" I'm not done with this but here's a start...." " IS there a God ? "     It always makes me wonder when some youngster "chooses" evolution over religion. I wonder how much he hasn't considered ...

Consider this: I'll believe in the Bible, you believe in evolution, okay? You'll say the Bible says God created everything in 7 days. I'll say a day to Him is like a thousand years. You'll say Adam and Eve raised a murderer & I'll say they had very few parenting classes in those days. You'll say we evolved from monkeys & I'll ask why are there still monkeys then? But "disproving" the Bible wouldn't "prove" evolution. We could debate the Bible or Darwin 'til we die of old age and nothing would change, so that won't help.   Proof of Religion: Since neither of us has shaken hands with God, Jesus, or any of the disciples, we can't put religion on trial -- maybe our first point of agreement is that religion is based on hearsay, fraught with mis-interpretations, full of wishful thinking and perhaps the most significant gamble available to man!   I'm not sure how to take some of the things in the Bible. I'm not even sure who wrote them, how elaborate their vocabulary was in those days, or whether they were addressing their neighbors or mankind.   But one thing I'm sure of -- there are ten commandments, in spite of every parent's frantic scramble to create an eleventh one ! I think ten is enough for anybody. If you go thru a day without breaking one of these big ones, good for you, you've been a pretty decent person for the day. Try it again tomorrow.   Proven Science: Science, by contrast, has been "proven", right? Well, REAL science anyway. Unfortunately, some schools neglect to remind students how much "science" is UNPROVEN and how much THEORY prevails! Ancient scholars once "theorized" that the earth was the center of the universe and the world was flat. But somewhere along the grapevine these theorys diluted themselves into "common knowledge".   Common Knowledge: So how accurate IS our common knowledge anyway? Is "western medicine" better than the medicine practiced by most of the world? Which country is the "greatest nation on earth"? Based on what? Do black holes just absorb everything, as Albert Einstein theorized? Or do they release radiation and ultimately evaporate, as Stephen Hawking suggests? Have you ever seen an "expert witness" offering testimony over a jar of "primordial soup"? Or studied gravity under a microscope? Me neither! How could either of us "prove" in court that the earth ISN'T the center of the universe? It would appear that in the interest of expedience we've been accepting quite a bit of "hearsay", wouldn't it? So I don't think we'd be wise to put science on trial either.   Can we GENERALLY agree on these things?   1) Most scientists and clergymen are well-intentioned, well-trained and dedicated. 2) Neither scientists nor clergymen tend to see eye-to-eye with others in their field. 3) Despite views, both groups need to make a living in their chosen field. 4) Since the knowledge of 100 years ago is largely outdated, 5) Today's knowledge will be obsolete in the near future. 6) You and I are searching for answers. 7) We both think we're right!     If Our fellow man taught us most of what we know, so maybe it's time to look at some of the people who've influenced us..   Anthropologists: I believe most people who dig up bones and try to date them are sincere. Their dating methods are probably pretty accurate and they'll tell us the earth is a zillion years old. Of course, they also once told me that dinosaurs became extinct all at once, that Tyrannosaurus Rex was strictly a meat-eater and that due to a larger brain cavity, man is smarter than his fellow mammals. NOW the SAME group is uncovering "new evidence" that sheds doubt on conclusions drawn from lifetimes of dedicated digging.   Scientists: When one searches for truth outside himself, the truth gets further and further away, the Chinese would say. Science once told us that television was impossible, that there's no such thing as a "sixth sense", and a ton of other mis-information has been researched, documented and dispersed by scientists. I would point out that scientists are specialists just like everyone else, that they sometimes "enhance" their findings and that their conclusions, like anyones, MAY have repercussions far beyond their own design.   Teachers: Many "teachers" have become well-read, well-intentioned, convincing orators, but lacking practical experience they inadvertantly lead "captive" students completely off track. I've seen government-appointed "research leaders" who were assigned to study grizzlies without ever having seen an actual bear! So remember to ask yourself "How many bears has MY bear-instructor seen"? (With his persuasive powers, you ever wonder what kind of evangelist Adolph Hitler might have become?)   Religious leaders: Years ago our Sunday School teacher warned us that "Jesus is coming soon!", stated that "soon" could be anytime, maybe a minute from now, and that we should ALWAYS be ready! Well, I took that lesson to heart so I prayed on the way home, and prayed the next day, and the next week and so forth. After maybe 10 years I finally decided that: either that teacher was all wet, or Jesus is going to be in BIG trouble with his Mom when he finally DOES show up !! So don't bother telling me the sky is falling.   Parents: Most of us were raised by average parents, and parents had the majority of influence during our "formative years". How smart IS the average parent? Any smarter than the average neighbor? Selfish parents, critical parents, gossipy parents, skeptical parents, stubborn parents, melodramatic parents, --- they ALL produce offspring who rely on those characteristics. No matter how much rebellion and independence you can muster, I've seen decades of people "evolve" into young versions of their OWN PARENTS! Don't EVER say "it won't happen to me." To some extent, it already has! I'm not a clone of my father, but I can't shed his genes ! Our Ancestors: Grampa & Grandma did the best they could. Their advice was pretty laughable by today's standards but in 30 years our offspring will humor us too! So let's not get too complacent, considering our "limited", soon-to-be-obsolete knowledge. Significance? A person "disappears" from view at the distance of about a mile. Cars, 2 miles. Houses, about 3 to 5 miles. So from a worldly standpoint, we're relatively insignificant. Except maybe to an ant underfoot.   