Brilliant Expostulation By Neil DeGrasse Tyson Concerning The Scientific Method, Peer Review, And How Scientifically Untrained People Often Get Things Wrong While Being Absolutely Convinced They're Right
Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Masterclass: Teaches You How To Think - Learning How To Get Past "Thinking You're Right" To "Knowing When You're Wrong"
Alan
I am a lifelong "cradle Catholic."I am also keenly aware that scientific evidence is what it is, and -- in the name of Truth -- such evidence must be admitted, acknowledged, recognized and even celebrated.As French Jesuit paleontologist-cosmologist Teilhard de Chardin put it: "Research is adoration."It is also true that virtually all Christians -- without acknowledging their manipulation of scripture -- unconsciously "carry around" a single cobbled together version of the gospel story that conveniently ignores the many inconsistencies that exist among the four canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.A certain kind of Christian is obliged to twist scripture to meet his (or her) preconceived needs.This obligation to distort factuality is beautifully put by the Protestant publishing house, Zondervan, whose webpage reads: "The story of Jesus stands or falls on the trustworthiness of the Gospels. That's why skeptics pay so much attention to the Gospels' apparent contradictions."What Zondervan does not say -- at least not out loud (although the heart of the matter is "hidden" in plain sight) -- is that evangelicals and fundamentalists must resolve "apparent" contradictions so that the many presumptions built into their faith are not corroded to the point of collapse.As often happens, one person's quest (or need) for absolute certitude does not even ruffle another Christian's feathers.The gospels (both canonical and non-canonical) go about the business of telling the story of Jesus life.And it just doesn't matter Christians (who accept factual evidence) whether these stories are "inerrantly inspired by God," just so long as the stories -- be they biographical, mythological or legendary -- are inspiring stories.If it is true that the heart of Christ's message is that "God is love" (as stated in John's first epistle) then fussing over "all the rest" is more of a distraction from this central truth, rather than a contribution to it. (See Emo Philips brilliant shtick in the Comment box below.)And so, although it is evident to all free-thinking, non-biased, open-minded people that Science cannot generate evidence that knowledgeably corroborates or denies proposed answers to ultimate questions (such as "What happens to people after they die?"), Science does establish the primary importance of evidence, Furthermore, Science establishes the primary importance of evidence in ways that are incontrovertible. For example, "the world is not flat, but approximately spherical."In fact, Science is so concerned with evidence that it -- methodically -- tries to prove its "findings" wrong, and uses this "self-doubt" as one of the very best ways to "hone" scientific knowledge so that is increasingly illuminating.Over my 77 year lifetime it has become increasingly apparent to me that knowledge discovered by rigorous application of the Scientific Method (despite knowing that such knowledge can routinely be made more precise, and that such knowledge is sometimes overturned entirely as untrue) is, nevertheless, the constant touchstone at the center of humankind's attempts to determine what is true.As DeGrasse Tyson points out in the following clip, the early Church needed to believe that the earth was the center of the Universe and -- even after contrary evidence came to light -- undertook flabbergasting cerebral contortions to maintain the provable fiction that the Earth lies at the VERY CENTER of Universe.I encourage you to listen to Neil DeGrasse Tyson's "Religion Ignores Evidence" in order to learn how Religion - particularly in its "conservative" "Christian" manifestations -- is obliged to keep wishful thinking alive at damn near ANY cost.Once the centrality of "wishful thinking" is seen in the same field of intellectual scrutiny as "scientific evidence," it becomes clear that continuing to believe anti-scientific articles of faith is just that - an act of faith that is held to be true, without any supporting evidence that can be put to scientific testing.Facebook
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Alan Archibald"Emo Philips Tells A Story About Heretic Scum. Trump Picks Up Where Emo Leaves Off"Emo Philips Tells A Story About Heretic Scum. Trump Picks Up Where Emo Leaves OffNEWSFROMBARBARIA.BLOGSPOT.COMEmo Philips Tells A Story About Heretic Scum. Trump Picks Up Where Emo Leaves OffAlan ArchibaldCompendium: Christian Conservatism, Biblical Literalism And The Unique Hatred Of Yahweh's Command That ALL Men In Any Town Where Rebellious Children Live, MUST Stone Them To DeathCompendium: Christian Conservatism, Biblical Literalism And The Unique Hatred Embedded In Yahweh's (Deuteronomy) Command That ALL Men In Any Town Where Rebellious Children Live, MUST Stone Them To DeathNEWSFROMBARBARIA.BLOGSPOT.COMCompendium: Christian Conservatism, Biblical Literalism And The Unique Hatred Embedded In Yahweh's (Deuteronomy) Command That ALL Men In Any Town Where Rebellious Children Live, MUST Stone Them To Death
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