Gingerich/Dyson Videos (Oct. 1, 2007)
Owen Gingerich: Religion and science can coexist; essential that
there's no element w/ mass 5; people might see it as a blunder, just
like w/ would look at a lot of things and say it's
unintelligent/pointless/etc (i.e. sometimes I complain about ants, but
they are important for the overall biosphere, too); unity in the
universe and science leading to an ultimate unity is the driving
force; anthropic principle; 3 ways: master plan of designer (religious
evidence); we're in one of many universes (mathematical evidence, but
not enough scientific support thus far, more philosophical than
scientific, but perhaps Heaven could be considered another
universe/dimension); no alternative universes possible; atheism is a
religion in itself, it takes a lot of faith to be an atheist, nothing
scientific about it, assuming what they can't prove; ultimately the
reason why many scientists and people in general reject God is simply
for personal reasons (love of their sin/godless way of life, confusion
about evil, etc). God is way bigger and more complex than we can
imagine, no He is not a man, we are made in the image of God, but I'm
pretty sure He didn't mean physical image; I don't think of Him as
physical, I wouldn't really know how to describe Him in that way (and
I say "Him" only to make it easier to describe God, because since both
men and women were made in His image, then we can be sure that He has
both masculine and feminine characteristics/emotions/etc plus a whole
bunch of divinity that doesn't even compare to us). All I can say w/
some certainty is a little on His personality, His desires, His plan
as a whole and other things that are found in the Bible. God's way of
communicating with us is personal, through humans, but also in many
other ways (which we probably haven't even recognized yet) i.e.
nature. I agree that our image of God-my image of God-is no doubt
very simplistic compared to how He really is, but I think that what He
has revealed to us thus far is enough to at least allow us hope of
learning more and being in His presence someday. I semi-agree w/
Gingerich's comment about God reaching out and communicating in unique
ways to various cultures, through various religions, and to random
people (after all, I would have never started believing and trusting
in God had He not captured my attention and turned me to the Bible).
However, from a Christian prospective (and a logical one) there can't
be many paths because if there were, we would be gods in that whatever
religion we think up would be legit and come true. There would be no
such thing as evil and sin (so maybe God just added evil for kicks and
giggles?) because there are MANY religions that do not address those
and/or have a way of atoning/becoming right w/ God in order to join
Him in Heaven. Or God wouldn't be holy, etc. I could go on and on,
but the bottom line is Jesus would be a liar and the Bible would be
full of lies because Christ said that HE is the way, the truth, and
the life. Gingerich is either not a Christian or a baby Christian
that has dangerous misunderstandings (Christ to him is a prophet, like
Islam's view; not God, so not capable of taking our sins and making us
right w/ God, no salvation, etc). I think it's still possible that
he's saved though because I remember when I was a baby Christian-and
even now!-there was a lot that I misunderstood due to not being well
versed in the scriptures. This video was interesting, but at the end
of the day my main concern will always be whether people are saved or
not because God is too flippin awesome and amazing for any1 to miss
out on.
Dyson: Hehe, he's funny at the beginning when he's giving the
interviewer a hard time finding something they can relate to/agree
with completely. To him, religion is a way of life w/ out belief,
which for born-again Christians is pretty much the complete opposite:
we'd rather steer away from being "religious" and concentrate on
devotion to God and growth in His Word (the Bible). My dislike of the
word "religion" is that for the most part it is man-made. We, as
humans, come up with certain ways of doing things, traditions,
additional rules, etc that aren't necessarily bad, but they could
distract from being fully focused on God. I get kind of annoyed when
my friends introduce me as "religious" because I don't consider myself
that at all. "Someone who's on fire for the Lord," that's how I'd
like to be described. Anyway, yet again I'm a little disappointed
because it doesn't seem as if this one is saved either. I wish
there were more scientists I could relate to. Honestly it sucks,
because if you think about it, the gospel really is quite simple,
simple enough that children can understand it and be saved. Why then
can't some of the "greatest" minds get it? Man, I love science but
now it kind of seems like we're being attacked (scientists are). You
know how it's harder for rich people to enter Heaven because they're
so wrapped up in their materialism and tend to think that they don't
need anything, especially God? Well maybe scientists can be viewed as
"intelligently rich" and they're so busy thinking up all these things
and trying to figure stuff out that they too get distracted from God.
So far, we've heard from highly credible scientists, but not
necessarily highly credible believers of God.
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