The Warfare Is Mental

False Argument #2: Genesis Chronology Violates Law Of Photosynthesis

May 10, 2008

One common but flawed argument against a literal interpretation of Genesis states that the chronology violates biology by listing the creation of seed-bearing plants and vegetation before the creation of the sun. Now if we are taking Genesis literally, this is in fact what Genesis incontrovertibly appears to say; however, the argument proposed to refute this is typically based on a singular claim, namely that seed-bearing plants and vegetation need light and photosynthesis to have arisen. From everything we know from the Enlightenment until now, this also is in fact what science incontrovertibly appears to say; however, what the argument fails to account for is that light is recorded as being present in the creation process much earlier in Genesis 1:3 and concurrent with the creation of seed-bearing plants and vegetation. Thus the rebuttal to this argument is at least twofold: 1) Yes, it is true that seed-bearing plants and vegetation would need light to grow on Earth, however 2) Genesis records that light was in fact present prior to the creation of seed-bearing plants and vegetation.

Note this is not the same as implying the sun was created before the other stars. Scripture simply states that light was present, and we know life needs light to exist, evolve and flourish. Of the many arguments against creationism, this is one of the demonstrably weaker claims.

False Argument #1: Science Is Incompatible With Religion

May 8, 2008

The word science comes from the Latin scientia, which translates literally "to know," and humans want to know the answers to the fundamental questions of our own existence: Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going? How did we get here?

On Wisdom

Why might wisdom be defined as more valuable than wealth? Money comes and goes, and with it troubles. Wisdom provides consistency amidst variety; it anchors or adheres to principle. The wise life is the better life regardless of secondary circumstances such as wealth, status or current level of comfort. The wise life cultivates not blind or superficial happiness amidst misfortune, but serene and transcendent understanding whenever possible. For when one is living wisely, it matters little whether one is rich or poor; weekend warrior or professional athlete; far along in their career or nubile; single or happily married. Any combination of those in the absence of wise living can cease to be blissful and quickly turn sour.

Statistics

May 2, 2008

Statistics refers to mathematical science relating to the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.

Statistics can be misleading, vague and distorted. The word itself has roots to the 1797 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica where it was defined as a "word lately introduced to express a view or survey of any kingdom, county, or parish." Statistics are figures collected by politicians, economists, government officials, physicians, mathematicians and others, with the object being to obtain information about the society and its members that would be useful and thus increase their leverage and efficacy in social improvement and control. One example is the London Statistical Society, which defined the furtherance of statistics as a science as its goal and among other things gave advice to the government on the types of data they felt should be collected as part of the various censuses conducted periodically in the British Isles.

Statistics without specifics are useless. Take as an example the statement that since George W. Bush took office in 2000 to the national election of 2004, approximately one million jobs were lost. Such an ambiguous statistic allows the reader to interpret it based upon their like or dislike of the president. If we knew the specifics, we could discern whether the jobs lost had a positive or negative impact on our domestic economy. If the jobs lost were those of average, hard-working family-raising Americans, the loss would seem a bad thing. If the jobs lost were positions held by unnecessary government bureaucrats in an attempt to cut some fat in our over-expanded federal government, the loss would seem quite good.

Inherit The Wind: A Case Study In Intellectual Polarization

April 24, 2008

It seems to me that America is becoming an increasingly divided country. Ostensibly the land of plenty, many struggle amidst deep socio-political and economic rifts. This division manifests through a series of false intellectual dichotomies: Republican vs. Democrat, scientist vs. religionist, pro-life vs. pro-choice, peace vs. war, activist vs. apathetic, traditional vs. progressive, etc. The situation has deteriorated such that one can’t even mention God in class or utter the name of Darwin in church without somebody getting all up in arms. What might have contributed to this odd social phenomenon?

Life

April 23, 2008

As any good biologist or taxonomist can tell you, there is a fundamental line of demarcation between living and non-living systems. Among others, a few of the prerequisites for a living system of any sort are the abilities to process energy, store information and replicate. A rock, for example, seems to contain information in the form of mineral structure, textual pattern and general shape, but rocks cannot process energy or replicate. Also, all living things must contain amino acids, along with DNA and/or RNA.

Eugenics

April 14, 2008

Aside from its ability to explain differentiation in the Galapagos finches, the idea of natural selection also carries implications for the future of any species. Defined neutrally, eugenics is the study of human betterment through means of gene manipulation and control, and the movement’s scientific reputation was forever tarred and feathered when Ernst Rüdin began incorporating eugenic rhetoric into Nazi propaganda and racial policy.

List Of Notable Religious Scientists

April 11, 2008

At the thought of perusing any list of religious scientists, the question may immediately arise: Why are we told over and over again that the Church was an impediment to science? Confusingly, the answer is because it was. Be it religious, scientific, political or otherwise, bureaucracy is notorious for clinging to tradition in the face of challenge and it has long been noted that power structures tend to favor any course of action that will preserve power. Almost all of the following science pioneers were independent thinkers that were barred from the orthodox churches and universities of their day. The pattern is one that repeats throughout history. The dominant power structure establishes the status quo, and anybody who dissents is labeled a heretic, ostracized or worse yet – executed.

Bible

April 2, 2008

The Bible claims for itself to be a recording of the creator’s interaction with the creation, specifically the ancient Hebrews or Israelites, the predecessors of our modern day Jews. The word ‘bible’ comes from ta biblia, the Greek neuter-plural form of to biblion, which translates, ‘book,’ or ‘scroll.’ Hence, 'the Bible,' or ta biblia means ‘the books,’ and the plural form suggests that the Bible is not a single work but a small library of books written by many authors. Indeed that is the case with 66 different books in the canon, written by roughly 40 different authors of different backgrounds at different times occurring over a period of almost 2,000 years. The first book ever printed was in fact the Gutenberg Bible in the mid-fifteenth century, so named after the man who invented the printing press, John Gutenberg.

Abiogenesis

March 28, 2008

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