http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/
I've also included one of the more thoughtful criticisms posted and an equally thoughtful response.
Okay, so I know you’re probably not even going to read this, but I had to express myself.
First, a bit of my religious background. I was raised a Baptist, slowly came to realize that I didn’t believe a word the Bible says, and became Wiccan for two years. Then I had a “long dark night of the soul,” more commonly known as existential crisis, during the course of which I became agnostic. However, my closest friends are two devoted Catholics, an atheist, and another Wiccan. I do not make fun of or demean their beliefs, and they do not make fun of or demean me. None of us attempt to convert anyone, although we are willing to share information if asked for it. I am not sure what I think about the Kansas School Board issue, as it concerns the definition of science as well as faith, but I do know that even if I do not agree with some of my friends, I would never tell them they are being illogical.
Recently at my college, a spoken word artist performed. He was also agnostic, and one poem he wrote in particular spoke to me. He compared God to Diet Coke, saying that Diet Coke helps him get through the hard times in the same way that God helps others. So why take that away from people? The majority of Christians aren’t hurting anyone, are they? If their beliefs help them get through their lives without the despair I feel everyday due to my doubts, why ridicule them for it?
If you have actually read all this, thank you for your time. A reply, if you have time to write one, would be appreciated, but you do not have permission to repost my words anywhere.
Sincerely,
Z.E.
Z.E.,
All you say sounds sincere and is perfectly sensible. My issue is not religious beliefs. My issue is teaching science in school. Your poet’s comparison of God with Diet Coke is quite apt. I don’t want to see teachers using Diet Coke to explain the diversity of life on earth and the process which underlies it any more than I want to see some story about creation (there are so many!) being substituted or offered as an “alternative” to a valid and well established scientific theory. (Bear in mind gravity is a theory, not a fact.)
To me, personally, all these stories are wonderful in varying degrees and offer comfort or insight to people in varying degrees, just as poetry and music may. I have no issue with people seeking comfort.
But science is an intellectual discipline, which does not seek to establish beliefs without theory or without the ability to test the theory. Untestable, unquantifiable beliefs can not be part of science. Science is not religion and religion is not science. Those who fear for their religious beliefs because science has a different, and quite useful, story are having a crisis of faith best addressed in their church, not in the classroom.