by Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer

On November 7, 2012, the following letter to the editor of mine was published in the Mille Lacs Messenger, a Minnesota county newspaper. It can also be viewed and read on the Mille Lacs Messenger's website by clicking letter and scrolling down to the second letter.

On science

Scientists teach that the earth coalesced about 4.5 billion years ago, and that ancestors of modern-day humans exited from Africa more than 100,000 years ago and spread throughout the entire world.

In a recent Gallup poll it was found that half the adults in America believe that the earth is 6,000 years old. The reason they give for believing this is "the Bible says so." Meanwhile, according to Christian astronomer Dr. Hugh Ross, 99 percent of all scientists believe this idea is more far fetched than believing the world is flat. Their reason? "The scientific record says so."

The authors of the Bible lived in a pre-scientific age. When the writers described the creation of the world, they borrowed heavily from earlier religious writings of nearby Pagan societies. When they wrote about animals talking, the sun standing still, mental illnesses being caused by indwelling evil spirits, a worldwide flood, a flat earth under a metallic dome, a 6,000 year old earth, etc. they were merely reflecting the primitive level of scientific knowledge in their society. Such material is not to be taken as a serious description of reality.

Scientists generally work from the assumption that things happen as a result of purely natural processes. They use the "scientific method" to discover new insights into nature. Many scientists believe in God, or the existence of an intelligent entity with super-human ability. However, most do not see God regularly intruding in the universe and setting aside natural laws, which often cause a lot of suffering for humans and animals. That is, they believe that miracles either do not happen or are extremely rare.

Christians follow various interpretations of the two creation stories of Genesis. Many Native American tribes believe that humans fell out of the sky into water, and that sea animals brought up earth from the bottom of the sea to support the humans and build "turtle island" (North America).

Scientists generally believe that all of the religious creation stories are myths, legends, and fables...devoid of any accurate content. Ancient creation stories are simply legends made up by humans without any knowledge of the real events.

The intelligent design (ID) movement accepts some form of intelligent life with knowledge, abilities and powers which are vastly superior to humans. They assert that there are certain patterns, designs, and functions in the universe that could not have come into existence as a result of purely natural forces and processes. They must have been specifically designed and implemented by an intelligent entity with super-human ability and knowledge. ID'ers feel that some super-human intelligence must be taken into consideration when one studies nature. However, intelligent design has not made much of an impact in the scientific community.

Thomas Dahlheimer,

Wahkon