#Can Science and Faith be reconciled?

[lanymme]

Think about how Saria spent years in betrayal and anger, driven for justice, searching out all of Rhine Lab’s wrongdoings, developing her philosophy on what science is for, all to right the course of the thing she build together with Kristen, who she dedicated her life to.

Kristen, the child of her idols. Kristen, her first love. Kristen, who she promised to protect.

Kristen, who betrayed her.

Kristen, who took advantage of her devotion.

Kristen, who designed a weapon against her, against the formula they came up with together.

Kristen, who is harming the very people they set out together to serve.

Kristen, who she’ll judge and bring back to the right path.

Kristen, who she never fully understood.

Kristen, whose plans she needs to stop. Kristen, who might bring the whole world tumbling down as she achieves her dream.

Kristen, who she slowly realizes is going to die in pursuit of her dream, just like her parents.

She tanks an anti-tank weapon to the head. She fights against an ancient caster and warrior. She fights the very people she trained, the knights that protect and serve Kristen. She saves her kid, finally. She learns to rely on others, to communicate. She reconciles with her partner. She flies a plane up, up into the upper atmosphere (just like the Wrights), through a combat zone, and docks it on a moving station. She learns to let go of her careful control of her every move, to act spontaneously, decisively.

All this to reach Kristen. To stop her.

But when she finally meets her… That’s her childhood friend. Her first love.

She fights her, endures her power, one last time, taking step by painful step toward her. She tells her she’s wrong about science, shares the philosophy and perspective she’s built over the years to stop her from harming people, to fight the culture that birthed them.

But really, she’s trying to talk Kristen down. You were wrong to do this. Give it up. Your dream is beautiful. Come with me. You finally achieved your parents’ dream. We can still survive this. I don’t doubt that this will affect the entire world. Watch it with me. I can still save you. The escape pods are gone? I’ll calcify us together—use the arts we developed together—and we’ll fall together; maybe we’ll survive, maybe we won’t. I’ll do everything I can, even if it’s doomed. Let me save you. Please. Please let me protect you.

And Kristen, who never lost faith in her, who knew Saria would reach her, who always wanted to share the truth, her moment of triumph, the fate she had chosen for herself with the woman she loves, who knew Saria would never leave her by choice and installed a trapdoor in her dreamer’s space pod so that she could live on… presses the button.

And Saria, after her long, long climb, falls. The final stage of the rocket to Kristen’s dream, falling away.

What must it be like, as she fell, to realize she spent her whole life helping Kristen assemble her space program? That when Kristen used to look up at the stars, she was not just seeing the past, her parents’ deaths, the legacy she has to uphold; she was seeing this future she had always planned for herself. That this was always the wish that Saria devoted herself to protecting.

And she kept her promise.

[miyamiwu]

Ness is actually a very rational player, despite his obsession with magic (and Kaiser)

It’s past 3am and I was just about to go to sleep, but I suddenly had a eureka moment and now I’m wide awake! Forget what I said about going on a semi-hiatus. Ness occupies my mind, and I need to get this out.

Before I saw the c263 leaks, I jokingly posted about how Ness could be Bastard Munchen’s new ace should Kaiser ever leave for Re Al. But now this idea is no longer just a joke. It’s actually really possible...

Let’s look at this panel from c262:

Don’t attempt any more irrational plays.

The official translation used the word “impossible,” but a look into the raws would show that it’s not the same “impossible” Kaiser is obsessed with. More info here.

And not only did Ness call out Kaiser on being irrational, he also told him the most rational thing to do, which was to wait.

Kaiser, of course, just brushed him off—but who cares about that ungrateful bastard! Let’s focus on Ness.

I took a closer look on Ness’ previous scenes and....

What was your plan for that play? ...You made that utterly irrational, shot-in-the-dark solo play...

You ignored Kaiser to pass to the orange machoman despite his low chance of success. It was a selfish play without a shred of rationality...

Based on your data, your direct shot is a faulty move.

This guy’s pressing? He never did that until now!

Ness has a very scientific approach to his plays. He looks at existing data and decides his next move based on it. When he’s stumped, he needs a strategy to follow or a role to adhere to. In other words, he needs clear directions:

When Kaiser is being bothered by Lorenzo, my job is to crush you in his place...

My job is to lure them in!

Ness: I haven’t done anything... Kaiser: If we can deal with Lorenzo, we can win. Ness: Yes, Kaiser… I will erase stupid Lore

Ness may not realize it, but growing up in a family of scientists has greatly influenced how he thinks. His rationality makes him a highly skilled player, but at the same time it limits him.

Because of his extremely rational way of playing, he’s unable to look beyond what is possible and achieve the magic he seeks. But Kaiser is different. Unlike Ness, Kaiser is always out to attempt the impossible.

So when Ness is with Kaiser, his rationality gets shut down and he is led into the realm of magic—or at least, the magic he think it is.

What should we do, Kaiser?

Just keep doing like we practiced. I’m not asking you to be creative... Just have faith. Nothing’s impossible for me.

