Unreasonable Science

A recent edition of National Geographic features topics where "science" may not be right.  Eg:

• Climate change may not really be happening, and if it is, it is not in the way that scientists think;
• Evolution never happened, it is a theory that has not been proven beyond all doubt;
• The moon landing was faked, it was a conspiracy;
• Vaccinations can lead to autism; and
• Genetically modified food is not really good for you.

The front cover of this magazine looks attractive, though sadly, as someone said, the people who need to know these things won't read this magazine.  They will just believe what they will want to believe or what the news media tells them.  They do not have the habitual inquiring mind to subscribe to magazines like National Geographic.

Do you think these comments are true?  People only understand science for what popular media tells them, rather than to examine the actual facts?

Is there a conspiracy behind what media informs?  A viewpoint twisted to influence the masses to think in a certain way, even when the viewpoint is an unproven theory?  And a contested one at that?

I understand that the masses came to believe that being "gay" is genetic and unavoidable, even though scientifically, it is yet to be proven that a gay gene exists.

And the evolution theory is taught at schools, even though the indesputable "missing link" between the different kinds of species has never been found.

Personally, I believe in the "scientific" method.  However, conclusions need to be checked against this method.  Inconclusive data should not be publicised as facts.  It would be deceiving the public if we were to do this.

Unfortunately, the need for grants and the attraction of the public to information and controversies lead us to believe some things, even though "science" does not actually validate those beliefs.

What do you believe?

Is Jesus real?

What do you reckon?

Michael Paulkovich reckons He isn't.  His study led him to the conclusion that

“When I consider those 126 writers, all of whom should have heard of Jesus but did not – and Paul and Marcion and Athenagoras and Matthew with a tetralogy of opposing Christs, the silence from Qumram and Nazareth and Bethlehem, conflicting Bible stories, and so many other mysteries and omissions – I must conclude that Christ is a mythical character.

However, J Warner Wallace reckons that "the Christian faith is an evidential faith".  He said that the Scriptures call us to use our minds, examine the evidences, examine what we believe, and be convinced with the truth.

Indeed, Paul wrote that

if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead.

Have you studied the evidences?  What do you believe about the Bible?  What do you believe about Jesus?  Why?

Time management

How do you manage your time when you have too much on your plate?  How do you prioritise?

Many of us wear different hats; eg. as a parent, a student, a business manager, and to handle numerous chores at home at the same time.  How does one cope with doing this?

Should one value leisure, health, work, or family above the other values?

We often say to put God first, others next, and ourselves last.  However, we need to include God in all aspects of life - home, work, studies, and leisure.  How do we put God first while doing these things?  What would God have us do?

What do you think?

Culture is not your friend

A definition of the word "culture" that I learned is that it is "what we do and how we behave in order to fit in the society that we live in".  It seems normal, based on that definition, to treat culture as a friend.  After all, it is the unwritten code of conduct that tells us what is acceptable and what isn't.

My reading today told me otherwise.  Knowledgeoftoday.org quoted Plato to have said "those who are able to see beyond the shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood, let alone believed, by the masses".  It thinks that culture is a limiting factor that stops us from thinking on our own accord.  Culture tells us that we are not important.  Culture tells us to go to school, get a job, get a degree, retire at a certain age, etc, regardless of whether we want to or not.

Do you think so?  Is culture a necessary evil, or an unnecessary one?  Or is it good?

Knowledgeoftoday.org also quotes these other comments about school - the place where we learn our culture -

• "School is the advertising agency which tells you that you need the society as it is."  Ivan Illich
• "When Students cheat on exams, it's because our School System values grades more than Students value learning."  Neil deGrasse Tyson

 They reckon that schools condition children to think that:

• Truth comes from Authority
• Intelligence is the ability to remember and repeat
• Accurate memory and repetition is rewarded
• Non-compliance is punished
• Conform: intellectually and socially

Do you agree?  What does school and education mean to you?  Is there room for creativity or crime?  Is conforming to culture a bad thing to do?

Where does God fit into this?  Is God against culture?  Is culture against God?  Should we obey God rather than culture, or culture rather than God?

Are we being manipulated?

Suzanne Maloney described the Iranian elections as full of "maneouvering", as each of the 686 candidates tries to out-do the others.  The Iranians know their culture and may not think of the tactics as "manipulation", but perhaps people outside their culture would.

That set me thinking - what does manipulation mean?  What consitutes manipulation?  Are we being manipulated in the free world?

Eg. we may think we have the freedom to choose, but how limited is our freedom?

If the public transport infrastructure is weak, then we would feel the need to have our own vehicle more.  Are we manipulated into owning a vehicle to compensate for the fact that our government did not invest well into public transport?  Or, if the government provided plenty of public transport but taxed private vehicles heavily, then, can we say that citizens are manipulated into using public transport?

In democratic countries, the voice of the people is "heard" by their government.  But what avenues does the government give for the voice of the people to reach them?  Does the government have the time to answer our every phone call, email or letter?  I see that some government spends for the resources to hear from the people more compared to others.

Then there is the media that carries our news and entertainment.  The media should stay neutral, but in order to sell papers, etc, it needs to sensationalise and appeal to public interests and fears.  The asylum seeker situation, etc. may not be as bad as what the media makes it out to be.  And in some countries, the government owns the media channels.

Even on the internet, we cannot believe everything we read - as some people tell lies.

