Ive been reading the news on the multiple issues and lawsuits that have sprung in this post-Hobby Lobby world. This religious overreach has gotten me thinking.... A year or so ago, I was asked by a close friend to photograph his daughters baptism. This was the first time in years Id been inside a church, aside from travel and sightseeing purposes. The priest was a well-respected man who unfortunately had developed cancer. During his sermon, he spoke about the experience, in particular about how it had been detected. At one point, he expressly called it a miracle that it had been caught. Thats kind of a heavy word, I thought, for a priest to be slinging around. It implied direct involvement from a higher power. No mention of the scientists, the technology, and centuries of medical, radiological, and anatomical studies that went into the develpment of the tools needed for the discovery. No mention of the years of training and experience undertaken by the doctor conducting the tests. He made it very clear that he attributed it to gods work. The doctor was just a vehicle for a higher hand, in his eyes. These shaky attributations bother me to no end. Thank god Im over this flu (but he couldnt help the four year old next door with a brain tumor.) Thank god that tornado didnt hit my house (yet saw fit to smite that entire town of god-fearing folks.) Thank god we won this football game (because that other team was apparently less holy). Thank god my baby was born healthy (despite the millions of years of evolution weeding out most--but certainly not all--birth defects.) When questioned, the blanket answer is god works in mysterious ways or god has a plan. Why is it hard to accept that the universe is random? Very random. Were all living a game of luck and chance. To survive that, we need to be strong. For some--such as the priest--that strength comes from religious faith. However, one doesnt need ancient texts to find strength. One simply needs hope. A desire for a better world, and a better understanding of that world. Im grateful to science--despite its certain human misteps--for helping us overall improve our odds of making it through another random encounter.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:52:38 +0000
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