Filling a Gap in the Blogosphere, Part II
There's another reason to take Richard Dawkins seriously besides memes. Theologians attempting talk about science can produce utter bullbleep:
Modern science tells us that our species is integral to nature and dependent on it for survival.I'd be more confident about that statement if a real scientist were making it. For one thing, parts of nature are necessary and parts of nature are vulnerable, but those are not necessarily the same parts.
But in the face of destructive trends, the scientific community been largely complacent: reactive, not proactive.Translation: “The scientists should show some backbone and agree with me.”
Aggravating this problem, the U.S. government has tried to suppress some science and to silence some scientists.That part, at least, sounds familiar.
2 Comments:
Scientists who talk smack about religion often embarass themselves.
Theologians who talk science often embarass themselves.
This is mystifying to me, as I know many intelligent people who manage to discuss both sensibly.
I am returning joseph's visit and link. I have been discussing the various American tribes recently, and think I can add a fragment to this discussion. Most theologians, in the very broad sense we now allow for the term, are from the Arts & Humanities Tribe (not, as you would think, the God & Country Tribe). This tribe has enjoyed the status of public intellectuals, especially in Europe but also in the US. The Science & Technology tribe is eroding that dominance, and the A&H tribe resents it. They see S & T as competitors. If you read the pronouncements of the - ahem - thoughtful religious figures that get into the better papers and weeklies, you will see them defending a sort of theistic humanist culture rather than the faith of the church.
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