It also doesn’t help that whenever Ness wants to discuss proper countermeasures with Kaiser, the latter shuts him off and tells him to just have faith—an extremely irrational thing.

But is it really magic when thinking stops? Is it really magic to just leave things to faith?

Definitely not for resident overthinker Isagi.

I think again of Ness’ manga cover:

Obviously, the thorns from the blue roses represent Kaiser’s control on him.

But what about his chains? Why are they separate from the thorns and roses? Kaiser has a glass chain, so why can’t Ness have an all-thorns one?

I think it’s because there are actually two things chaining Ness down.

If the thorns and roses represent Kaiser and magic, then the hard and cold metal one represent what science and logic have been to Ness.

Aside from breaking free from Kaiser, for Ness to truly awaken… he needs to reconcile the realms of science and magic.

Because science is magical.

Ness thinks football is magic. And Noel Noa, the best striker in the world, is a very logical player.

I used to think Ness being in a team that prioritizes rationality was a mistake… but now I think it’s fate.

Ness may just be Bastard Munchen’s new ace.

[popcultureoverdosed]

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Perfection

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off went in a direction most people would've never expected. Instead of being a standard adaptation of the beloved comic, it instead deconstructs and remixes the source material into something amazing. I mean, the comic was already a good read, but the anime is undoubtedly Scott Pilgrim at its best.

As stated earlier, the anime isn't necessarily faithful to the source material. The first episode ends with Scott Pilgrim being killed by Matthew Pattel, causing the narrative to focus on Ramona in her quest to find out what really happened to Scott. This version of Ramona is way more engaging than the aloof jerk she was in the movie. She's forced to confront her past and the toxic influence she played in her previous relationship. It was honestly heartwarming to see Ramona reconcile with her exes instead of them being beaten by Scott. The audience gets to see Ramona grow from a Mysterious loner to a woman on the path to redemption.

The anime also does a good job of giving additional screen time to most of the characters, especially since all of the exes are alive in this version. We get a better look at their daily lives and interactions with each other. By the end of the show it's pretty clear they all would've been good friends if they hadn't let their obsession with Ramona consume them in the first place. I also like how Young Neil gets better characterization here since was a mostly quiet background character in the original. He becomes a loveable idiot wannabe writer that I can't just get enough of. Roxie was the ex I felt most sympathetic for since from her perspective, Ramona was some straight girl who used her for a sexual experiment and discarded her once she was done. Her trauma is unfortunately an experience many gay people can relate to. My favorite character overall is probably Lucas Lee for constantly being himbo beefcake fanservice.

The true highlight is without a doubt the animation. Science Saru brought out their A-game and their passion for the show is evident in every frame. Bryan Lee O'Malley's simple art style translated perfectly to the colorful and fluid animation fest Saru provides. The comic’s already over-the-top energy gets taken to the next level with almost everyone having high-octane anime battles that need to be seen to be believed. The art style is also a perfect blend of anime and western aesthetics. This results in a show that looks starkly different from the standard Western or Japanese cartoon. Fans have been hungry for a Scott Pilgrim cartoon for well over a decade now and the wait was definitely worth it.

[queenlucythevaliant]

Hi! I was reading anthropology book and for some reason it sparked my interest in how God relates to science. I don’t think they contradict one an other but I don’t know how to describe their relationship. It’s like evolution and how it relates to the Bible. I hope that makes sense because the relationship between religion and science is interesting. Also, I hope you’re doing good!

Science and faith are lovers. They're partners in crime with different skill sets. They're dancing a beautiful ballet together, telling the story of the world.

The easiest thing to say, I think, is that science and faith/theology answer different yet complimentary questions. Theology tells us who made the world, and why, and what he thought of it when he was done. Science tells us how matter condensed to form stars and planets, how long it took for life to emerge from chemical traces to cells to organisms. They fit together like two halves of a friendship necklace.

Biology tells us why our hearts beat and theology tells us who keeps it beating. Biology shows us all that we have in common with every other living thing, and theology shows us that we are made in the image of God.

Science teaches us to ask questions, to look for answers and not to be satisfied until we find them. Faith teaches us to seek truth diligently, but equally to trust the Sovereign God and to let go when knowledge is too high for us. Both together teach us to regard truth as something vital and precious: something to spend your whole life seeking.

Both science and faith engender awe. They place us on the precipice of things that absolutely dwarf us, time and space and infinity (or near infinity) and moving shifting elegant parts, and they say "don't look away." They say, "come closer, dive deeper, taste and see."

Science without faith is inert. It gives us cells animated by simple chemistry which are nevertheless more complex than cities and asks us to believe in a world without providence. It gives us majesty and no one to praise for it. It argues that no one can rise from the grave, that sin is of no consequence, and that death has the final say.

And yet faith without science - or perhaps I should say faith that shies away from science when it is inconvenient - is brittle. It clings to dogma and doesn't inquire at the gate. It doesn't stretch to accommodate new facts. It may break, if one day you are faced with some new piece of evidence you can't reconcile. It misses opportunities for awe and rejects the promise that truth will set us free.

