Posts
(This is also a guest post by son #2 - Rob Vanderkam)
Anti-evolutionists have often used the argument that for evolution to succeed, it would be like a thousand monkeys typing randomly on typewriters for years and years and having a beautiful novel come out of it.
This is closer to the truth than they think. All you need to add is the equivalent of natural selection, and you'd have your book.
Have your thousand monkeys type away, and every once in a while you will see a couple of characters come out that could be part of a word. That is the only randomness that is needed. Unlike the claim, you don't need the entire book to randomly appear. You only need a few characters at a time PLUS some kind of mechanism for recognising and keeping those characters while a few others at a time get added and added until, much much later, you've got your book.
The mechanism for recognising the needed letters is equivalent to the way nature recognises small changes in genetic material and adds it to the genome (overall set of genes). It does so only for the occasional mutation, and only when that mutation confers an advantage to the organism carrying it. Over many many generations, you get an additive total change that can be stark compared to what you started with. And can branch into other forms and variations as they disperse into separate populations, each with environmental changes that are slightly different.
Read more on evolution if you don't understand it. It is an idea that has the potential to help us out of our bigotted, tribal, antagonistic behaviours. That is, if we realise that we really are just one more form of life on the only planet we have access to, we may start working together for community success.
Rob
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Infinite Sanctuary - Observer: Febr 2010
Response to:
Infinite Sanctuary!
By: Kevin Spurgaitis
Observer: Feb 2010
This month’s lead story has me very enthused as it causes the reader to think and talk about our relationship with the universe we are a part of and God whom we revere and worship.
We continuously struggle with the questions about who we are, where we come from and the purpose of our being here.
For a very long time we were given to understand that we could find our answers in the Bible --- all we had to do was read and study the Bible, listen to our ministers and pray to God for enlightenment. This recipe has been around for millennia and our Western Christian mindset is its product.
In the last few centuries however this has changed. Education has accelerated and more and more questions, especially scientific, are being asked. In addition more and more people are traveling which resulted in people becoming more aware of and acquainted with the planet they call home. Beneficial as that development was, the guidelines we used to live by have hardly changed. Despite the fact that our knowledge and understanding about the Bible and its message also has changed drastically (for the better, I might say), and despite the fact that the United Church of Canada has recently (Aug 2006) adopted a new “Song of Faith” (an updated statement of our beliefs), the approach to our liturgy has changed little.
Enter the Observer! It is not too long ago that a new editor has been hired and as so often happens, this resulted in a new approach. That approach is noticeably more closely aligned with a contemporary mindset, with the current article (“Infinite Sanctuary” by Kevin Spurgaitus) being one example. The changes that have me so excited deal, among other things, with the interview with Prof Joel R. Primack (and his wife Nancy E. Abrams) about his understanding of the universe we live in and the part we play in it. All I can do is strongly suggest you get yourself a copy of his book (“The view from the center of the universe”) from Amazon.ca. To me this is a “must” read for a clearer understanding of the reality about our universe and its relationships.
Other physicists mentioned are Sagan, Stephen Hawkins, Steven Weinber and others who have, or are showing, an interest in the location of the “God” particle, the smallest particle known thus far.
Another subject in the Observer article deals with the chronology of the universe. When the history of our celestial home is mentioned in a worship setting, we always hear the story told from the point of view of Genesis 1 & 2. With all due respect, that chronology doesn’t come near to giving us the facts in the sequence we know to have happened. An example of this misinformation, and its consequences, can be found in a book written by Jane Goodal, “Reasons for Hope”. In chapters 7,8 & 9 she deals at length with the fact that Chimpanzees, hunted, engaged in warfare, murdered and cannibalized fellow chimps long before humanity was around to teach them those gruesome actions. The obvious question is what we are to make of that morsel of knowledge when educating our offspring?
Finally, I want to refer you to a book (“Cause for Hope”) by past moderator Bill Phipps. It stitches all three books, mentioned above, into a tapestry that has ecological overtones. The most important overtone, in my opinion, is the one that urges us to do our homework in order to be able to understand reality as it is. The prime example of this is encapsulated in the creation story as we have had it poured into our brains from the Bible and how it differs from the facts. It is because of misinformation like that that much of Christianity is struggling with the weight of the Fall-Redemption paradigm which has created, and still is creating, havoc with any number of relationships.
Moderator Phipps makes the point that this is detrimental to our society, as societies live by the stories they tell. It therefore behooves us that we bite the bullet and tell a new story, one that comes as close as possible to being aligned with common knowledge. Another example from the “Song of Faith” tells us that Jesus did not die to pay for our sins, but that he died because he was perceived to be a thorn in the government’s side.
The upshot? I am grateful for the Observer publishing this material and wish them well. Keep challenging us with material such as this so that we can grow together.
Peter VanderKam.
Infinite Sanctuary!
By: Kevin Spurgaitis
Observer: Feb 2010
This month’s lead story has me very enthused as it causes the reader to think and talk about our relationship with the universe we are a part of and God whom we revere and worship.
We continuously struggle with the questions about who we are, where we come from and the purpose of our being here.
For a very long time we were given to understand that we could find our answers in the Bible --- all we had to do was read and study the Bible, listen to our ministers and pray to God for enlightenment. This recipe has been around for millennia and our Western Christian mindset is its product.
