Texas Board of Education Votes On Age Of Universe – Lying For Jesus, I See!

Here’s a new one from the “I know God agrees with me” files.

The Texas School Board recently held a meeting in which board member Barbara Cargill argued for improving Earth Science standard by replacing the phrase “the concept of an expanding universe that originated 14 billion years ago” with wording that “leaves it up to [students and teachers] to discuss how many billions of years“.

This is what happens when we humans futilely pretend to understand the true intention of the scripture, and attempt to awkwardly fit everything we know into what we believe the scripture says. Here are my observations:

• Everything we know, everything we observe, the amount of time it takes for the light of Sun to reach Earth, the gravitational models of stars, the orbits of planets, observed behavior of galaxies, carbon dating, etc. are all consistent with a universe that is about 14 billion years old. If you believe the age of the universe is only 6,000 years, then God must be personally sending your phone signals to cell phone towers, because those signals behave differently and have different speeds in a 6,000 year-old universe than ours.
• Can science explain everything? Of course not. There are major holes in all theories. Here’s the point. Gravity existed long before Newton worked on his gravitational theory. Similarly, the nature of gravity was unchanged when Einstein modified Newtonian gravity in his 3 dimensional representation of astronomical objects. Theory does not mean untrue.
• Contrary to what Ms. Cargill claims, there are not different estimates of the age of the universe. From a scientific perspective, the estimates are 13.7 billion years plus and minus about 200 million years. That’s an uncertainty of 1.5% which, by itself, does not constitute a different estimate. It’s a long way from 13.7 billion down to 6,000.
• From the “I know that literal interpretation of the Genesis is right and I’m sticking to it” perspective, the universe was created 1,000 years after the Sumerians invented glue! If Jesus was around, he would reach out and slap you, followed by saying ‘if you’re not going to use the intelligence I’ve given you, then here’s your sign’.
• Don’t get me started on the idea of “God created an aged universe”. You’re only fooling yourself, not God. Again, all you’re doing is making a futile attempt at fitting everything within the model of what you think the scripture says. Wow, God sure seems like a very impatient fellow if he had to fast forward the age of the universe. I wonder what remote control model  he’s got? I want one.

Religion Determines Which Side of Climate Change Debate You’re On

Those who know me are well aware that I don’t have a strong stand, either way, about climate change as a result of human activities. I never miss an opportunity to speak with people on both sides of the issue, which has yielded an interesting pattern for me.

Without too much generalization, we can all agree that most conservatives do not believe in global warming as a result of human activities, while most liberals do.  We can further agree that religion is a strong pillar of conservatism. That doesn’t imply, and I didn’t say, that liberals are not as strong in their religious faith. Do not leave me irrelevant comments.

That said, the entire equation of global warming is a simple one for most religious individuals. God created everything, and gave full dominion of it to his most awesome creation (humans):

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

On the right side of the spectrum are most religious people who believe that because God created everything and because humans are the designated beneficiaries of everything on earth, using earth’s natural resources could not possibly harm it, much less cause its destruction.

In the middle are religious folks who believe that dominion does not imply domination. Hence, it is not only possible to harm the earth, it is the responsibility of humans to protect and preserve God’s creations. On the left side of the spectrum are non-religious people who, of course, believe earth can easily be harmed by humans because there’s no Divine power to stop it.

If you don’t believe in a higher power, then you are well versed in the concept of randomness and evolution. As such, have you ever considered that perhaps it is our natural evolutionary programming and destiny to destroy ourselves and our home? Therefore, there may be nothing we can do to prevent this inevitable conclusion. That doesn’t mean you should remain silent about your core beliefs. It merely implies that all efforts to conserve and preserve the environment may be fruitless at the end in light of humans’ built-in mechanism of destruction. The end may be a foregone conclusion.

If you do believe in a higher power, then you are likely to not worry about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or drilling for oil. Earth is only a temporary home for humans, and we simply do not have the power or the influence to destroy God’s earthly creations. Species go extinct by God’s will, not by humans’ carelessness. Ice caps melt as God desires, not because humans spew CO2 into the atmosphere. Therefore, there’s nothing to worry about.

Here’s the interesting dichotomy. Religion and conservatism are all about doing the right thing and personal responsibility. The one glaring exception seems to be in the area of environmental movement. In this case, religion appears to give us a free pass.

Am I wrong?

Bad Runway Design Teaches Us About Evolution, Makes Us Laugh

During a recent 2008 Fashion Show, an event occurred that can teach us a great deal about evolution – which imparts nothing about creation, so don’t leave me irrelevant comments. In addition to its educational value, this video is darn funny. Watch it first and then read on. You may actually need to watch it more than once to completely appreciate the points below.

1. Notice that the models are walking backstage on the right side of the runway. The lady in yellow is the designer. She takes a bow, turns 90 degrees, and falls through the middle. At first, there is a glimmer of hope that she might get herself out. But soon, she begins to disappear as though she’s in quick sand. This teaches us that propagation of species is based partially on intelligence and partially on pure luck.
2. Notice that as the victim continues to sink down, the last model (in red) has not yet passed the scene of the accident. She could stop and help. Instead, she takes one look at the victim, quickly calculates that one fewer woman in the world increases her own chances of finding a mate, and continues to walk backstage. This teaches us that fierce competition for finding a mate is central to strong and lasting propagation of species.
3. A photographer (on the right) rushes to the victim’s aid. He exhibits sufficient intelligence to stay on the solid part of the runway because he knows the middle part is unsafe. This teaches us that within species, the strong and the intelligent have higher potential for survival.
4. Another person (on the left) feels obligated to help, but waits for the first responders to reach the victim first. He then walks toward the victim, albeit reluctantly. This teaches us that survival of species is highly dependent on accurately assessing and avoiding danger.
5. Although he (the helper on the left) witnessed the accident a mere 15 seconds before, he is unable to fully appreciate the mechanics of what happened and how to avoid the same fate. This teaches us that reliably consistent memory and strong sense of deduction are both essential for positive natural selection.
6. Last, but not least, there is little doubt that many of us find this video funny. Humor and laughter are powerful distinguishing traits that have helped elevate Homo-Sapiens above all other species.

It was un-necessary for Darwin to travel to the Galapagos to fully appreciate the concept of Evolution. He could have watched a fashion show on Youtube!