Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

[Regarding the textbook Biology for Christian Schools, which states at the beginning that the Bible trumps scientific conclusions "no matter how many scientific facts may appear to back them."]

"[...] Apart from all the obvious reasons, of course [...] What bothers me so much about it is how grotesquely disrespectful it is to their own God.

"Let's say you're a theist. Let's say you believe in God, a creator god who made the world and the universe in all its beautiful and astonishing complexity.

"Wouldn't you want to understand that universe, as well and as thoroughly as you could?

"To me, the idea that scientific evidence is always trumped by the Bible is one of the most disrespectful attitudes you could possibly have about God. Even if you believe that the Bible was written by God [...] wouldn't you believe that the universe was also written by God? And in a much more direct way than the Bible was written, without having to be dictated through human secretaries? Wouldn't you put the universe, at the very least, on equal footing with the Bible? In fact, shouldn't you really be seeing the universe as much higher, much more important than the Bible, because the Bible is just one small part of God's creation and the universe is so much more vast?

"It seems to me that setting your human religion above the enormous and awe-inspiring majesty of God's creation is blasphemy of the worst kind. To say that the Bible is always more real than the reality of the universe seems to me to be spitting on God and his creation. And it's not just spitting on the universe: it's spitting on that part of God's creation that is your brain and your mind, your capacity to perceive the universe and use reason and logic to understand it."

-- Greta Christina, "The Blasphemy of Creationism", 2008-0406