[Swedish]

Hi!

I haven´t really decided if I am religious or not, I guess I am. What I really find fascinating though is the discussion in Americ about Intelligent design. Why cannot the science be correct (and Darwin and so on) and there could be a God. Why does it have to be either or? Is it really true that in some schools in America science is thought as an "idea" and that people actually do belive that everything was created in seven days? Lutherans in Sweden have no problems with accepting science and God at the same time, everyone just assume Creation took longer and that the bible should be read symbolically.

[eskielover]

Swedish,

I have a tendency to agree with your question as to "why it has to be either or?" I know that science proves so many things like even the aging of things. There are so many things that we don't KNOW about creation.....even as the the actual length of the day in the 7 days of creation? How do we know that God hasn't used evolution to develop the world as it is today? Evolution is a normal part of life.....we all evolve from the day we are born......so I don't see that there is anything that science points out that is against Christianity.....it may just be an explaination of how God did actually create the world & the universe.

However, these things aren't what I feel are the basis of Christianity......the basis of Christianity is the belief that Christ is the son of God who died for our sins. I believe that my belief in that & not the details of how the world was created is what maked me a Christian.

How funny that you have said the Lutherans in Sweden believe this way.....because I am also Lutheran here in the US.

Thanks for your post......It too believe that science has a place in religion.

Debbie

[Rapunzel]

I have moved this post to a new thread because it is a different topic from the thread started by KathyM. I agree that science and religion can get along. My belief is that anything that we perceive as a conflict now probably represents some misinterpretation or misunderstanding somewhere, and it will all work out eventually. Have you ever done a puzzle, and it seemed like the pieces you had just couldn't possibly go together? But when you get it done, of course it does fit perfectly. Our perception isn't infallable. Science isn't infallable. And we don't know everything that God knows. I'm pretty sure that we misunderstand Him quite a lot, actually.

Everyone, please be careful with this topic, as I smell potential for debate, and that isn't what this forum is about. So far, I don't see it as a problem that we acknowledge that science and God can both be accepted together. I know that not everyone is going to agree, but I would ask that if you don't agree, that you accept that some do feel this way. To me, freedom to think means that we can think in different ways, and accept that we don't all have to always agree. Sometimes it is the ability to allow for thoughts that don't seem to go together, while still holding both thought systems to be of value.

Rap

[bflatgary]

Rap,

This is such a fascinating topic. I am not a very religious person, but my curiosity has allowed me to learn a lot. I have always felt that evolution can fit in very well with God and religion. As Eskielover said, how long is a day? Is it 24 hours, as we see it today? Was it 24 million years?

Some people translate the Bible literally, word for word. They seem to find scientific explanations to be blasphemous. Many consider Darwin's theories to be a hoax, and they regard him as evil.

Darwin, being a scientist, wanted to find an explanation for how we developed. He took all his research and created his theory. He referred to it as "theory", not as fact, and challenged others to do their own research and come to their own conclusions. When I studied Darwin in high school (1960's) it was taught as theory.

While I am not convinced that my ancestors were apes, I do have to say that a strong family resemblance is there.

You are right, that freedom means choosing your own path and your own beliefs. It also means one can change those beliefs if the old way no longer makes sense. This goes for religion as well as politics, and life in general. We owe each other a certain amount of respect, even if we don't agree.

GW