God and Science do Not Conflict
AKA Kansas and Intelligent Design

God and science do not conflict in my world.

Science (when done correctly) is based on logic and the best objective observation that humans can muster.

God is present in all things including science. God (like several things science has discovered) is not directly observable. God can only be inferred from her effect on things that are observable.

God and organized religion do not in my experience intersect, except in the sense that God intersects with all things. I observe no grant of special relationship for religious organizations. Organized religion is an invention of man apparently made with the best intentions, but since it is run by men it inevitably descends into a social and power accumulation arrangement. I am confident that an objective review of the history of organized religion would show it has done at least as much harm as good.

The Bible and all other "holy" books are irrelevant at best. God exists with or without them, and is not affected by them. Based on the several examples I have pursued, they have all been turned to the debased purposes of organized religion and become repositories of dogma and prejudice. There are things in many of them that reflect God, and whatever power such books have is drawn from these reflections. Those who control such books are (mostly) clever enough to not expunge the source of their power, and to the extent these things can be winnowed from the chaff, these books can be instructive. Experience may be a better teacher.

Attacking science on the basis of some man's interpretation of a "holy" book is a waste and a diversion of peoples energies from the good works that are the true task of spiritual men and women. It is exactly like attacking witches because witches contradict some religion's "holy" book. (For the reasons this sort of diversion occurs, see again: the history of organized religion.)

One of the best examples of the science vs. religion battles occurred during the renascence when Galileo deduced that the earth orbits around the sun. Most reasonable people accept that case as the model for what happens when religion tries to deny the facts found by science.

A.M.
11/11/2005