Wherein the Author Wishes to Give Mr. Robertson a Swift Kick and Opines on Science and Faith

[thomryng]

This man is clearly in need of some professional help.

First, he publically called for the assassination of the President of Venezuela. Granted, he apologized (perhaps realizing that is a felony in the United States), he did but did not recant. Then, he claimed that Hurricane Katrina was somehow caused by legalized abortion.

And now:

I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city... If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them.

While I'm willing to grant Pascal's assertion that occasionally we catch glimpses of reality which transcend reason (more or less his definition of Christianity), it does not follow that Christians are required to be nonsensical.

I just returned from Mass, and what I heard there was vastly different.

(F)rom the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.

In answer to Mr. Robertson's anti-science, I ask: can science contradict the Christian faith?

The answer must be: of course not. As Pope John Paul II said, "truth cannot contradict truth". If Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection accurately describes the evolution of life on Earth - if it's true - then it cannot be incompatible with Christianity. Is Genesis literally true? Of course not; some of the earliest Church Fathers said as much. For one thing, there are two different accounts of creation there. And just in case anybody was unclear on the idea of mythopœic cosmogenesis, the first chapter of John's Gospel should pretty much clear up the concept.

They're myths, people. They are an inspired attempt to speak Truth, not facts. Genesis tells us about God and about the people who worshipped Him, and about how to live, not about exactly how the physics of cosmogenesis works.

Science seeks to understand how the universe works. Faith seeks to understand why and what to do now.

Science may eventually unravel the secrets of time and space, but it cannot describe an Eternal God who transcends time, an omnipotent God who transcends space.

Anyway, I'm going to Shakabrah to write now. Maybe I actually will manage something.

Comments

[bastetsbeloved.livejournal.com]

Well, at least he's moved off of the notion that Hurricane Katrina was caused by Southern Decadence (gay festival in New Orleans scheduled for right around the time the hurricane hit).

I try to be a good Buddhist about the likes of Pat Robertson. I try to look at him as a sign post. Granted, I tend to think he's a sign post for stupidity... hence, why I am trying to be good. =)

He reminds me every time I see him to avoid the evils of judgment. He reminds me to share knowledge with anyone who wants to listen, to build community wherever I may, and to make sure I speak with compassion in my heart rather than ignorance.

And, then there are days when I can't be such a good Buddhist and simply wish a house would fall on him.

We cannot all think and believe the same way. I suspect for Mr. Robertson this is the stuff of which his nightmares are made.

[thomryng.livejournal.com]

And, then there are days when I can't be such a good Buddhist and simply wish a house would fall on him

Well, we're all still human, after all! I confess to moments of anger with these sorts of folks, and Mr. Robertson in particular. I try to be a good Christian.

But imagine if he were a Buddhist and saying these things. That's how I feel. Not only disgusted that a member of my own species is saying these things, but a person who ostensibly believes the universe works the same way I do is saying these things.

*shudder*

[kingcadillac.livejournal.com]

I don't think he sees the world in a way that even vaguely resembles yours. Sure, some of the words are the same, but the meaning is very different.

I understand your consternation, though. Lucky for me, Buddhists don't generally say the kind of ignorant shit Robertson does, but I know that there are people professing to be Buddhist who have absolutely no compassion or appreciation, and such people say some pretty horrible things. Like when the tsunami hit, there was an american tibetan dude who made absurd comments that were all doctrine and no feeling (you may recall I ranted about him for some time). So, Robertson is like that, but with venom and a dose of crazy.

You are neither uncompassionate nor crazy, so I don't think you need to feel that he is in any way related to you. He's a troll, you're a Thom.

[thomryng.livejournal.com]

Compassion and redemption are at the center of Christian teaching, you know? And I just can't get how people who self-identify as Christian espouse neither of them.

When the initial shock of his statements wears off, I'm not so much angry as sorrowful.

Ostensibly...

[bastetsbeloved.livejournal.com]

Perhaps there's where my error lies. At no point in time have I ever mistaken Pat Robertson for a Christian.