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Tuesday, December 24. 2013

...a general problem with much of Western theology in my view is that the God portrayed is too small. It is a god of a tiny world and not a god of a galaxy, much less of a universe.

Carl Sagan on God, via this post

Posted by The Barrister in Quotidian Quotable Quote (QQQ) at 13:25 | Comments (8) | Trackbacks (0)

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There is some truth in what Sagan writes here, but he still gets it wrong.

Contemporary W Theology does often miss the splendor and grandeur that God the creator must possess, but Sagan misses out on the point that while God shows His greatness in the creation of the universe, He shows His goodness in His care for us wretched creatures.

Furthermore, western pop-theology does seem to miss out that we're told we'll one day rule...and that it's a reasonable interpretation that this grand creation is a template for what believers will eventually study, understand and take dominion of.

Science is a noble form of worship, Prov 25:2 says that explicitly.

#1 DrTorch on 2013-12-24 14:01 (Reply)

"Science is a noble form of worship, Prov 25:2 says that explicitly."

Wonder how many of the scientists that Popes and other Christians had tortured and killed over the centuries because Science did not conform to Theology would agree Dr. Torch?

#2 Ron Snyder on 2013-12-24 18:26 (Reply)

I don't know, Ron, why don't you answer your own question by citing historical documentation instead if tossing off an unsubstantiated assertion? It's incumbent on you to provide an estimate and explanation since you're the one who raised the topic. Reality, not rhetoric, please. And given the limitations of space, I'll happily accept a list of historians along with your number.

#2.1 Gpc31 on 2013-12-25 00:30 (Reply)

My answer would be none of those tortured and killed at the orders of the "Church" would agree. As I am a Buddhist I really do not care. I do find it amusing when Christians, and other Organized Religions, gloss over the dark side of their history. Give me a semester if you really need a specific (actually a guesstimate) number. At one time Christians were no less bloodthirsty than are the current Islamic Radicalists -unless you are into Historical Revisionism. Hardly an Unsubstantiated Assertion.

#3 Ron Snyder on 2013-12-25 11:33 (Reply)

Ron- you throw the accusation of the Church suppressing science without substantiating it. The Catholic Church, as in the people, has sometimes, done some scientists wrong, but not because of science. And very rarely, as opposed to the lies that it hates science and scientists. So,... cite it! That is all Gpc31, along with me, ask for.

#3.1 ama on 2013-12-25 14:04 (Reply)

Ron,

Nice job not answering the question. Nobody except you is "glossing over" history.

I don't need a semester to find out: a simple guesstimate and a list of three historians from you will suffice. If you need a semester, then you really don't know what you're talking about.

No evidence, no sources, no credibility.

Cheers.

#3.2 Gpc31 on 2013-12-25 15:34 (Reply)

Once again we have a "Ron"--poorly educated, unable to do critical thinking and graduated with a list of bumper stickers memorized.

Dear Barrister:

I want to thank you for posting this wonderful read from Sagan, some of the finest physicists (Lawrence Livermore and Lockheed) were devout Christians. As one told me once when I was a young high school student and asked how he could go to church and be a scientist: "when you crawl up the edge and peek over into the galaxy you cannot doubt ever again."

Merry Christmas to Bird Dog and Barrister--thank you for so much more than you will ever believe!

#4 faculty wife on 2013-12-25 14:18 (Reply)

Edward Oakes (just deceased) wrote a great book called Infinity Dwindled to Infancy which contains within it insights that Sagan may have appreciated, from a theological point of view.

Science, it can be argued, grew out of a Judeo-Christian worldview that posited the created world as a gift and something to understand rather than to appease. The work of scientist Pierre Duhem is a place to start. Hope Ron engages with Duhem during his autodidactic pursuits.

#5 Beth on 2013-12-26 18:17 (Reply)

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Tuesday, December 24. 2013

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