Hezakia 12:3 Love the literalist, for he needs it.

I have thought so much and read so much over the last couple or three decades about the dichotomy between literal Christian interpretation and evolution’s concepts of how we got to the point we are on this earth, it’s tough to shift gears and move on to other things. One thing that draws my mind back is the fact that few Christians of the literal camp have conceded on any issues. I find that terribly sad and dishonest. To continue to teach impressionable children an indefensible idea is paramount to lying. And from personal experience I believe it leads to a suspicion that others parts of the story or other stories may be inaccurate as well.

A simple story like the flood requires enormous suspension of believe on the hearer’s part. And when they are taught in the literalist view a detraction from any narrative in a King James sourced interpretation brings a rejection of the entire book it is a blow to their basic beliefs in a redeemer. And that is unfair and unbiblical.

An organization that I keep close watch on, BioLogos Foundation, has launched a fundraiser to raise $200,000 by the end of 2011. The money is targeted at funding Christian science teachers in this country. Not Christian Science as you’ve heard of, but science teachers who are Christians first, teachers second. BioLogos exists for the sole purpose of being a forum for encouragement of open dialog between the Christian and scientific communities. I would love to be employed by them in some capacity. And there is no better place to bring the two communities together than in a religious neutral setting of a public or even religious school science class. If the religious schools will open their shuttered classrooms for open and unfettered learning.

I would love to continue to write about many avenues and venues where open thinking and pure research is happening all over the globe. But I honestly do not have the background to be a part of this heartening turn towards rational understanding of ourselves and our creator. There are still a number of people who are serious problems to the cause, on both sides of the cause, like the brilliant but misled Steven Hawking and the hard line literalist Ken Ham. Both are doing great damage to this fledgling movement to bring about sensible understanding of very complex issues.

I don’t know that I can withdraw from the discussion wholly. But I am very tired of the ongoing Christian resistance to an exponential growth in our understanding of earth’s processes.

I have many thoughts I’d like to put to print here so I can knead and shape them so as to make the ideas flow and fit known rules and concepts. I am sure no one who reads this knows how difficult it is for me to arrive at what gets written. I push myself to think critically and objectively. I constantly test the words I use for the meaning I want. I have to spell check like crazy because not only am I a poor speller, I am insistent on using the correct words and spelling them correctly. I believe most good sentence structure has a best order of words and a best set of words to convey the meaning intended. While most things can be said fairly accurately in many ways, I believe there is a best blend and order of words for any sentence. And that is my goal.

I am only a rank amateur in this word business. I have friends who are so far a head of me I cringe to think they may read some of my amateurish attempts at writing.

As you suppose, my mind is losing ground to sleep. It’s been a mentally tough day. I handled some difficult issues at work today. But I am happy to say I came away having learned some very valuable things. And that is always good.

As we approach the day set aside to celebrate the event of the birth of Christ I hope you will take time to ponder the wonderment of it all. As I said in a blog a day or so ago, it is the event of a creator conceiving within the creation a part of the creator. When you get that sequenced please call or write me. I’d love to hear your side of things.