[divinum-pacis]

"Science, in its proper context, deepens and enlarges everything it touches. The night sky supplies a perfect example. Its beauty is available to all. But an astronomer looking at the sky sees that beauty and more. She sees the moon in the east and imagines its gradual outward spiral. She sees a string of planets -- Saturn, Mars, Venus, Mercury -- like a diamond necklace running downward toward the western horizon. She knows Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune turn under her feet. She gains a palpable sense of Earth's place and motion through the tilted, turning solar system. These things sit in the foreground like bugs on a windshield compared with the stars beyond and the long arc of the circling galaxy, and she sees it all at once. She spots the Andromeda Galaxy in the southwest and can almost feel it falling ninety miles per second, toward her. Beyond that, she can imagine vast voids and walls of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and quasars stretching outward to an infinite horizon. It's all in motion and lit by fusion, and every piece of this panorama evokes wonder and teases her with new questions.

Something similar happens when a biblical scholar reads the Bible. Like the stars on a clear night, the words sit there on the page, freely available to all. But depth beyond depth is revealed to those who have read it closely for years, learned the original languages, studied the history and culture of the ancient Near East, and become acquainted with biblical theology and the history of biblical interpretation. The more you know, the more you see, and the more questions occur to you."

-- Love and Quasars: An Astrophysicist Reconciles Faith and Science, Paul Wallace, 2019, pgs 66-67.

Image: The Andromeda Galaxy with satellite galaxies M32 (center left above the galactic nucleus) and M110 (center right below the galaxy)

[zhoras-bitch]

My Playchoices MCs #11

There's been a lot of Bloodbound on my dash lately and it made me want to shake off the dust from my BB headcanons. This Evita, my precious little ball of depression and existential dread. If you know who I named her after, you get a cookie. Also, yes, I stole her middle name from @gaiuskamilah. Headcanons under the cut.

First | Previous | Next | All

Was almost a literature major, but went into communications instead after her parents vetoed the idea with, ‘You’ll never get a job with that degree!’ 

She does like social sciences, but her real passion is stuffy old books (affectionate). Specifically, she is partial to deep, dark, sometimes surreal and maybe a little tedious works. I can see her reading Dostoevsky, Camus, Unamuno etc.

Besides Spanish and English, can speak decent French and Portuguese.

Went back here to add that she's a trans woman after this headcanon has completely taken over my brain.

Evita's Bloodkeeper abilities began to manifest when she was very young, way before her transition and before she even knew she was trans. The visions started caming to her in the form of dreams, and seeing how bloody and cruel vampire history is, those dreams were often pretty fucked up. So Evita was a perpetually tired and kind of jumpy kid and teen. Thankfully, she didn't remember most of those dreams back then.

Evita grew up in a Catholic family, so the existence of vampires and their whole lore were hard for her to reconcile. By the end of book 3, she's not even sure what she believes in anymore.

Doesn’t like lying and is kind of bad at it.

Her wardrobe is kind of dull. Evita's style is business casual, with no bright colours or flashy patterns. She wears a lot of black and even more button-up shirts.

Prefers tea to coffee.

Very much asexual, cannot determine whether her feelings are romantic or platonic to save her life.

She had a… relationship with Lily where they were toeing the line between friends and lovers for years. And then Lily died before they could figure it out.

Yeah, the series finale is not really a happy ending for her. Post book 3 Evita is a total wreck. She's going through a crisis of faith, her best friend is dead, and without her, Evita feels like the last thread that connected her to her humanity is gone.

On the bright side, Adrian promotes her to be the representative of Raines Corps. internationally (yay?). Evita uses the opportunity to travel around Europe and other parts of the world. For a while, I think she distances herself from Adrian, Kamilah and Jax. She needs the time to just reflect.

During that time, she finds purpose in seeking out newly turned and just lone vampires and helping them navigate their new life. If there's s risk they might turn Feral, she gives them her own brand, a lily. She didn't plan to rule over them or anything, but over the years she kind of naturally starts being referred to as the leader of her own clan.

Gaius and she have a... relationship. They meet when Evita is traveling in Europe sometime after the finale. And they find themselves in a similar place psychologically: struggling to understand who the fuck they even are and what they are supposed to do with their lives. Like with Lily, it's all on the verge of romantic and platonic (that's a theme with Evita). And with their long ass vampire lifespans, it probably takes them decades to figure it out.

[crownmemes]

The X-Files Sentences, Vol. 4

(Sentences from The X-Files (1993-2002, 2016-2018). Adjust phrasing where needed)

"I don't want to scare you, but I think I'm madly in love with you."

"You ever experienced a period of missing time?"

"You ever had the suspicion that you've been abducted by aliens?"

"Love. Is that all you men think about?"

"Does it ever bother you? Being alone?"

"I appreciate your concern, but there's no need for you to get involved with this."

"You live under this misguided notion that silence is strength. You've built a wall to keep everyone out."

"There were contradictions that I couldn't reconcile, which meant shutting down part of myself just to do my job."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a great problem coming to the point?"

