Title: Re: paleonet Moral Values Doesn't Necessarily
MeanAnti-Evo
Christianity, even within an evangelical
framework, should indeed not automatically be equated with ignorance,
creationism or right-wing radicalism.
Christianity is not a particularly historical religion. It
has tended over the centuries to treat history essentially as a
framework for making theological points. There has always been a
strong tendency to conflate the history of the Earth with the history
of humankind and to believe that the fate of humankind affects Nature
rather than the other way around.
The most general example of this is the belief in "a fallen
world". Burnet and others assumed that the landscape was
disorderly because it had declined from a perfect state and that the
decline was caused by Original Sin. Of course, original sin was
"self consciousness" and self consciousness is what prompts
the scientific impulse, so we've got a basic disagreement here.
Although the 'fallen world' idea is no longer dominant in science
it is certainly quite common in Western culture. The most
pervasive example at the moment is found in The Lord of the
Rings, a book written by a profoundly religious Catholic.
The insidious persistence of the notion that we are living in a
fallen world affects the public's attitude toward both evolution and
environmental protection. I would even argue that it is in part
responsible for the strong feelings evoked by the Bush victory;
progressives feel that it is evidence of a further decline in the
state of our society.
Sincerely,
Bill
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William P. Chaisson
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY 14627