Crazy
Did you know that I might be mentally ill?
That is, if the assertion by an article I read yesterday is true. The article (which was written in 2010, but which I just came across yesterday) asserts that if you believe in creation rather than "science," you are mentally ill because, according to this author, you believe in a "superstition" or "myth."
Now, the author is talking about the many who believe in a literal reading of Genesis 1. He fails to acknowledge that there are also many Christians who see Genesis 1 as a poem, a hymn if you will, celebrating God's creation and God's creating power. Either way, as we talk about in Disciple 1, Genesis isn't all that concerned about how God created. Genesis simply asserts that God did create. This is why, as I said in a sermon several months ago, science and faith aren't incompatible. Science deals with the "why" (but still doesn't have a lot of definitive answers). Faith deals with the "who." God created. That's the message of Genesis 1.
But all that is really moot to this author, because to believe in a God who creates is to suffer from mental illness. And it's not so much what the author believes about creation that concerns me (well, at least that's not on the top of my list) so much as his attitude toward people of faith. If you believe in a creator God, you are crazy. You are immediately written off, excluded from conversation. He even calls belief in creationism "psychotic."
The reason this article concerns me (even bothers me) is the way it pushes people of faith—Christians, Jews, Muslims—to the sidelines, as if to say, "You aren't welcome, we won't talk to you, because you're crazy." With one fell swoop, people of faith are labeled as ignorant. Respectful dialogue is unwelcome. Name calling is the order of the day. Is that really the way we want to function as a society?
Yes, this is "only" one author's opinion. But it represents a growing trend in our culture that equates belief with ignorance, faith with superstition. We need to be those who think and are ready to respond to such accusations. We need to be people of reasonable faith, those who have read and studied and know what we believe. Otherwise, it's far too easy for folks like this to rule the day.
If you're interested, here's the original article.
My sermon on faith and science is here.
By the way, I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested. (Okay, not really, but I couldn't resist putting that there. But I'm not crazy. Really.)
That is, if the assertion by an article I read yesterday is true. The article (which was written in 2010, but which I just came across yesterday) asserts that if you believe in creation rather than "science," you are mentally ill because, according to this author, you believe in a "superstition" or "myth."
Now, the author is talking about the many who believe in a literal reading of Genesis 1. He fails to acknowledge that there are also many Christians who see Genesis 1 as a poem, a hymn if you will, celebrating God's creation and God's creating power. Either way, as we talk about in Disciple 1, Genesis isn't all that concerned about how God created. Genesis simply asserts that God did create. This is why, as I said in a sermon several months ago, science and faith aren't incompatible. Science deals with the "why" (but still doesn't have a lot of definitive answers). Faith deals with the "who." God created. That's the message of Genesis 1.
But all that is really moot to this author, because to believe in a God who creates is to suffer from mental illness. And it's not so much what the author believes about creation that concerns me (well, at least that's not on the top of my list) so much as his attitude toward people of faith. If you believe in a creator God, you are crazy. You are immediately written off, excluded from conversation. He even calls belief in creationism "psychotic."
The reason this article concerns me (even bothers me) is the way it pushes people of faith—Christians, Jews, Muslims—to the sidelines, as if to say, "You aren't welcome, we won't talk to you, because you're crazy." With one fell swoop, people of faith are labeled as ignorant. Respectful dialogue is unwelcome. Name calling is the order of the day. Is that really the way we want to function as a society?
Yes, this is "only" one author's opinion. But it represents a growing trend in our culture that equates belief with ignorance, faith with superstition. We need to be those who think and are ready to respond to such accusations. We need to be people of reasonable faith, those who have read and studied and know what we believe. Otherwise, it's far too easy for folks like this to rule the day.
If you're interested, here's the original article.
My sermon on faith and science is here.
By the way, I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested. (Okay, not really, but I couldn't resist putting that there. But I'm not crazy. Really.)
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