"I'm not even going to grace that statement with a reply."

"The truth is, you need me."

"I see more questions here than I do answers."

"You presume to dictate duty to me?"

"Men can never be free because they're weak, corrupt, worthless, and restless."

"Don't unlock doors you're not prepared to go through."

"I've seen too many things not to believe."

"You put such faith in your science, but the things I've seen, science provides no place to start."

"Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only in contradiction to what we know of it."

"The fiercest enemy is the man who has nothing left to lose."

"I've been here twenty minutes and I still don't know what the hell is wrong!"

"No one would kill you. You're just a little puppy dog."

"If you find the right starting point and follow it, not even secrets of the darkest of men are safe."

"I work very hard to keep any president from knowing I even exist."

"What's the matter? Don't you believe in miracles?"

"Your lies have killed more men in a day than I have in a lifetime."

"You're the most dangerous man alive. Not because you believe in your actions, but because you believe these actions are all which life allows you."

"Life is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for."

"I can kill you whenever I please, but not today."

"It is my experience that lawyers ask the wrong question only when they don't want the right answer."

"A dream is an answer to a question we haven't yet figured out how to ask."

"What are you saying you believe now?"

"The truth is, nobody cares."

"I haven't taken a day off in four years."

"Why don't I have a desk?"

"So, what is it you want me to keep an eye on?"

"As long as I'm with you, no one will ever hurt you."

"I did as I was told, as always."

"You can't tell what's going on in somebody's head just by looking at them."

"You can't ask the truth of a man who trades in lies."

"Pick out something black and sexy and prepare to do some funky poaching."

"You think I'm the Devil?"

"There's always another way, if you're willing to pay the price."

[ageless-aislynn]

Okay, I’ve made myself whittle my Mass Effect: Andromeda Playthrough #1 Romance Options down to three:

Jaal. ZOMG, Jaal has joined the crew and he’s even more my type Sara’s type than I was expecting! He gives off slightly tortured soul vibes to me, kinda blunt, funny but reserved, not the sort to give his trust easily but once you have it? Woooooo boy, he is There For You™ no matter what. Also? Shoulders for daaaaaays. 🔥🔥🔥

Suvi. Only an option for Sara, not Scott. Honestly, I think she’ll get a playthrough of her own with Sara even if it doesn’t turn out to be this one. I just like her, what can I say? I love that she’s managed to reconcile being both a woman of faith and of science at the time. There’s a slightly sad sweetness to her, like she’s been waiting for somebody to really see her for a while now and that she has a lot of love to give to the right person.

Peebee. Sassy and funny but i get the feeling there’s a lot more to her than what she likes to show on the surface. Also an option for Scott, so if she doesn’t get a Sara playthrough, then she’ll probably get one for him. However, every time she and Sara interact, I feel like Sara goes

(imagine screechy dial-up noises to really sell the feeling, lol) when she looks at her, so there’s that. 😂

Also, did you notice? Ya gal got her game capture working! This weirdly wasn’t as easy as it’s been to capture Halo footage. 🤔 The fact that Andromeda is more like ONE GIANT MASS of a game instead of having levels like each of the Halo games makes it much more difficult to note what scenes are coming up or to go back and get cutscenes again. And for some reason, it’s recording in a HUGE size, much bigger than Halo’s, so there’s no way I can just capture the whole game without needing TBs of storage space. 😬 So I doubt I can capture enough to make a ton of GIFs, much less to vid it. Though once I’ve played it through a few times, I may know when to target capturing for certain scenes. 🤷‍♀️

You know, I tell myself that I don’t HAVE to vid every fandom I love but, well, I’m a vidder at heart, what can I say? I like to have the option open at least! 😁👍

Oh, before I forget, I’m about 99% certain that Vetra is going to end up with Scott, so my Turian sweetie WILL get a romance, if not with Sara, then with her bro. Cora is also definitely getting a whirl with Scott. Oh and I thought Liam was an option for either but nope, just for Sara, so I’ve got to give him a playthrough, too! I’m hoping that what I’ve heard is correct, that if you just basically stick to the main missions, you can get through the game in about 10 hours, so that’s not a huge time commitment and will let me get my romance options on both as Sara and Scott a couple of times!

1,000+ hours on the MCC makes 10 hours sound like not a huge time commitment, yep, lol! I’m at 18 hours or so now for Andromeda and while I wasn’t expecting to do much if any of the side quests, I’m actually really enjoying them! It’s nice to have something I can tackle and resolve in a much shorter time than, you know, finishing the entire game. 👀😉

[/end mass effect andromeda update of updateyness] 😛😂💖

[tw1stedthicket]

one of the most hopelessly frustrating things from religious deconstruction from a high demand religion (to put it nicely) that i keep winding myself around is how made for it i seem to be. it feels like i have to resist my knees from falling down in worship to something. it feels like i have to clamp my mouth shut from uttering prayers in my moments of awe and need. i can't help but write psalms about how holy everything feels when i love and learn and grow like my life is a prism for light to shine through and my hand is made to hold another's forever, a hand i long to feel from the universe. i miss when it felt like i had something clear to strive to be, and how it grounded me to have a righteous cause, and how i began and ended every day considering how much i had done good in the world that day.

