican revolution. You can't put God in a tiny little box.


.

My ernest desire is to raise my children so that they fear nothing. While we are careful about what they watch and read as entertainment, we are more careful to expose them to all that is good; music, movies, television, books etc.

We live in a city that is the birthplace of the Pentecostal movement in Canada. Many nieghbors and coworkers are evangelical and our children's faith is consistently challenged. I am less concerned with giving my children the answers to tough questions and more concerned with them understanding the origins of the question, the motivation for asking it and the wherewithall to discover the answers for themselves.

That is how I was brought up.