All in all, relative to Midwestern tornadoes and Eastern Nor'easters, our mild, partly sunny weekend was superb. We were fortunate enough to see some good friends, visit a new place, plant some flowers, and do a great deal of prep work for the Uganda missions trip that we are involved in...
Not to say there wasn't any wierdness for me to ponder this morning along with my third cup of joe. We had plenty. The main source of befuddlement was our "couples date" on Saturday at the Institute for Creation Research with my former landlord and current friend, David, and his girlfriend Lisa.
Now, this ICR place is something truly exceptional...
It is located in East County San Diego, and according to their website, they do the following:
The Institute for Creation Research equips believers with evidences of the Bible’s accuracy and authority through scientific research, educational programs, and media presentations, all conducted within a thoroughly biblical framework.
It all sound well and good until you find yourself deep inside their labryntine museum staring at an illustration of Noah's Ark with a stegosaurus in one of the bays of the hold. It's at that point that you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore!
I think the thing that felt the wierdest to me was that I felt like... the enemy there. We walked in and got latched onto a tour group, and from the moment I arrived I felt like a total outsider. I should say that I embrace more of a "Theistic Evolution" perspective. Though I am certainly not an expert in the field, I recently read Francis Collins' wonderfully readable book, "The Language of God" and really resonated with the compatibility he outlines between modern genetic biology (which owes much to the theory of evolution) and Christianity.
Alas, such compatibility is not to be found anywhere in the winding passages of the ICR museum. I only made it through Day 3 of the 7 days of creation with the tour group, before the leader's bandying of that most horrid of Christian-ease aphorisms, "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" drove me over the edge and I had to flee for fear of becoming unhinged. Kat made it to Day 4 before fleeing in similar anguish.
We somehow escaped from the museum that day with our sanity and friendship with Dave and Lisa still in tact. After further prayer and reflection, Kat and I were able to come to a conclusion about why we were so disturbed in there. We realized that the people who run this institute, while certainly well-meaning, have become so totally fixated on this one non-salvation related facet of Christianity that they set it up on par with the cross. "You must believe on the Lord Jesus... and a literal 6-day creation... to be saved.'
We serve a bigger God then that, one who didn't crumble when scientists in the 1600s showed quite clearly that the Earth revolved around the sun, and not vice versa, and won't crumble now if we see that He works His sovereign will for us through the means of seemingly random genetic mutations over many millions of years.
Or at least that's what my great, great, great grandpa Mr. Bojangles told me the last time I stopped by to seem him in Gorilla Tropics at the San Diego Zoo... *grin* - B -
3 comments:
All more important issues aside, I love the God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve rhetoric. As I understand it, what must follow is this:
God did not make Steve, or
Steve does not exist, or
at least some of what I'm saying is not true
I've met Steve, so we'll assume he does exist (or at least he did exist, and I think he works for U-Louisville. What seems to follow then is that either he made himself or he was made by someone else. I searched all over the internet and found that the self-made man was made by Bobby Carlyle, and Yahoo! Answers didn't really solve my other questions.
But if God didn't make Steve then at least some of what I'm saying is not true, which rules out me paying much attention unless the guide discloses which statements are true and which are known to be false (false statements not known to be false I'll bear).
Ok, so none of that makes any sense, but it's Noel's fault.
Oh, sorry. So my conclusion is therefore that God did make Adam and Steve. Does that then rule out that me made Adam and Eve.
See my previous comment about other issues being more important.
GRIN! It really does come down to Steve, Micah - I think you are onto something!!! I'll call ICR today!
Post a Comment