Eg. Angelina Jolie announced that she has had a double mastectomy done to reduce her risk of breast cancer.  Many seem to honour her as a hero for doing this, but some think that this is a manipulative move by holders of gene patents to get through some legal decisions.  The news appeals to women to be tested for a gene - although few can afford such testing.  Is this a way for the medical specialists to make money?

Scientists are now saying that there is probably no "gay gene" - contrary to what they have been thinking in the past, and contrary to what some people wanted society to think.  Nevertheless, Kevin Rudd of Australia is now supporting gay marriages.  Is some maneuvering going on here?

What do you think?  Are we manipulated to believe things out of what we hear, and deceived away from knowing the truth?  What is the truth anyway?  What should we believe?  How do we get around the untruths that are masked around the truth in the information that we are fed?

Is God deceived too?

Beliefs of young people

Many people were shocked to hear that Mosese Fotuaika killed himself.  The natural question people asked was "why"?  Mosese was a young man, and a rising football star with the Balmain Tigers.  He shouldn't be feeling depressed and upset about his life.  He had a promising career ahead of him.  Why would he do such a thing?

I suppose we will never know for sure.  Some think it could be because of a mental health issue.  This leads me to the next question - what do young people think about themselves?  Do they see themselves as able to face the world?  Do they feel that life is worth living?

As many people grow up, they are told many things about themselves.  Some are told that they are wimps.  Ugly.  Lack potential.  Etc.  Some are told other things.  People can grow up believing the truth, some end up believing lies.

I found http://www.charismamag.com/life/culture/16886-an-open-letter-to-gay-teens interesting.  The article addressed an issue where a teenager believes that he is gay, when his parents know he is not.  Are young people around you similarly deceived?  What other deceptions do young people face?

I am sure some would be told very positive things as well.  And in this culture of positive thinking, one would rather believe a positive lie than to believe the truth or believe a negative one.

I believe that Steve got it right when he said that "human beings are paradoxical. We are mere dust, and yet we have the breath of God within us."  I think we should not be too proud of ourselves, but at the same time, also realise that we are something of value in the eyes of God.

What do you think?  What would you encourage the young people around you to think?

Equality & Discrimination

I have had more thoughts since writing about discrimination recently.  I think I have reached the conclusion that some anti-discrimination ideals are a farce.

Please don't misunderstand me.  I think that treating people as inferior or deliberately putting people down is bad behaviour.  Especially if it is on the grounds that the other people are of a different gender or a different race.  By this definition of discrimination, I would think that discrimination is wrong.

The other people are as human as we are.  They are sinners, just like us.  In this sense, we are no better than the others and should not act as if we are.

However, as I thought about it, I also thought that the opposite extreme is also not true.  To regard everybody as the same is not being true to reality.  We are of different genders.  We are made up of many races.  We can discriminate to the extent of realising these differences, even if we do not put others down.  We can acknowledge who the bride and who the groom is, for example; or choose to use the right toilet.

To think that everybody gets the same marks in exams, to think that everybody is as athletically capable as each other - these are examples of just not being real.  To think that an untrained guy is as capable of performing surgery as a trained surgeon ... I would not do this, would you?

I think we are swallowing a lie if we take this meaning of discrimination too far.  We could end up saying that there should be no headship in the home, or even in the country.  We could say that worshipping God, idols or the Devil is exactly the same thing.

I think that we should not regard ourselves more highly than what we ought to, we should not put other people down.  But to think that children have the same right to correct their parents, to think that everybody is exactly the same in every way ... that is not right either.

What do you think?  Are all created equal, but some are more equal than others the way "Animal Farm" says?  Are we all alike in every way?  Are we believing a lie if we champion the anti-discrimination concept to its extreme?

What is right about Christians today?

What does it mean to be a Christian today?  Is this belief/practice/behaviour correct for today's society?

A few thoughts came to mind as I tried to answer these questions:

• This article in TownHall.com carries some good points, but it is very USA-centric.  Many Christians in other parts of the world may share some commonalities with USA's Christians, but there will also be some differences.  I think that many of the points in the "weaknesses" list should serve as a wake-up call to many Christians around the world.
• What happened to the old days when Christians would give out tracts on buses or at street corners?  Have we found this strategy too unattractive?  Too confronting?  Are we not clear enough about what we believe that we are now afraid that we may not have the answers if people were to ask?  This would be to the shame of the church.  In recent times, I have found Muslims doing this kind of street evangelism instead of the Christians, as was the case previously.  Some were wearing these T-shirts which state that "I have found the Prophet Jesus in the Quran" on one side, and "I have found the Prophet Mohammad in the Bible" on the other side.  Theologically, both these assertions are not exactly true, but many people probably do not know their Bible well enough to answer these guys
• A recent study in Daniel 4 & 5 reminded me that many of us from the Western cultures have been influenced by this paradigm that everybody has the right to our own opinion.  That we can choose our course ahead.  That we have the power in ourselves to do whatever we want.  We forget that God gave us everything we have, and we owe Him our thanks and worship.  We forget that bad choices result in bad consequences.  We do not have ultimate control.  We find it hard to talk about Jesus being the only way, or how much we need God to the people around us, lest they consider us as freaks.  However, we end up not giving God the glory unless we do this.  God's judgement on us, and the people around us is imminent.

What do you think?  What does it mean to be a Christian today?  Can Christians influence the culture of the people around them the way they used to?  Will today's Christians be willing to die for what they believe, the way yesterday's Christians did?