In the last few centuries however this has changed. Education has accelerated and more and more questions, especially scientific, are being asked. In addition more and more people are traveling which resulted in people becoming more aware of and acquainted with the planet they call home. Beneficial as that development was, the guidelines we used to live by have hardly changed. Despite the fact that our knowledge and understanding about the Bible and its message also has changed drastically (for the better, I might say), and despite the fact that the United Church of Canada has recently (Aug 2006) adopted a new “Song of Faith” (an updated statement of our beliefs), the approach to our liturgy has changed little.
Enter the Observer! It is not too long ago that a new editor has been hired and as so often happens, this resulted in a new approach. That approach is noticeably more closely aligned with a contemporary mindset, with the current article (“Infinite Sanctuary” by Kevin Spurgaitus) being one example. The changes that have me so excited deal, among other things, with the interview with Prof Joel R. Primack (and his wife Nancy E. Abrams) about his understanding of the universe we live in and the part we play in it. All I can do is strongly suggest you get yourself a copy of his book (“The view from the center of the universe”) from Amazon.ca. To me this is a “must” read for a clearer understanding of the reality about our universe and its relationships.
Other physicists mentioned are Sagan, Stephen Hawkins, Steven Weinber and others who have, or are showing, an interest in the location of the “God” particle, the smallest particle known thus far.
Another subject in the Observer article deals with the chronology of the universe. When the history of our celestial home is mentioned in a worship setting, we always hear the story told from the point of view of Genesis 1 & 2. With all due respect, that chronology doesn’t come near to giving us the facts in the sequence we know to have happened. An example of this misinformation, and its consequences, can be found in a book written by Jane Goodal, “Reasons for Hope”. In chapters 7,8 & 9 she deals at length with the fact that Chimpanzees, hunted, engaged in warfare, murdered and cannibalized fellow chimps long before humanity was around to teach them those gruesome actions. The obvious question is what we are to make of that morsel of knowledge when educating our offspring?
Finally, I want to refer you to a book (“Cause for Hope”) by past moderator Bill Phipps. It stitches all three books, mentioned above, into a tapestry that has ecological overtones. The most important overtone, in my opinion, is the one that urges us to do our homework in order to be able to understand reality as it is. The prime example of this is encapsulated in the creation story as we have had it poured into our brains from the Bible and how it differs from the facts. It is because of misinformation like that that much of Christianity is struggling with the weight of the Fall-Redemption paradigm which has created, and still is creating, havoc with any number of relationships.
Moderator Phipps makes the point that this is detrimental to our society, as societies live by the stories they tell. It therefore behooves us that we bite the bullet and tell a new story, one that comes as close as possible to being aligned with common knowledge. Another example from the “Song of Faith” tells us that Jesus did not die to pay for our sins, but that he died because he was perceived to be a thorn in the government’s side.
The upshot? I am grateful for the Observer publishing this material and wish them well. Keep challenging us with material such as this so that we can grow together.
Peter VanderKam.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The TRUTH and its value!
I have just started this Blog and have posted my first message dealing with the influences we are subjected to in our lives. Contemplating the gist of that message I considered what the contents of the next message should be and what issue I would most like to place before you for your consideration. And then it struck me:
Greetings.
TRUTH
what is it and what is its role and importance in every day life?
Truth, to me, is one of the most important qualities of life I can think of. I know there are any number of qualities that deserve mention, but for one reason or another Truth and Truthfulness stick out for me. To me Truth and Truthfulness are among the pillars of life without which meaningful social intercourse would be wellneigh impossible - and that would be disastrous.
With that in mind, I turn your attention to education. Education is a lifelong activity. We learn and we teach. Both activities heavily depend on the transmission of information,which we assume to be truthful. With that in mind I ask you to focus on the transmission of religious propositions and ideas. In this particular instance I isolate the Christian teachings for your attention and I particularly ask you to concentrate your thoughts on the facts as they are unearthed by the Christian scholars who at present produce (controversial) book after (controversial) book for our consumption. What those books tell us is that there are many streams of thought and persuasion. What then is the lay person to make of the glut of information we are constantly bombarded with?
My position is that we are all children of God. Having said that, it is my further position that we, each, have a personal responsibility to transform that belief into actions. By doing so the hope is that those same actions act as examples, worthy of being copied by those who observe them.
Given the fact that there apparently are more than 37.000 Protestant denominations alone, my question is what to do with the avalanch of claims and counter-claims!? Which gets me back to my initial question:
Truth,
what is it and what is its role and importance in everyday live?
Greetings.
Friday, September 14, 2007
The emerging
Regardless of one's origin, nobody can get away from the influences of one's environment. The parents one is born to, the extended family one is born into and the society that is fundamental in shaping one's thinking and attitudes, they all work together in bringing about the final product that goes by your name.
This being the start of a new venture, writing, illustrating and posting blogs, this message is going to be very short but will contain the initial perception of creation as that is passed on to all new members who enter this life by as members of the Western society and are baptized as Christians. A further attempt will be made to illustrate the concept of "The Beginning of things" with one image I have available. As expertize improves, more adventures projects will be undertaken.
So much for the chit chat, here is the image:
This being the start of a new venture, writing, illustrating and posting blogs, this message is going to be very short but will contain the initial perception of creation as that is passed on to all new members who enter this life by as members of the Western society and are baptized as Christians. A further attempt will be made to illustrate the concept of "The Beginning of things" with one image I have available. As expertize improves, more adventures projects will be undertaken.
So much for the chit chat, here is the image:
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