From D. W. Dew
Peterborough, Northamptonshire
Religion starts with an answer (God) and then attempts to interpret all
questions to fit it (the rough equivalent of claiming marksmanship by firing an
arrow at a blank target, then painting a bull’s eye round the point of
impact).
Theologians now cope with science because its achievements are just too
overwhelming to ignore. Few wish to end up as a 20th-century Bishop Wilberforce.
However, as the general public grows increasingly fascinated by sensational
irrationality, it is vital that science holds true to its empirical
methodology.
Inquiries into the purpose of life are meaningless unless it is previously
assumed that there is a purpose to inquire into. Religion makes that assumption
because it has to. Science can only achieve its results precisely because it
does not start with such assumptions.
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The resurgence of the absurdities of “Creation Science” in the US, backed by
the political power of the religious right, shows only too clearly the dangers
of science making any accommodation with the alien thought-patterns of religion
and superstition.
