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Posted by Lee on July 1, 1999 02:20:11 UTC

Religion (in too many cases) seeks to "prove" what it already believes first, and engages in genuine discovery second, or not at all.

It's ok if religion says science supports its beliefs, as long as one does not fabricate the evidence, alter it, or try to expand it into a vehicle for perpetuating what is already believed in, in the first place.

Evidence has to be examined on its own merits with NO END TARGET OR GOAL as the unshakable truth. In GOOD science, NOTHING is really proven, only accepted as the current explanation until something better replaces it. The scientific search for evidence is based on the ideology of discovery, not the re-inforcement of current dogma.

Many religious people see this as an attempt to "disprove" God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those who proclaim scientists to be "Atheists" straight away are liars. There MAY be some who are, but the majority are Theistic in some sense. Neither status is in itself a (dis)qualification for the ability to practice good science. If God is in the evidence, so be it. But if He is not, we cannot be duped into believing that we have to keep God in the evidence just to maintain the status quo or or "save" our eternal souls.

If we have eternal souls and there is a God, what becomes of us was already determined at the instant of creation itself. Determined by the very laws of physics that He laid down at that time.

If we do not and there is no God, all the belief in the world cannot make it so. In the overall sense, the best we can do is explore with an open mind and learn from what we see, not just from what we are told.

Finally, the most agregious efforts of Creationists have to do with promoting their religious agenda in the public school system. This is of course a government institution and covered by the Constitutional Guarantee of Separation of Church and State. The U. S. Supreme Court has already ruled in several cases that "Creation Science" is in fact not science and is religious in origin and intent. For other countries in the world, the problem has to be addressed as is fit under those laws.

Science needs to be kept free of religious interference for the simple reason that government cannot make ANY descision favoring one religious belief over any other, in deference to ALL religions. Allowing any ONE religious belief to become part of state controlled education is as disasterous to society as a whole as it is to public education and good science itself.

i.e. - Keep religion in the Heart, the Home and the House of Worship where it belongs, and OUT of the public education system where it does not.

The scientific process is perfectly capable of discovering all that man is capable of understanding if kept unfettered by the fear of individuals who refuse to accept the reality that what they believe MAY not be true, otherwise Creationist pontifications are nothing less than the rantings of eogists who refuse to admit they even COULD be wrong.

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