NASA's Weird Mandate From The President 07/06/2010
When Charlie Bolden was appointed chief of NASA, President Obama gave him 3 mandates (direct quotes from Mr. Bolden): 1. “He wanted me to re-inspire children to want to get into science and math.” In my opinion, great. 2. “He wanted me to expand our international relationships.” In my opinion, good (International Space Station). 3. “Third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.” What!? Islam has been in the throes of scholarly and scientific darkness since the 13th century AD. In Truth and Science, chapter 4, I mention Islam’s important yet limited contributions to science. I also point out that a Islamic religious backlash against scholarship during the Middle Ages resulted in the death of Muslim scholarly learning and progress. Now, having made the previous point, I will say that Islamic scholars were indirectly responsible for the re-awakening of classical Greek science and learning in the West. Islamic scholars like Avicenna and Averroes (Latin names) preserved and commented on Aristotle’s works, and it was their writings that re-introduced the West to the lost teachings of Aristotle (i.e., rationalism, empiricism) around 1200 AD. The rediscovery of Aristotle's works helped bring the West out of the Dark Ages, but to associate this accomplishment with NASA is quite a stretch. The President ought to leave recognition of Islam’s contributions to the history writers and let NASA concentrate on space science. Christosophy is a word I coined to describe the process of mixing of philosophy and Christianity. Unfortunately christosophy was common during the early years of the Christian Church. There are two main reasons for its presence. Scholars who joined the Christian faith during the era of great persecution from the Romans embraced christosophy in the hopes of making Christianity more appealing to the state, while other early members embraced christosophy as a means of finding truth after apostolic authority was taken from the earth. As will be shown, both endeavors drove the church further into obscurity and darkness. An early sign that the Apostasy was afoot was the rise of Gnosticism during the late first century. Gnostics, as they were called, were largely concerned with esoteric and mystical explanations about an unknowable god, who we are, where we came from, and how we got here. Gnostic metaphysical speculations on these and other matters drew criticism from Christian traditionalists such as Irenaeus and Tertullian (2nd century AD), who accused the gnostics of polluting church doctrine with philosophy and mysticism. Despite the noble efforts of Irenaeus, Tertullian, and others to protect Christianity from outside influences, philosophy and mysticism eventually infiltrated Christian doctrine. Efforts to combine Christianity and philosophy surprisingly came from within. The introduction of philosophy into Christianity was largely the work of scholars who, after converting to Christianity, combined religion and philosophy in an attempt to make Christianity more appealing to nonbelievers, especially the Romans who were persecuting Christians. One Greek scholar who devoted himself to this task was Clement of Alexandria (circa ad 150–215). As a theologian and head of the catechetical school of Alexandria in Egypt, Clement promulgated the belief that the Church would be held in higher regard and gain more converts if its beliefs were blended with ancient Greek philosophy. He therefore set out to “Hellenize” Christianity by combining Church doctrine with Greek philosophy, particularly that of Plato. After Clement died, his student, Origen (circa 185–254 ad), continued the effort to infuse Church doctrine with Greek philosophy. Origen was a highly respected theologian and scholar in his day. Amid the confusion over doctrinal issues that prevailed during the third century, Origen observed that “there are many who profess to believe in Christ who disagree among themselves not only in small and minor matters, but rather about the great and the greatest matters.” These disagreements largely centered on the nature of the soul, resurrection, Holy Spirit, and incarnation of Christ. Origen believed that doctrinal truths could be discovered through intellectual study and reasoning, and thus set out to resolve doctrinal disagreements through personal study and theological discussions. Origen’s efforts to settle doctrinal disputes through study and discussion produced less than satisfactory results. Admitting defeat, he declared, “If anyone can find out anything better, or confirm by more evident proofs the assertions he makes concerning the Holy Scriptures, let such conclusions be accepted in preference to [mine].” Thus we see how, as the spiritual apostasy was taking hold, “the foundations of doctrine had shifted from prophetic revelation to human reason.” This shift from prophetic authority to human reason was inevitable, given that priesthood authority to speak and act in the name of the Lord was taken from the earth. Without spiritual guidance from prophets and apostles, people began to rely on human reasoning to find answers to doctrinal questions. Christian beliefs were gradually transformed as scholars and theologians infused church doctrine with philosophy. Nineteenth century Greek historian Edwin Hatch remarked, “It is therefore the more remarkable that within a century and a half after Christianity and philosophy first came into close contact, the ideas and methods of philosophy had flowed in such mass into Christianity, and filled so large a place in it, as to have made it no less a philosophy than a religion.” This influx of philosophy transformed many of the fundamental truths of the gospel into mystical and confusing doctrine. Take, for example, the basic principle of faith. According to Hatch, “under the influence of contemporary Greek thought, the word Faith came to be transferred from simple trust in God to mean the acceptance of a series of . . . propositions in abstract metaphysics . . . concerning Him, His nature, relations, and actions.” Indeed this was a time when many plain and precious truths of the gospel were being lost (1 Nephi 13:26) and people were seeking the word of the Lord, but not finding it (Amos 8:13). (Source: Truth & Science) Apostasy and the Dark Ages 04/02/2010
