Most of the readership of this blog will come from what I consider a Biblical background. So, discussing things of faith will have a certain framework from which most if not all will have. To call that a prejudice or bias I have no difficulty in accepting. One of the accusations that Christians receive is that they are narrow minded and not open to alternative ideas. Let's have some out of the box thinking, they propose. Well, as I see it, to think outside the box you have to a have a box to begin with. A reference point. And in the marketplace of ideas, every idea has to have a reference point. A prejudice, if you will, as a point of truth. An assumption.
Consider this quote from Richard Dawkins,
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference."*
*Dawkins, Richard. 2005. God's Utility Function. Scientific America, 273:85.
Dawkins is a highly respected evolutionist and thinker. You would think a truly out of the box kind of guy. But Dawkins has a box from which he thinks. His box is, "there is no God and when you look around that is exactly what you see." As I see it this is what he says in the above quote, "When you get ready to look at the world around you; if you know what your looking for; then when you see it; it will be exactly what you thought you would see when you stop and see it for what it really is." Well, duh!
Or consider this quote from Charles Darwin,
"A man who has no assured and ever present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution and reward, can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest or which seem to him the best ones."*
*Darwin, Charles 1958. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. New York: Norton, 94.
Apparently, God is so entrenched in the thought process of man that you have to start from God to disprove that he exists. And has following the "impulses and instincts which are the strongest" ever gotten you into trouble. You must temper that urge with, "which seem to him the best ones."
Which reminds me of a couple of Biblical imperatives:
Prov 25:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and tries the hearts.
Prov 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.
All of this really leads me to a conclusion, a prejudice if you will. Doesn't all thought process start with a presupposition. A point of view. Are Christians less scientific because they start from a basis of belief? Are Atheists that much different from Christians since both start with a set of presuppositions? After all if man is really looking for the truth can't there be openness in the marketplace of ideas? Or maybe a more pressing question, "Can man really recognize truth without some outside influence?"
Sharpen your swords. What do you think?
3 comments:
I do not begin to think I understand things on a higher level, but in college I studied science and have a degree in biological science. Even though I was not as committed a believer then, I was always amazed with two things. The order and creativity in creation, and the total blindness of scientist who ignore this fact, usually because of fear or rejection or needing the last research grant.
I enjoy looking up close at a painting of a great artist. Ask me about getting too close to a van Gogh! Anyway, I enjoy looking at the brush strokes the artist used, the colors, and the small details.
Looking at creation is much like this. The more you look, the more you see the artist of creation and His personal touch. You cannot deny an authentic painting by van Gogh, Renoit, Picasso, why deny the artist of the universe?
Another interesting thing to me is that more scientists learn about the universe, the more they seem to "catch up" with God. For years we have seen discoveries that negated past understanding. The best example of this is the "string or ribbon" theory of how thing work on an atomic level. Some scientist state that the ribbons of particles actually move in patterns at emulates music. Interesting: David wrote a song (psalm) "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." The universe sings for God, man glories in his research.
I like the "you must have box to think outside" of idea. Man will always have a brand of truth. That which he sees as truth from his point of view. The question is how clouded is his perspective of truth. To know ultimate truth I believe that must come from beyond man. I believe that is the essence of revelation. God revealing truth to man. Not only must God reveal truth but he must interpret that truth as well. And He does.
watching a show on parallel universes and gravitons and somesuch.
there are things happening in my living room i can't see. rock on---
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