whether or not i did any good is arguable, and i certainly do have evidence on the contrary. it is also a cult for a reason and it is also a part of what i know now that there may not in fact be any other god out there to have faith in. reality seems to indicate that we are alone. and though i know that religion has no claim on spirituality, that spirituality is as woven through the human experience as much as anything sensual and in fact they are connected, i still mourn for the loss of what belief entailed, and how much i might have left it behind but it is still very much a part of me. i don't understand how people can find religion again, how do you trust anything? how do you begin to believe in a god without the fear of Him you were born with baked into you? how do you reconcile the anger you feel at someone who was once very real to you, and the anger that they may not be there at all - where does that go? how can i be as spiritual as i long to be when i admit i know nothing, and maybe never will, and answers aren't for us. everything out there is philosophy and who's to say what is right, other than what fits you and makes you happy? i want to be happy again. i don't know how to be without belief in something. i long to live my life in greater service to something, like my life means something, like i have a sacred spark, like my path is valid and blessed, like i am more than human but also touched by the divine. it is hard to find spirituality that is grounded in the reality of science as well that after all, we seem to be living in an absurd world.

and how do i continue my search knowing there is no one gently looking over me the whole time, imbuing me with their sense of light? how do i be a light if i cannot find the source of it? how do i turn it back on?

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

"If faith cannot be reconciled with rational thinking, it has to be eliminated as an anachronistic remnant of earlier stages of culture and replaced by science dealing with facts and theories which are intelligible and can be validated."

-- Erich Fromm, "Man for Himself" (1947)

[monstersflashlight]

Oooh book talk book talk book talk!!!!! Im actually in school to get a master's degree in library science rn in part bc I want to do everything I can to spend my life around books and readers! My favorite books include:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot) Nonfiction about the history of the cell culture HeLa that was removed from a black woman with a unique cervical cancer without her consent or her family's knowledge. Goes into the medical ethics questions of who owns a piece of tissue after it's been removed and how can we reconcile scientific progress made when it comes at a very real, very high human cost, especially to certain groups of people (in this case a poor black woman and her family). It's also a story about the woman herself, what little is known for sure about her and how her family has tried to understand who she was and what happened to her, all while grieving for her loss. If you like medical history and don't mind harsh subjects, it is a really really good read.

This Is How You Lose The Time War (Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar) sci-fi novella telling the story of two agents from warring factions with the power of time travel, each of them trying to outwit the other to secure the best future for their faction while maintaining their cat and mouse game. They become completely intertwined and fall in love (without spoilers, a really cool take on the idea of fated lovers, imo), all through sending letters to each other and it's a short read but so poignant and dazzling.

Stories of Your Life and Others (Ted Chiang) more sci-fi, this time a short story collection. Includes the short story that was the basis for the movie Arrival. (Does it count as a monster book if there are aliens? Because there are aliens, but there's no romance with them or anything like that). Can't really give a succinct summary when there are a bunch of different stories but I think my personal favorite in this collection is "Hell is the Absence of God". A world in which the presence of heaven, hell, god, and angels are very real tangible forces and how a select group of people in that world grapple with what that means for their faith. Do I love this story bc I also have a complicated relationship with faith? Probably! But it's a great collection regardless!

Hope you get lots of good book rec's! <3

Hi anon! I've been thinking about getting into library sicence myself, but not yet though. But I find it very interesting.

I've actually read the first book you mentioned and it was great, really good book. You can say I like medical history, lmao (for context I'm getting my PhD in that field). I've heard of the second one you suggest, but I've also heard it's really tragic (not sure if it's true), so I don't know about that because I like more cozy, happy-ending books, but it's been on my TBR for a looooong time. Someday I'll read it. The third one I didn't know, added to the TBR. :) All very interesting choices.

[nerdygaymormon]

i’m straight and not mormon (grew up baptist), but your blog is so enlightening and honest and is helping me learn and grow in my own faith. thank you for allowing us to read your perspective. your sincere faith shines. hoping to read your thoughts for a long time to come.

growing up evangelical, you really do get a lot of toxic messaging about what it means to be gay and how Jesus regards gay people. i’m unraveling what i was taught piece by piece and trying to reconcile my love of truth and the gospel with things i observe that contradict my raising, if that makes any sense. people like you are giving me tools to do that. so thank you!

what’s your very favorite bible verse? i like 1 Peter 4:8, among others!

Such a sweet note! Thank you!!!

I believe truth is truth, whether it comes from scriptures or from science or our lived experience. If we find conflict, then we need to ask why, what needs to shift to bring alignment?

Ancient texts, like scriptures, contain the wisdom of past peoples. Our understanding of the world around us has greatly increased and that may cause tension with what we've received from the ancients. For example, when Galileo discovered the earth orbits around the sun, he was deemed a heretic and placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. Today it seems folly to have fought for the idea that the sun revolves around the earth when it isn't a major teaching and isn't something the average reader would even notice in the Bible.

