Maybe you've never been wrong,
But then I can't believe a word you say.
The things that don't work
are the important things to have wanted.
-- From the poem, "Glass," by Laurel Snyder in "The Myth of Simple Machines"
* * * * *
But then I can't believe a word you say.
The things that don't work
are the important things to have wanted.
-- From the poem, "Glass," by Laurel Snyder in "The Myth of Simple Machines"
* * * * *
Question put to youthful, but calcified Roman Catholic: "Has the church never been wrong?"
Answer by youthful, but calcified Roman Catholic: "No, the Church has never been wrong on matters of doctrine. Not once in 2,000 years. An unparalled (sic) record in humankind."
Answer by youthful, but calcified Roman Catholic: "No, the Church has never been wrong on matters of doctrine. Not once in 2,000 years. An unparalled (sic) record in humankind."
* * * * *
The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes is a Jesuit. He's also the director of the Vatican Observatory. He is a scientist, sort of. An astronomer, more or less. He thinks science (especially astronomy) and religion are not contradictory.
Funes opines that the Bible is not a book of science. He even believes in the Big Bang theory relative to the creation of the universe. There is quite a bit of evidence supporting that theory. In fact, it is the most obvious explanation of the creation of the universe to date. But Funes, being a Christian, also believes the theory that God was behind the Big Bang. There is no evidence to support that theory.
It is fascinating, however, to hear a Roman Catholic scientist/priest admit the church was very wrong about Galileo. Galileo, born some 400 years too soon, was also an astronomer, like Funes. At that time the Vatican knew from nothing about astronomy and Big Bangs. The Vatican believed that the Earth was the focus of God's attention and therefore the Earth could not revolve around the sun, but rather it must be the case that the sun revolves around the Earth.
Galileo insisted he was right, however, and the evidence showed clearly that the Earth revolves around the sun.
So the Church did to Galileo what they tended to do with all those who disagreed with its "truth." They brought Galileo to trial and said he was a heretic (bad) and forced Galileo to recant his truth.
Big mistake! Sorry, oh calicified one. Funes said that this "incident" regarding Galileo "caused wounds." That's putting it mildly, as they say. Funes also said that "The church has somehow recognized its mistakes. Maybe it could have done it better," said Funes, "but now it's time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration."
Of course, it wasn't until 1992 that Pope John Paul said the church's action against Galileo was the result of "tragic mutual incomprehension." It took a long time for the church to admit failure. And they still didn't get it right. It wasn't "mutual" incomprehension; there was nothing "mutual" about it. It was rather the result of the church's singular "tragic" incomprehension!
You will be glad to know, however, that the Rev. Jose Gabriel Runes, Jesuit priest/scientist, has authorized all good Catholics to believe in aliens. I guess he didn't want to get behind the eight-ball on this one. If aliens start floating down from spinning, round discs, he wanted to ensure that Catholics knew they could actually believe what they saw with their eyes.
The whole business is pretty silly. Runes thinks that life may have developed elsewhere in space, and that's possible, but he goes on from that possibility to conclude that they would be our "extraterrestrial" brothers and sister. They would be part of God's creation.
Maybe.
But then again, maybe the church is wrong here, too. Maybe we'll discover to our terror, and extraterrestrials are created by a demi-god, a being that is an anti-god? Maybe those aliens floating down to earth from circular, spinning discs are up to no good and want to destroy the Earth?
It's interesting, though, that the Vatican believes the possibility of alien life to be of such importance the director of the Vatican Observatory pronounces his take on it, thereby giving the OK to Catholics who might see aliens in the future. I would guess that most Catholics around the world are pretty excited to know that the church has now given them permission to believe what they see with their own eyes.
That has often not been the case!
Funes opines that the Bible is not a book of science. He even believes in the Big Bang theory relative to the creation of the universe. There is quite a bit of evidence supporting that theory. In fact, it is the most obvious explanation of the creation of the universe to date. But Funes, being a Christian, also believes the theory that God was behind the Big Bang. There is no evidence to support that theory.
It is fascinating, however, to hear a Roman Catholic scientist/priest admit the church was very wrong about Galileo. Galileo, born some 400 years too soon, was also an astronomer, like Funes. At that time the Vatican knew from nothing about astronomy and Big Bangs. The Vatican believed that the Earth was the focus of God's attention and therefore the Earth could not revolve around the sun, but rather it must be the case that the sun revolves around the Earth.
Galileo insisted he was right, however, and the evidence showed clearly that the Earth revolves around the sun.
So the Church did to Galileo what they tended to do with all those who disagreed with its "truth." They brought Galileo to trial and said he was a heretic (bad) and forced Galileo to recant his truth.
Big mistake! Sorry, oh calicified one. Funes said that this "incident" regarding Galileo "caused wounds." That's putting it mildly, as they say. Funes also said that "The church has somehow recognized its mistakes. Maybe it could have done it better," said Funes, "but now it's time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration."
Of course, it wasn't until 1992 that Pope John Paul said the church's action against Galileo was the result of "tragic mutual incomprehension." It took a long time for the church to admit failure. And they still didn't get it right. It wasn't "mutual" incomprehension; there was nothing "mutual" about it. It was rather the result of the church's singular "tragic" incomprehension!
You will be glad to know, however, that the Rev. Jose Gabriel Runes, Jesuit priest/scientist, has authorized all good Catholics to believe in aliens. I guess he didn't want to get behind the eight-ball on this one. If aliens start floating down from spinning, round discs, he wanted to ensure that Catholics knew they could actually believe what they saw with their eyes.
The whole business is pretty silly. Runes thinks that life may have developed elsewhere in space, and that's possible, but he goes on from that possibility to conclude that they would be our "extraterrestrial" brothers and sister. They would be part of God's creation.
Maybe.
But then again, maybe the church is wrong here, too. Maybe we'll discover to our terror, and extraterrestrials are created by a demi-god, a being that is an anti-god? Maybe those aliens floating down to earth from circular, spinning discs are up to no good and want to destroy the Earth?
It's interesting, though, that the Vatican believes the possibility of alien life to be of such importance the director of the Vatican Observatory pronounces his take on it, thereby giving the OK to Catholics who might see aliens in the future. I would guess that most Catholics around the world are pretty excited to know that the church has now given them permission to believe what they see with their own eyes.
That has often not been the case!
1 comment:
I suspect that if we do meet some aliens, we will find they are Scientologists. Ask Tom Cruise. He knows.
Bob Poris
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