Hi Edward. Another giant who has changed our lives more than we ever consider is Albert Einstein who intuited mathematically the Theories of relativity beginning in 1905. Again a person who was not always right but he was able I would say, by the hand of God, to see truths that most of us have only begun to consider as 'real.' I don't think I have ever heard of the groups who discredit scientific Evolution and Psychology attack Einstein. The only reason I can think of why they don't is they have not yet noticed Einstein's work on Relativity also, as any newer scientific knowledge, pushes the Biblical documents, if taken literally and historically, beyond their limitations. The Theory of Relativity blasted all human views of the nature of the universe, both those of then present day science and of the ancient writers including the Bible. (It is the timeless aspect of the symbolic truth in the Bible that needs to be our search and not the cultural and time limited structure of it. The Bible only has to become spiritually irrelevant if we handle it in inappropriate ways and ask of it the wrong questions).When and if fundamentalists notice this they will characteristically begin to say that Relativity should not be taught to our children in Physics classes. Can America stand any more 'dumbing down' for 'religious reasons' in light of how far we have dropped globally in Science and Math education already? The Theory of Relativity poses exactly a parallel fear as that of Evolution; the naysayers just don't yet see it having any negative relevance to how they believe and how they wish everyone to believe. But it has already had huge relevance and has changed all our lives indirectly without most of us noticing. The same is true of Evolution and Psychology. The very word 'relative', as in Theory of Relativity, implies that human knowledge, including religious knowledge, is relative and not yet complete or eternal. It too is developing, expanding and evolving. This is simply how we can now know the world which was inspired by the ultimate God works. Christians do not need to retreat from that but can embrace it as a marvelous uncovering of more of the amazing nature of the created world. I'm confident the human authors of the ancient Bible texts would be amazed right along with us, not telling us they have already said all there is to say about the world, life and work of the Spirit. What a big mistake to take their humanity away from them.
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| Albert Einstein |
I'm glad everyone has not had their head in the sand about these world-view changing scientific breakthroughs. One thing is certain; every advancement of knowledge whether it be Freud's psychology, Evolution or Relativity always does indeed have negative potential as well as positive. Whether it becomes positive or destructive lies solely in the hands of humanity. Nuclear energy can heat homes or kill thousands. So people who discredit and try to ignore such breakthroughs are actually contributing to the new knowledge turning against us as a human race rather than working to improve our lot. To not include these huge changes, that have come through science, in human thought processes into our Christian world view is to walk the path of irrelevance. And is the surest way to help destroy the faith we seek to save. Of course any valid faith does not need to be saved nor is it fearful of any newer truth. Jesus came not telling folks to keep or return to old views and interpretations of God and the world but to embrace newer and truer ones. He came speaking of our need to have 'new wine-skins' in which to put the new knowledge and perceptions he was expecting to come. Do our religious institutions have 'new wine-skins' available or only the old ones that cannot contain new World-Changing information? Some Christian communities are more ready for this than others but we ought to have the attitude, " We are all in this together." It is after all a 'New Heaven' and 'New Earth' that our Christian faith speaks of as coming. Is that really what Contemporary Christian teaching shows it has the attitude for or is it more seen as dug into and clinging to many Old and dying ways of seeing reality; with attitudes that could not begin to take seriously the implications of Einstein's gifts to Humankind? I fear it is predominantly the latter.
Edward, these thoughts were stirred in me by an article in a major newspaper today. They are not intended toward you or with you personally in mind. But it clearly disturbs me to think that many Christians want nothing to do with with such thoughts and in turn influence their children to not be appropriately wowed and impressed with the major truth concepts that have been placed by science into human hands in the past 150 years. The average ones like myself are only beginning to comprehend the meaning of these breakthroughs in human knowledge.
Here is the article on Einstein. Just click on it to read. That Famous Equation And You
Here is the article on Einstein. Just click on it to read. That Famous Equation And You
cordially, Jim H.
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