Posted by John Nichols on March 03, 2006 at 05:49:54 from 165.91.47.13 user Mcneacail.
In Reply to: Re: History of Science (was Map dowsing) posted by Lyn on March 03, 2006 at 03:36:05:
Dear Lyn:
A long time ago someone told someone else a story. We now read the story as Genesis Chapter 1 Verse 3. You can read Asimov's brilliant discussion on the Bible and where it came from. After a long time - read several hundred years it is the work of God, whereas actually it is a creation myth. There are lots of creation myths - this one is just believed by a lot of people. A lot of people also believe in the death penalty and use the bible as the justification. Yet the Jewish people rarely executed and there is a brilliant research monograph on this point from Wyoming.
What we know as fact:
1. All humans are descended from one woman
2. She lived in Africa 150,000 years ago
3. She had a blackish skin
4. Maybe 1000 people - 70,000 years ago walked out of Africa to India to form all the non Africans therefore you and I share at least 1000 common ancestors and 99.1% genetic material and some common markers in a our mitochondrial DNA assuming you are descended from the 1000 and not the ones who remained a tad longer. We are all Africians in the end.
Before that there were humaniods around but not homo sapiens.
Before that was the big bang. We can get science down to the early points in the big bang but not all the way there.
Finally what created the big bang and is it a cycle or a straight line event - not proven is the last thing I remember reading but I could be wrong.
We have creation myths - cause they make good stories and every group has its myths. We now call it part of the corporate culture.
Finally why have religion - well it gives a moral side to life. Science has no morality except tell the truth about what you have done. It makes no statements about what is right or wrong - neither does the law in a lot of ways ie Texas executes, Wyoming doesn't: both the law which is right, each state would say there's is a better system, whereas Moses and Jesus both had problems with killing other people so I side with Wyoming and think execution is murder. I have no problem with life in prison and no parole.
So Science is not religion, religion may involve faith but sometimes the creation myth has to change, but heck we need a creation myth at the moment for the big bang cause science does not explain the first few moments nor the before.
I still go to the Church - why - cause it is filled with nice people who drink beer, eat together and share a common idea that man should be kind to one another - also no one excpet the minister talks for an hour and I can think without being interrupted as I zone him out. He is not a NF but some things he says are NFerish, and I tell him that.
So we can have both and we can love our fellow man in a blokey sort of way or a manly sort of way if so inclined and I am not inclined, but a lot I go to church with are manly inclined - for blokely way seee the movie Gallopoli.
Regards
John
We are entitled to our views, hopefully we can learn to live in peace and not kill each other to support our views, after all we do share a common mother back 6000 generations.