To my fellow christians...why do you fear?

Question

I'm not going to label christianity as a whole, but it seems as though many christians on here are opposed to science and a rational enganging of many of the issues that we face as a nation and a global community. I do feel as though some christians do keep their head in the sand and fear science and rationality, are blind to many things, and choose ignorance. This in turn only makes us look silly and intellectually inept. I urge all who are christians to actively engage and expand their boundries into the areas of science, philosophy and the like. One word, simplistic answers from the bible are not going to cut it in an argument with atheists and agnostics. The bible, beautiful and necessary as it is, was written to provide us with what we needed to obtain salvation, not as a dictionary for every answer out there. Let us be informed, "testing all things" and actively engaging our culture with wisdom, intellect and grace! "Be not afraid"

I know end my rant...

minus the "k" I NOW end my rant!

:p

Michelle- all the more reason for us to be actively engaged in science! There are moral enigmas in all human institutions but that does not mean we turn against the institution or stop participating.

Answer 1

I think you are correct in that many people take things to such extremes that they 'miss' some reality

Science is a big part of our business and we don't 'dismiss' science at all... while we do tend to dismiss things that are just theory until proven... but that is what theories are supposed to be... a thought that could be right or could be wrong, like when our kids do science experiments for competition.... and they have to come up with a hypothesis for each experiment...

but like you said, we can't generalize... because not all of any group is always the same on given issues.

I think many people on many different levels have thier heads in the sand on different issues...

Answer 2

my problem is not with science, but with all the junk science that is being thrown at us. I grew up in a communist country and they tried to jam so much BS down our throats that right now I'm skeptical of anything labeled as "science" or people who are considered "experts". Yeah, the know it alls, that's the kind of people I dislike intensely.
I'm currently trying to reconcile my beliefs with reality and I'm reading through the Bible. I believe that if the Bible is the word of God, then it should be accurate in every way, not just "it's good for salvation but not for science."
I'll doubt a scientist before I doubt the Bible simply because scientists have made many big mistakes in the past and they have realized that they were wrong many times, so what is there to guarantee that they no longer make colossal mistakes anymore?
...

Answer 3

Tornadoes worry me the most; because they form quickly, we have little warning, and they can be very destructive at least for small areas. I have a very healthy respect for lightning. My area of central Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S. We can have thousands of lightning strikes in one afternoon of our typical summer thunderstorms. A couple weeks ago we had several days of thunderstorms that formed in the afternoon, these storms didn't move very fast and stayed strong for longer than usual. We were getting about 12 lightning strikes a minute for over an hour. On Tuesday August 16, eight people were injured by a lightning strike at SeaWorld; all were taken to the hospital, all survived. That week; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we had homes and other businesses that had fires from lightning strikes. Tropical Storms and Hurricanes are no fun either. We do have time to prepare; but it is still scary when they arrive. Irene kept me hopping earlier this week, when we weren't sure if she would head our way or not. We had a few squall lines from Irene; but they moved through quickly, and did no damage; just hard rain, gusty winds. Not fun to drive in. My electricity went down for a few minutes and that was it. Lily, the fog you describe must be eerie. I've only seen that type of fog when I've visited places like Seattle Washington. Our afternoon thunderstorms do cause driving troubles, low visibility and slick roads similar to ice. I don't have much experience with snow and ice; so every time I am visiting some place with ice and snow is an adventure for me.

Answer 4

Many are not equipped to fight that fight. Worse yet, the pro-science crowd here on Yahoo is extremely rude. I have only seen about 3 or 4 that are actually intellectual in their argument and not shrill and insulting. Many times it has nothing to do with fear as it is tossing pearls before swine. I am afraid the throwing out of scripture is not the way, and I agree, it would be better not to participate. In fact, let them answer themselves with "right on" and "I agree". But that will not make them intellectually honest within the forum. Just self-congratulatory.

But let's be totally honest about science. Science has no hope for what occurs after life ceases. It has nothing on which to observe or test. Once a person dies, and is dead for a day or two--science, in all its knowledge, cannot bring them back for discovery for what lies beyond.

Jesus was dead for three days, and proved that He had the keys to death and the grave by raising Himself from the dead. He made clear what to expect in the afterlife. He provides free access to eternal life if you would just believe His report.

It seems as if science today is more concerned with discrediting the given evidence in order to hold on to its own lack of knowledge. And thus, those who hold to science for their religion, choose the dangerous road of "taking ones chances that the Bible is false" regarding the afterlife. Hence the dire need to discredit it at every turn.

Science is limited to the physical. Your soul is eternal. The Bible deals with what is eternal where science cannot venture. The physical realm will pass away, and science will pass away with it. What you want to do is latch onto that which will last forever, and that is the Word of God.

Science deals with understanding and comprehending creation. Religion deals with the understanding and comprehension of the Creator.

1 Peter 1:23-25
...having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because

All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the LORD endures forever.

Answer 5

I don't fear science, in fact I embrace it. I think we are called to use science to more fully understand the World that God created for us.

I do however stand against some people and beliefs that claim to be scientific. For example: In my opinion there is very little evidence for evolution, so science tells me not to assume that it is factual. However many people are so anxious to prove the Bible wrong that they will jump to any conclusion they can as long as it contradicts the Bible. These people aren't really searching for truth through science they are searching for an excuse to reject Christianity through any means possible, and therefore their results are not trustworthy.

Answer 6

I like that. Totally agree...the Bible points to salvation...and all of creation points to the Creator.

Not fearing science, because the more I see in science, the more I'm convinced there is a Creator.

Answer 7

I think that the true fear is instilled in Christians because of the belief that "THE ANTI CHRIST" will blind and trap people with the "LIES" of science. They (some) believe if the do not defend against this, that they are not doing there duty to protect the less "STABLE" who will fall for the lies. That's my opinion I could be wrong.

Answer 8

I don't say the bible is for that....I know we have science for a reason....and God gives us the knowledge to use it. I just also have my beliefs in things and Not the Big Bang Theory or that we came from single celled organisms.

Answer 9

I was just reading "Higher Calling" it is a book about Rick Husband astronaut and commander of sts-107 the ill fated Columbia, anywho he said god is the greatest scientist and mathematician of as all, we as scientist are just trying to uncover the work he created, that was the gist of it..

Answer 10

I agree....we should educate ourselves and question everything we are taught....just so that we can understand and explain it....not that we cannot be taught. If we believe that God created all then it would stand to reason that He would be the best teacher...His Word. But, that does not mean we should not study science. They are not mutually exclusive.