But we ARE part of something too big and complex for us to comprehend.   History: We WERE led to believe that Columbus was the first white man to discover America and that Edison personally invented the light bulb. We WEREN'T told that Lincoln freed the slaves as a military excuse to invade the south. Or that Ben Frankin had slain domestics buried in his backyard on 2 continents. Or that New Years day was moved from March to January to coincide with Rome's election day. Or that Christ couldn't have been born in December. But we're learning!   Technology: You think modern computers are great? So do I, even though they're pretty primitive with all these wires and gizmos. In our haste to capitalize, we tend to strap things together.   After we've tallied the losses from computer hazards, the airbags and seatbelts will come. And once man configures a link from the computer's plusses and minuses to the ones in our mind, that "Acme Internal" monitor might seem pretty "user-friendly"..   Nature: If a cockroach is capable of "genetically storing" about 30 gigabytes of information in his DNA, I think it's reasonable to give nature a little credit too. Sure, cockroaches have been around a lot longer than computers but did they start with external monitor, scanner and speakers? Pretty crude effort to mimic nature, isn't this?   Not to discount the works of man entirely .... we HAVE progressed from hunters and gatherers to "hunt & peck"ers.       How much glory does man deserve? The tallest skyscraper in the world won't outlast a mountain. A mine pit isn't nearly as impressive as the Grand Canyon. Despite "common knowledge", the most horrendous of man's nuclear contraptions still cannot destroy the earth, only eliminate a handful of current surface-inhabitants. I remember watching newsreels about using atomic bombs to clear mountain passes for highway construction! THEN they started reading their geiger counters! Are humans as careless about destroying life as we are about creating it ?   If the world's most brilliant human can't explain what life IS or what the other 90% of his brain is for, how then can average people deem ourselves qualified to debate the origins of it?   Man can't build an amoeba without seed, much less an elephant. Does love not exist, since we can't measure it? Love, faith, hunger and our internal chemistry continue to steer our lives more effectively than all the will-power seminars on earth. In spite of our rudimentary efforts to understand, quantify and dominate these "natural" things, people still "go berserk" and we allow our medulla-oblongata "lizard-brains" to control a moment.   So let's not just go thru life rowing our boats backwards! Let's not allow our primitive egos to prevent us from considering the possibility of a supreme intelligence, a superior being, a "creator".   IS there a God or not? Let's get real here: If we found out for certain the universe evolved from cosmic dust.... neither of us would we pray to the dust.   Despite the temptation to just be complacent and believe what's fashionable, and secure in the knowledge that we still have a very limited ability to measure and control things, I think the odds in favor of superior intelligence are pretty certain ..... Yes, I think God exists...... based on my own experiences, my faith in the intentions of my tutors, a memory-ful of otherwise unexplainable events, a firm belief that nature's work is more sophisticated than pavement, concrete and manmade trinkets, and an abiding awareness of my own insignificance. Once I realized that man doesn't RULE the world, I had to admit that MAYBE I am here for another reason .....     If survival is nature's primary goal, when does "life" end? Can we understand all the ways this old, dead stump STILL influences the rest of the forest? Every blade of grass is linked to its neighbors just as subtley as the bond between you and me. Don't be surprised that I think like you, we're part of each other! Like trees in the same forest, we're bound by the same rules. And nature is a very large test tube!   Is life itself a coincidence, a miracle .... or part of a pattern? Why can't a seed sprout by itself? Why does peat dissolve granite? Why are beavers so industrious? If hot air ALWAYS rises, why aren't the clouds afire? Is a three-legged frog "deformed" or has he "evolved"? Have you ever wondered what a sparrow was thinking? How much different would the world be if ice didn't float? Why does Kirlian photography outline a "missing" limb? What draws passing electrons into orbit? Does a tree defy gravity.... or is it just seeking to improve itself? Why do atoms behave like planets?   Could the very planets themseves be alive? The earth's "plates" are constantly folding and blending, thus exposing all manner of "incidental" contaminants to the "sanitizing" forces of heat and pressure. Isn't this geological "subduction" a fancy way of saying that our planet "heals" itself? Why would a "dead" rockpile bother to heal itself? Isn't all this "evolution" an on-going event? Could evolution be PART of our Creator's plan? Is it possible to evolve from a living form into a spirit? If some huge "living" celestial entity/mass/being were to "spread its message" of survival, harmony and splendor to the whole universe by completely changing its nature, would we call that event a "big bang"?   As we begin to solve the puzzles of nature, we can't help but see the same patterns recur ... Everything from cells to the earth can be viewed as self-adapting systems, working together to obtain an "eternal" existence! We're beginning to find the same thing true for larger systems, such as a galaxy or the universe as a whole.   Could there be a plan? If so, can you imagine the kind of spectacular "mind" which could have designed all of this? When I walk in the woods I see the wealth of God's miracles just as surely as an urbanite curses the bugs and tramps down the berries ... Should we seek our place on earth or just duck the whole issue?   Is it wiser to avoid falling or to dare someone to shove you? ...........

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