Likewise, in the United States it seems Christians are most associated with being anti-abortion and anti-queer. One study says the term most associated with Christian is "anti-gay." In the Bible, so little ink is spent on these topics, there's maybe 6 verses that are used against gay people, and what those scriptures mean is open to interpretation. There's Biblical verses that could be used to support abortion and gay relationships, but those are largely ignored and forgotten.

It's ironic because Christ taught love. Love your neighbor, people will know you're my disciples if you love one another. Yet today in America, Christians are mostly associated for who they oppose, who they harass and target, basically the opposite of loving others.

If we find the truth about queer people differs from a few verses in the Bible, we should adjust our understanding of 'truth' and move forward.

Christians ought to look for how we can further the work Christ came to do (Luke 4:17-21), which is to bring good news to poor people, freedom for prisoners, give sight to the blind, liberate the oppressed, and usher in God’s abundance. Instead it seems Christians today honor the rich and despise the poor, want more people locked up, and delight in oppressing the oppressed (like queer people), and want to fortify their privileged position rather than believe there is abundance enough for all.

Thanks again for your lovely note and best to you as you work to deconstruct the teachings you received in the search for truth and light and understanding.

P.S., My favorite scripture is the story of Hagar, a brown-skinned slave woman who was honored by God. It shows we can find God even when persecuted by the 'good' people. God meets us in our desperation, not our comfort. God grants us blessings that are unimaginable to those who think we aren't worthy.

[sofia-parker]

The Bible vs. Science: Are They Really at Odds?

Hey everyone,

Are these two fundamentally at odds, or can they coexist harmoniously? 

Let’s dive into this complex topic to explore the perspectives and find common ground.

Historical Context: The Genesis of the Debate

The tension between the Bible and science is often traced back to the Scientific Revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries.

During this period, figures like Galileo and Copernicus challenged the geocentric view of the universe, which was widely supported by the Church.

Galileo’s advocacy for heliocentrism, the idea that the Earth orbits the sun, led to his infamous trial and house arrest.

This historical event is frequently cited as a symbol of the conflict between science and religion.

However, it’s essential to recognize that many early scientists, including Isaac Newton, were deeply religious and saw their work as a way to understand God’s creation better.

This historical nuance suggests that the perceived conflict is not as clear-cut as it might seem.

The Bible: A Book of Faith and Morality

The Bible is primarily a religious and moral text, composed of various genres, including poetry, history, prophecy, and wisdom literature.

Its primary purpose is to convey spiritual truths, moral guidance, and the story of God’s relationship with humanity.

Many theologians and scholars argue that the Bible should not be read as a scientific textbook but rather as a source of spiritual and ethical insights.

For instance, the creation accounts in Genesis provide a theological explanation of the world’s origin, emphasizing the sovereignty of God and the inherent goodness of creation.

These accounts were written in a pre-scientific era and use metaphorical language to convey deeper truths.

Interpreting these texts literally, as some do, can lead to conflicts with scientific findings.

Science: A Quest for Empirical Understanding

Science, on the other hand, is a method of understanding the natural world through observation, experimentation, and evidence-based reasoning.

It seeks to explain phenomena through natural laws and theories that can be tested and refined over time.

Science has led to significant advancements in technology, medicine, and our overall understanding of the universe.

The scientific method is inherently neutral on questions of meaning, purpose, and morality, which are the domains of religion and philosophy. 

Therefore, the objectives of science and the Bible are fundamentally different.

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Areas of Perceived Conflict

1. Creation vs. Evolution

One of the most contentious issues is the debate between creationism and evolution.

Creationists believe in a literal interpretation of the Genesis account, asserting that God created the world in six days.

Evolution, supported by extensive scientific evidence, describes the process by which species, including humans, have evolved over millions of years through natural selection.

Many religious believers reconcile these views through theistic evolution, which accepts evolution as a mechanism of God’s creation.

This perspective allows for a harmonious coexistence of scientific understanding and religious belief.

2. Age of the Earth

Young Earth creationists argue that the Earth is only a few thousand years old, based on a literal reading of the Bible.

However, scientific evidence from geology, astronomy, and radiometric dating indicates that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old.

Old Earth creationists and many mainstream religious groups accept the scientific age of the Earth while maintaining their faith in the Bible’s spiritual truths.

3. Miracles

Miracles, by definition, are events that defy natural explanation and are seen as acts of divine intervention.

Skeptics argue that miracles are incompatible with the scientific worldview. Believers, however, view miracles as extraordinary signs of God’s power, beyond the scope of scientific analysis.

This distinction highlights the different realms of science (natural explanations) and religion (supernatural belief).

Finding Common Ground

Many scholars and theologians advocate for a complementary relationship between science and religion.

They argue that science explains the “how” of the natural world, while religion addresses the “why” of existence and morality. 

This perspective, known as “non-overlapping magisteria” (NOMA), suggests that science and religion each have their own domains of teaching authority and do not conflict when each stays within its own realm.

