’Twas Brillig*

Robert Winston

“…I think it is very patronising to call a serious book about other peoples’ views of the universe and everything a delusion. I don’t think that is helpful and I think it portrays science in a bad light.”

“Some people, both scientists and religious people, deal with uncertainty by being certain. That is dangerous in the fundamentalists and it is dangerous in the fundamentalist scientists.”

The biggest problem I have with Dawkins is his self-delusion that religion is to blame for most of the ills of the world. Last time I checked it was scientists who develop most of the machinery of warfare, I’ve yet to go to a meeting at church and start work on plans to decimate any major cities, or maybe the Manhattan Project never happened?

I was browsing the government petitions and came across the following two mutually exclusive petitions

Against

Faith schools remove the rights of children to choose their own religious, philosophical and ethical beliefs. They also sanction ethnic segregation and create tension and divisiveness within society. Schools should be places where children are given a free education, not centres for indoctrination. Creationism and other religious myths should not be taught as fact regardless of the funding status of a school. Abolishing faith schools will provide children with more freedom of choice and help to promote a fully multi-cultural, peaceful society.

For

Faith schools help to ensure that children develop mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and morally. As such faith schools ensure children are well placed to choose their own religious, philosophical and ethical beliefs. Schools should be places where children are given a full education, not centres where the spiritual and moral is excluded. Evolution and other scientific theories should not be taught as fact but instead along side other ‘faith’ views of origins. Supporting faith schools will provide children with a fuller education, parents with the choice of such for their children and help to promote a fully multi-cultural and peaceful society.

I find it amusing that the “for” is quite clearly based on the “against”, but really both petitions annoy me since they both seem to assume that faith schools and creationism go hand in hand. I believe that faith schools are a good thing, but I also accept evolution as a fact and Genesis as parable.

From Moby’s blog:

if you want to have fun with a right-wing, republican christian just ask them:

where in the teachings of christ does he compel his followers to start wars?

where in the teachings of christ does he compel his followers to oppose the theory of evolution?

where in the teachings of christ does he compel his followers to condemn homosexuals?

where in the teachings of christ does he compel his followers to obey men?

where in the teachings of christ does he compel his followers to amass wealth?

where in the teachings of christ does he compel his followers to judge others?

the only truthful answer to any of those questions is ‘nowhere’.

My first ever church council tonight and it wasn’t too bad, obviously all meetings have their bad moments (like everyone trying to talk at once), but unlike work meetings I was not bored. Nothing really contentious next council should be 22nd Feb 2007.

I found my church has a webpage but no rss feed - so with the help of feed43.com I have created one http://feed43.com/6662400211745288.xml