Unfortunately, following the death of Paul and the other apostles, apostolic authority was taken from the earth and the gospel of Jesus Christ fell into obscurity and darkness. This decline in spiritual truth and apostolic authority corresponded with a sharp decline in secular scholarship, indicating that as the plain and precious truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ were being lost, so too were secular truths being lost. The simultaneous loss of both was not a coincidence. The spiritual apostasy and wickedness of man diminished the enlightening power of the Spirit of the Lord. Because so much of humanity’s secular knowledge comes from the Spirit of the Lord, this diminishment affected mankind not only spiritually, but secularly as well. As the power of the Spirit of the Lord waned during the apostasy, so too did mankind’s ability to receive enlightenment. The spiritual apostasy contributed to the decline of secular knowledge in another way. During the apostasy mankind tried to compensate for the loss of spiritual enlightenment and apostolic authority by appealing to human reason. The philosophical contributions of ancient Greek scholars were monopolized by misguided theologians and scholars who wanted to settle doctrinal disputes and make Medieval Christianity more appealing to the masses. The works of famous scholars like Plato and Aristotle now served the interests of a powerful apostate church. Because the church controlled a large number of educational institutions and most medieval scholars were clergy members, few people dared interpret Classical Greek principles in a manner contrary to the teachings of the church. Those who attempted to enlighten mankind faced reprisal from the church if their ideas opposed church doctrine. The hijacking of Classical Greek philosophy by dogmatic religious authority, diminished blessings from the Spirit of the Lord, and the loss of priesthood authority all combined to create the Dark Ages. (Source: Truth & Science) The Great Pyramid: A Monument to God? 11/05/2009
 The great pyramid at Giza is the last wonder of the ancient world left standing. It is a magnificient structure that baffles the mind. Who built it and why? Egyptologists say it was built by Egyptians in 2560 BC for a pharaoh named Khufu (aka “Cheops” in Greek). I think that the Egyptologists are wrong. It was not built by Egyptians and it was not built for a pharaoh named Khufu. (In case you were wondering, I don’t think it was built by little green men from space, either.) I think it was built by a righteous people as a monument to God. I agree with one thing the Egyptologists say about the pyramid, that it was constructed around 2560 BC. I have no reason to doubt that the dating technology used on the pyramid is accurate. But I doubt their claims about who built it and why. If the pyramid was completed around 2560 BC it could not have been built by Egyptians, although they probably helped. An understanding of mathematics was required to build the pyramid, yet the Egyptians lacked an understanding of mathematics prior to 2000 BC. Consider the following: 1. The first century AD historian Josephus Flavius and the Book of Abraham tell us that when Abraham entered Egypt (circa 2000 BC), the Lord instructed him to teach mathematics and astronomy to the Egyptians. 2. Joseph Smith wrote that “the learning of the Egyptians and their knowledge of astronomy was no doubt taught them by Abraham.” 3. “Clear [Egyptian mathematical] records began to appear by 2000 BC citing approximations for π and square roots. Exact statements of number, written arithmetic tables, algebra problems, and practical applications with weights and measures also began to appear around 2000 BC, with several problems solved by abstract arithmetic methods” (Source: Wikipedia). So ancient Egyptian mathematical texts did not appear until 2000 BC. If the Egyptians had in fact built the pyramid in 2560 BC, then when Abraham arrived in 2000 BC they would have pointed to the pyramid and said, “You’re too late, buddy. We already know that stuff.” Note also that the emergence of mathematical writings in 2000 BC agrees with the estimated date for Abraham’s arrival (2000 BC). Egyptologists also claim that the pyramid was built for a great Egyptian king named Khufu (2589 – 2566 BC). The evidence suggests otherwise. If you were to build a pyramid of that magnitude and precision for a king, wouldn’t you put the name and drawings of the king all over the inner walls? And wouldn’t you place a sarcophagus for the final resting place of the king in the largest chamber? Well, none of those things were present in the great pyramid. Archeologists did find a lidless empty stone box in the main chamber, but it is not large enough to be a sarcophagus. And the walls are completely devoid of markings, with one exception. In 1837 an English Traveler named Howard Vyse blasted his way into sealed air-space chambers above the main chamber with gun powder. In an obscure air-space he discovered the misspelled name “Khufu” hastily written on a wall. I say that it was written by an illiterate worker who wanted to leave his mark. Others say that because Vyse was under time constraints from the local government and interest from his financial backers was waning, he wrote the inscriptions himself to revitalize interest in his work. So if it wasn’t the Egyptians, then who built it and why? My favorite pick is the pre-apostasy Chaldeans/Sumerians who were descendents of Shem. Other theories are that it was Melchizedek, Job, or the pre-flood people. Finally, if the pyramid was not built for Khufu, then why was it built? A magnificent structure of that magnitude built without markings by a righteous people? Sounds like a bit like a temple, or better yet, a monument to God. AN EXCELLENT DESERET NEWS ARTICLE 05/11/2009
 Last week (May 9, 2009) I gave a presentation at the Mormon Scholars in the Humanities conference on God in science. In that presentation I argued for acceptance of recognizing God in scientific discourse, much as was done during the 17th century Scientific Revolution. I am currently reading a book that reconciles Christian and scientific teachings on the creation. The author does a fairly good job of illustrating the similarities between the gospel and science. He shows how scientific theories on the history of the earth, pre-Adamic hominids, dinosaurs, and the Big Bang are supported by teachings in the gospel. (That’s right, supposedly there's a scripture or teaching that supports the idea of a big bang.) So basically, the author starts with the assumption that the teachings of science are truth, and then shows how the scriptures can be interpreted to support those teachings.  “I was changing a light bulb in the bathroom when I slipped, fell and hit my head. When I came to, I had a dream . . . a vision, of this! (pointing to a drawing). The Flux Capacitor. This is what makes time travel possible!” - Doctor Emmett Brown, inventor of time travel. | Welcome to the Religion and Science (R&S) Blog. Feel free to post your comments. Please be courteous.    CategoriesAll ArchivesSeptember 2010 |
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