Prominent scientists, such as Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health and a devout Christian, exemplify this harmonious relationship.

Collins has written extensively on how he reconciles his scientific work with his faith, advocating for a dialogue between the two fields.

Conclusion: Harmony or Conflict?

The relationship between the Bible and science is complex and multifaceted.

While there are areas of perceived conflict, many believe that these can be resolved through a nuanced understanding of both the Bible and scientific principles.

By recognizing the different purposes and methods of each, we can appreciate how they can coexist and even complement each other in providing a fuller understanding of the world and our place in it.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Do you see the Bible and science as fundamentally at odds, or do you believe they can harmonize?

Share your views in the comments below. Let’s keep the conversation respectful and enlightening!

[queenlucythevaliant]

thanks! I guess my main question is; how can I be secure in my faith?

I was raised in the faith and I wish I could believe firmly with all my heart, but university (I study biomed) and the world's view of religion make it so hard. I've seen others say that genesis is allegory, which brings into question the historicity of the Bible and Jesus, and I don't know how that can reconcile with faith

Ooh! This is my favorite question :)

So I too was raised in the faith and I too study biology (microbiology in my case, with an emphasis on microbial ecology and evolution). I am firmly convinced that one should hold both Scriptural and scientific truth in high regard; when undertaken with a spirit of curiosity and humility, science and faith pose no threat to one another. In fact, I think understanding one bolsters an understanding of the other.

I'd start with this: I don't believe that Genesis is an allegory, nor do any of the theistic evolution proponents I've read and spoken to. Rather, Genesis uses figurative language to communicate creation and the fall from the perspective of a God who transcends time. Figurative language is innate in Scripture, and I think it's erroneous to take the most literalistic possible meaning for every line of the creation account. For what other part of Scripture do we do this?

I think we need to take it seriously; everything in Scripture is true. But I think when the creation account says, "And God separated the light from the darkness. He called the light Day and the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day," that's more similar to "I have been crucified with Christ" than "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord." From a heavenly perspective, that's what happened, but just as I haven't literally had nails driven into my hands in order to be saved, I don't think it's reasonable to assume that God divided Day from Night in the space of one 24-hour day. It's a spiritual account, not a scientific account. That doesn't make the words of Scripture any less true.

But! I also think that when Christians discuss evolution, we tend to get far, far too hung up on Genesis and we end up missing some of the deeper implications of the conversation. Evolutionary biology pushes us to think about our embodiment and how deeply interconnected we are with the rest of creation. Likewise, a theistic framework narrows the odds when we talk about the organic origin of life, protein sequence space, etc. If a sovereign God was behind every movement of every atom, then we can see grace where an atheistic scientist sees only coincidence.

Don't ignore your scientific and historical questions, my friend. Ask them all. Chase them to the ends of the earth. All truth is God's truth, and behind each answer I believe you will find the glory of God.

Some reading to get you started:

Finding Darwin's God, Kenneth R. Miller

The Selfless Gene: Living with God and Darwin, Charles Foster

Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love, Elizabeth Johnson

The Age of Wonder, Richard Holmes

(Note: I don't agree with every word in all these books, but I find them all generally good and useful)

Just in general, I really recommend reading up on all those great Christians who were also scientists and great scientists who were also Christians. Don't take my word for it, take theirs! Read the books I recommended. Read Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Louis Pastuer! Augustine and C.S. Lewis! Stop centering the conversation on Darwin (who was a Christian, but who was just one guy). For goodness sake, don't listen to Richard Dawkins and Ken Ham. Throughout history, greater thinkers than you or me have reconciled faith and science. Thus, there's hope for us too :)

I'll leave you with this quote from Augustine's exhortation to humility from "The Literal Meaning of Genesis":

"In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand that, if further progress in the search of truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it. That would be to battle not for the teaching of Holy Scripture but for our own, wishing its teaching to conform to ours, whereas we ought to wish ours to conform to that of Sacred Scripture."

All truth is God's truth.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 2.5/5

Book Blurb: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson—creator of The Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn Saga, and countless bestselling works of science fiction and fantasy—comes this gripping story set in the Cosmere universe told by Hoid, where two people from incredibly different cultures must work together to save their worlds from certain disaster.

Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society—but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero—a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone.

Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect.

Review:

