RE: [asa] AIG -- Scientists! Give it up!

RE: [asa] AIG -- Scientists! Give it up!I was raised as a moderate YEC -
didn't call it that, didn't know about the organizations. I was saved
then
just as surely as I am saved now. I had a discussion with a Catholic
who was
part of a sect who thought that Mary was not only virgin, but
diescendents
of virgins all the way back. I guess that meant that Eve had a child
before
she had sex with Adam - I don't know, he couldn't answer that one. I
kindof
wondered how many brain cells he had - but I have no doubt that he
was saved
and I backed off before things got ugly because of it.

There may be some manipulators at the top who are out for power and not
truth - or they may just truly find it impossible to accept a God
without
tangible directions attached. There is a great deal of fear involved
with
some of these people. They truly believe - truly - but have to have
something tangible that they can trust implicitely.

And I believe that you will admit that it is trivially true that God
could
make anything anyway he wants to. They perceive that it is an act of
faith
to deny the senses and believe anyway.

It is part of the human condition to want control. I find that most
conflicts have to do with control. For 'good' people, it has to do with
traffic and computers and nuisance people and disobedient pets - things
which keep them from controlling their own lives. For the more
extreme, it
escalates into power trips. The religious right are heavily into
control. I
believe that part of the motive for the extreme desire for control is
ignorance and more of it is fear. I've talked to people who have no idea
that there has been homosexuality throughout history. People seem to
realize
that there were a few prostitutes in most eras of history, but not that
there were perversions and theaters of perversions and witchcraft and
all
sorts of evils that they attribute to the modern world. They believe
that
society is sliding into evil. They need to stop the slide, and they
need to
save everyone from hell right now and the only way to do that is to
.....what?

And you see them chasing people away by forcing religion down their
throat
so you take up the same tone and attack them.

This accomplishes nothing.

Surveys show that most Americans are moderates. I haven't seen world
surveys, but I would expect that in most societies this is true. For
elections, we keep getting the choice of extremes. So people don't
vote. Or
they vote for the lesser of two evils.

In politics, the first candidate to throw mud tends to lose in my
neck of
the woods.

You aren't going to get converts by getting the most direct hits as you
throw rotten tomatoes at the YECs.

You might read a few sales books. You are trying to sell truth -
learning
something about the techniques of sales would help you a lot.

   -----Original Message-----
   From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-
owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
Behalf Of Dick Fischer
   Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 9:55 PM
   To: ASA
   Subject: RE: [asa] AIG -- Scientists! Give it up!

   Pollyanna wrote:

   I know that everyone doesn't agree - but this attack of the YECs, no
matter what they say, seems to have other than pure intellectual
motives.

   How did Christ treat the money changers in the temple? Did Christ
say
"woe" to the poor Jewish peasants, or did he say it to the Pharisees who
should have known better? What happens to those who cause their
brothers to
stumble? Do you think AIG and ICR are nothing but an ignorant bunch of
wide-eyed innocents? Grow up!

   YEC has all the earmarks of a cult, pure and simple. Convince
people the
Bible can't be trusted in matters of science, and they will believe
it can't
be trusted at all for anything. That's the legacy of YEC. Maybe
that's not
their intention, but maybe Judas had good intentions too. Plus, they
make
good money at it. Beats telling the truth for a meager reward.

   Dick Fischer

   Dick Fischer, Genesis Proclaimed Association

   Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History

   www.genesisproclaimed.org

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Sun Jul 23 23:42:22 2006