I also agree with your statement of fact Diane. Semantics is often the only
weapon available to those without grounds on which to stand.
I have had numerous conversations with some of my more faithful friends who
seem unwilling or unable to grasp the notion that I do not have "faith" in
science, or that Darwinism is not a "religion". The importance of their
faith to them seems to make it inconcievable that other people might not
have spiritual faith in something. They also seem unable to make a divide
between faith and science, preferring to spin their wheels trying to meld
the two.
I love my friends, no less for their faith than for their other positive
qualities, so I always find myself a little dismayed when confronted with a
resolute resistance to or refutation of science or logic on the basis of
belief.
I think the creation museum has as much right to exist as anyone or
anything. My disapproval of the content is of no concern to them or to
history. If nothing else it provides lively conversation for us and the
media.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Stephen Nowlin
<stephen.nowlin@A
RTCENTER.EDU> To
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SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
Re: Theory--acceptence;
faith-belief
05/25/2007 12:18
PM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
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<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
on 5/25/07 9:19 AM, Diane Gutenkauf's electrons arrived as:
> As one with a strong scientific background and as a true stickler for
> semantics, I can't help but point our that--
>
> One accepts or rejects a scientific theory; one believes or disbelieves a
> religious creed.
Thank you for that, Diane! I was just reading through the creation museum
posts, wondering what this "believe in evolution" thing was...
There is one aspect of this subject to which I might add, having to do with
how ephemeral mental constructs -- mythologies, fantasies, fictional tales
-- are given a boost in authority as they become the subject of and
embedded
in real physical architecture. One can imagine that to an uneducated
peasant of the twelfth or thirteenth century, a medieval cathedral with its
soaring spires and magical works of art was an embodiment and proof of
religious truth. Who but God could achieve such wonders. (Same for the
Pyramids, Stonehenge, going back...) Living only in folklore or even in
books and literature, mythologies have more difficulty escaping the realm
of
conjecture -- but once ensconced in architecture they take on a tangibility
that can be difficult to refute, particularly in the minds of those who
desire to be a "believer" in the first place. Not only does this new
creation museum advance its cause by embedding its belief system in
architectural reality, it also is a poseur in the world of natural history
museums, embezzling their credibility as scientifically sound institutions.
At its best, this museum is just curious kitsch -- worse than that, though,
I'm afraid represents a vigorous attempt on a number of fronts by the
religious right to infiltrate the public consciousness with pseudoscience
in
support of backward supernatural doctrines and the real-world social and
political decisions that follow in their wake. As with a recent stealth
attempt by the Discovery Institute to imply a sanction of Creationist
beliefs by the Smithsonian Institution, I think this Creation Museum is an
assault on the mission of every natural history museum and should taken
seriously. Perhaps if not by direct refutation, then by renewed and bold
rigor in presenting and defending science -- in communicating what science
is and being proactive about saying what it is not.
/stephen
______________________________________
S t e p h e n N o w l I n
Director,
Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery
Art Center College of Design
http://xrl.us/williamsonGoogle
http://www.williamsongallery.net
http://www.artandscience.us
http://www.pasadenaculture.net
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