As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“These are just some examples of recent ‘prayer shaming,’ a term describing the ridicule toward people who offer their ‘thoughts and prayers’ for victims of tragedies. But they are also part of an old debate about the conflict between religion and science.
“A survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research found 53 percent of Protestant pastors agree with the statement, ‘I believe global warming is real and man-made,’ including 34 percent who strongly agree.” - BPNews
Over the last several weeks I’ve encountered a range of negative views toward the models epidemiologists have been using in the struggle against COVID-19. Skepticism is a healthy thing. But rejecting models entirely isn’t skepticism. Latching onto fringe theories isn’t skepticism. Rejecting the flattening-the-curve strategy because it’s allegedly model-based isn’t skepticism either.
These responses are mostly misunderstandings of what models are and of how flattening-the-curve came to be.
“Peek demand for hospital resources due to COVID-19 is expected by mid-April in the U.S., according to an analysis from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.” -
“The core distinction between ‘genetic’ ancestry and ‘genealogical’ ancestry seems valid. Adam and Eve could’ve been genealogical ancestors of all humans alive today, without leaving any genetic trace….Nevertheless, the genealogical hypothesis itself is still dissonant with the biblical Adam and Eve.” - TGC
“Dr. Hayhoe’s bifurcation of belief (faith) and scientific knowledge (as derived from observation) is a common misunderstanding. …She writes as if thinking that 2 + 2 = 4, or that human activity is driving dangerous climate change, is not belief, but thinking that Jesus rose from the dead, or ‘that God’s love has been poured in our hearts,’ is.” - Cornwall Alliance
“I emphasize that astronomy, being an observational science, rather than an experimental science, is still science. People must understand that the scientific method that they learned growing up was highly idealized, and it was presented in a manner that is tailor-made for experimental science, such as biology.
“So says Australian scholar Peter Harrison of the University of Queensland, the author of The Bible, Protestantism, and the Rise of Natural Science (Cambridge University Press, 2001) and Science Without God?: Rethinking the History of Scientific Naturalism (Oxford University Press, 2019).” - Gene Veith
“These are novel living machines,” said Joshua Bongard, one of the lead researchers at the University of Vermont, in the news release. “They’re neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. It’s a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism.” - CNN
“Can Einstein bring us closer to God’s view of the world? Oxford University’s Alister McGrath takes up this question in his book, A Theory of Everything (That Matters): A Brief Guide to Einstein, Relativity, and His Surprising Thoughts on God.
Discussion