She has spent her entire life serving the people, talking to spirits, and living for others rather than herself, wile he has spent his life patrolling the streets fighting Nightmares dreaming about becoming a hero, yet one faithful night has them swapping bodies and encountering each other... and soon they will have to learn to work together to save their perspective worlds from disaster. Yumi is a Chosen, she is the one that talks to the spirits and helps those in her society. She lives a rigid life of obedience, shelter, and being taught that the needs of society override her own. Painter lives in a world run by Nightmares, literal creatures that come alive and through painting, people can combat them. He wants nothing more than to be an actual hero, to be more than what he is. They both are so alone in their world, yet suddenly they find themselves thrown together, quite literally when their bodies are swapped yet they can both see and talk to one another. They'll have to find a way to work together to figure out how to save their perspective worlds and how they can make a relationship work when they are from two different worlds. This one is a bit odd to me, I can see that its inspired by Japanese and Korean stories, shows, etc, but somehow it managed to feel so slow and boring. I really wanted to like this one but I just found it to be so slow. The entire premise was interesting, especially since its just about two people from different worlds swapping bodies and there being magical creatures/spirits too, yet this one constantly felt like it took. too long to get to the point. This one definitely felt like a young adult novel and Yumi read so young. It's an interesting premise but the overall story kind of felt lacking and the pacing felt so slow. I was drawn in by the premise and the gorgeous cover yet it just didn't live up to my expectations unfortunately. It's not a bad book by any means, it just wasn't as exciting as I had anticipated. If you enjoy magical young adult stories with a very slow burn romance, then this would definitely be for you!

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[talenlee]

The Tiny God Of Christianity

The Tiny God Of Christianity

I spent fifteen years in a fundamentalist Christian space, and another five trying to recover from that, reconciling what I was with what I was being shown was okay. In this time, I fervently, aggressively, desperately tried to believe in it, tried to make it so it worked for me because I was terrified of the alternative that was the reality I was slowly coming to terms with.

It was in this time, I keenly began to feel pinched at the edges by the desperate smallnes of the god of the infinite and untouchable universe.

See, in the fundie space, there’s a lot of very empty talk of absolutes. It’s hard to escape, in hindsight, the way that I think of literally every major position and promise as being empty rhetoric. Oh, I know it’s not nice to act like they don’t believe things; we give the benefit of the doubt, and it’s also just flat out impossible to say for sure what a person does or does not believe, because their belief systems are always personal and can be internally unreasonable. People who believe the world is ending in five days still pay their power bills and that can be true because people don’t have to make sense.

It’s not that I think any given individual member of my church didn’t believe what they said, though there were quite a few of them who did let slip that they had doubts and their fundamentalism. There’d be some moment, some serious spiritual conversation with a mentor, and they’d say ‘well of course I have some doubts,’ or even more terrifyingly, ‘act like you have faith, and faith will be granted to you.’ The whole point of the faith is that it’s meant to connect you with an immortal all-powerful creature who has a plan for your life and whose choices have directed the very fundamental materiality of your experience…

And you kinda gotta wing it.

You gotta hope you got it right.

This is the best way for that immortal entity to connect to you, to talk to you, to relate to you and your cohort. Obviously, that’s unsatisfying, it’s meaningless, but the thing that stands out in those same moments, like peeling paint on old walls, when you realise that something you thought was an absolute is still a thing that falls apart and weathers and can get old and fall apart, is how much there is that their god can’t do.

Healing, sure, you get some mention of that, though not in any way you actually know is a miracle. No returned fingers or restored limbs. I know, I did working bees, I knew more than a few people who lost a piece of a hand or a foot in the name of giving the church free labor. God wouldn’t fix that, hospitals fixed that, or nobody fixed that.

Evolution had to be a lie, because it was complicated and difficult. If God used evolution, then it eroded everything that god could be. If the world was older than six thousand years, then the Bible could not be literally true, and that would destroy our icon of God. Homosexuals and feminists had to be wrong, because the Bible had no place to talk kindly of their complexities. Everything had to be seen in terms of if God had a hand in it, and if he did not, then it was discarded, as if it did not exist.

It was an idea better expressed than I ever realised by Carl Sagan, possibly before I was even born. He wrote about how the faith met new discoveries and could only reject them. I think in part this is because of a lack of control, an inability to synthesise or incorporate those ideas into the nature of our faith as we could wield it. I think in part it was because of a limit of understanding; the people I know who confidently dismiss any of these realities are completely uninformed about it. Ken Ham is an internationally successful explainer of evolution and he doesn’t understand it at even a level a child can. Being rock stupid isn’t a function of brains, it’s a function of choices, and Ken Ham sure chooses to be that fucking stupid.

In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed”? Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.”

Carl sagan

It’s a kind of rhetorical dead-ending, a drain that sits underneath your soul as you try to keep throwing things down it. The world is full of interesting things, systems and perspectives and art and ideology and even just like material objects doing weird shit and at some point, something, eventually, sometihng mundane enough that you can hold it in your hand is there and present and you realise that the god of the infinite space and Abraham who counted the stars in the sky has about as much power as one shithead can manage to maintain over a hundred people, and that seems very small for a god.

It never made sense! It never got a satisfying explanation! I’d discover something interesting and ask about it, and so, so, so often, the answer is ‘the world is not so complex; god didn’t do that.’ And this sounds bizarre, I know, but fundamentalist christianity involves so much denial, so much ignoring and discarding. Imagine thinking that millions of people working in laboratories are all just playing grab-ass and inventing results, and nobody’s bothering to check or point it out!

The solution that comes in there is conspiracy.

God is small, god is petty, god didn’t do that, can’t do that, can’t be that complicated, those things can’t exist.

because our god is a small god.

And he needs you to think small.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#FundieStuff