Religion and Astronomy

[Superluminal]

Having been a member of the local astronomy club for over 20 years, I've met many amature astromomers from southwest Arkansas and north east Texas. Whenever religion comes up, most have proffessed to be Christian. They believe in Jesus and the Big Bang and are comfortable discussing either religion or Big Bang theory. Most of them have the attitude about evolution that that is the way God did it and have no problem believing we came from lower life forms. The fact that we evolved from apes, doesn't make one any less human.

I just wish that more people would accept that, get over it, we have more important things to worry about.

It is interesting to note that when presented with the same evidence, people can come to conclusions 180 degrees apart. We once had two members in the club, one was a born again Christian, the other an admitted athiest. One night when religion came up at a meeting the athiest said it was the study of astronomy that had convinced him there was no god. The born again Christian said it was astronomy that had convinced him there was a god. Same evidence, differant conclusions.

[Enzo]

Re: astronomy (and all the rest of science too I suppose)

If there is no god, then this is all ther is and we should learn as much as we can about it. If ther is a god, then this is the glorious result of his work and we should learn as much as we can about it.

(paraphrased Carl Sagan, I think.)

[Мастер]

If there is no god, then this is all ther is and we should learn as much as we can about it.

I'm of the opinion that if there is no god, then there is no "should" :P

[Enzo]

Don't know why should requires a god, but then replace it with "we would be best served by." With appropriate grammatical changes.

[teri tait]

Having been a member of the local astronomy club for over 20 years, I've met many amature astromomers from southwest Arkansas and north east Texas. Whenever religion comes up, most have proffessed to be Christian. They believe in Jesus and the Big Bang and are comfortable discussing either religion or Big Bang theory. Most of them have the attitude about evolution that that is the way God did it and have no problem believing we came from lower life forms. The fact that we evolved from apes, doesn't make one any less human.

I just wish that more people would accept that, get over it, we have more important things to worry about.

It is interesting to note that when presented with the same evidence, people can come to conclusions 180 degrees apart. We once had two members in the club, one was a born again Christian, the other an admitted athiest. One night when religion came up at a meeting the athiest said it was the study of astronomy that had convinced him there was no god. The born again Christian said it was astronomy that had convinced him there was a god. Same evidence, differant conclusions.

I like your anecdote of the two astronomers with completely different conclusions based on astronomy. It really shows how radically different thoughts and ideas each individual has.

[Мастер]

Don't know why should requires a god, but then replace it with "we would be best served by." With appropriate grammatical changes.

Well, if you have a god, then "should" is easy - there is a book, oral tradition, whatever, telling you what you "should" do. If you don't, then it's just a matter of opinion :P

[Heid the Ba]

I don't believe a single god could do it, you would need a team. Any god with an idea like that is going to be on to something else long before it is finished, and completer/finisher god would never have thought beyond a small, tidy universe.

You need an ideas god in a suit and red tie freethinking, with his sidekick god writing the good stuff down and passing it to the guy with the Excel spreadsheet on his laptop (you know what she/he looks like), and a raft of fixergods arranging the plumbers and chippies.

It has been a long week and I need a lie down; never mind, only 28 minutes to go . . .