- Guest blogger, Dick Lanham, offers his insights on evolution, Islam's contribution to science and racism. We are pleased to offer Mr. Lanham's blog in this Special to The Bold Pursuit...
The Image above was taken by the Planck Telescope of the European Space Agency published in Nature, July 8, 2010. The complete Milky Way is the white plate seen on edge. The background radiation of the Big Bang is shown in the bluish surround. At the request of a good friend of mine, I posted it on his blog (The Brotherhood) of a site (http://americanwantssarah.ning.com) that we belong to. The posting drew a lot of comments about how the Big Bang and Evolution (which I did not mention) contradicted creation stories in the Bible. My comments here are partly a reply to some of these criticisms and partly to another friend’s observations on President Obama’s directive to NASA to assure the Muslim community that it had contributed greatly to science and technology.
- Assuming there was a Big Bang this has nothing to do with God. God being God can do anything He likes except create a contradiction. If He wanted to start us all off with a Bang, that is His business. Many scientists do not believe in God, some do. Darwin to his dying day was a believer and church-goer. The difficulty some religious people contemporaneous with him had was that the Theory of Evolution made impossible a literal belief of the creation verses in the Bible. No good scientist I ever heard of did his science to prove that God does not exist, an impossibility at any event. That would be like devoting oneself to growing sugar cane to show that Ford 150s are the best selling vehicle in America. Science has nothing to do with religion This whole matter was debated and resolved in the Late Medieval Ages during the beginning years of universities, mostly at the University of Paris. There followers of Aristotle clashed with theologians who, too, like some commentators on the blog, believed in the literal truth of the Bible. These clashes in the 12th and 13th Centuries were eventually resolved in the Aristotelians’ favor, as by the 14th Century the Parisian professors had to swear to teach Aristotle and an Islamic commentator on Aristotle, Averroes. ['Averroes' is the name used in the west for Ibn Rushed, 1126--1198. He is one of the two Muslim natural philosophers--the title given to scientists then--popularly remembered today, the other being Avicenna, Ibn Sīnā, 980--1037.] At that time (the 14th Century) there was an agreement–still in force–that scientists stuck to the observable (broadly defined) and that theologians were responsible for metaphysics and religion. So the swirl of comment in the 19th Century about Darwin’s science has a history. As to my good Friend M’s comment [about President Obama's NASA directive], Islam did have a 500 year period of scientific eminence, which was to mostly to preserve Aristotle and Plato and other classic authors for later use in the Renaissances (there were a couple of them). That 500 year period ended in the 15th century. President Obama are you listening? The period of distinction of Islamic science ended in the 15th century. There are 2 major reasons for this: First there is a strong tradition in Islam against abstract learning. Knowledge to be pursued had to be in the practical interest of Islam, and since Islam knows no distinction between religious and civic law, all learning had to contribute in a way that would be epistmologically incompatible to scientific and other endeavors in the west. (What practical effect does acquiring estimations of the size of the proton or of facts about Mozart’s 21st Piano Concerto have?). The second reason for the decline was that the Muslims never established the kind of universities and other types of schools started in the 12th Century (in Bologna), added to in the 13th and following Centuries, and still going on today in non-Muslim societies in which knowledge could be acquired, systematized, preserved, and protected against the depredations of anti-intellectuals. Madrases were and are only theological institutions. For NASA now to devote itself to assuring Muslims that they are just as good at science and technology as are we (which as a society they clearly are not) is as condescending, as is the racism and sexism of affirmative action. What affirmative action does is re-institute Jim Crow and the degradation of women. It intimates that blacks and women are not good enough to compete in a white, manly world. They need a helping hand. (A new version of the white man’s burden.) Grades low? Does not matter, in you go anyway to, say, the Harvard Law School. Not publishing any law review articles once you get there, Barry? Not to worry. We shall make you Editor of the Law Review so you will not feel badly about yourself. Blacks and women not good enough? Oh, yeah? First of all the brightest person I ever knew was a black girlfriend of mine in our freshman year of college. (We were crazy about each other but her family would not let us get together because I was white.) Second, you had better not have let any such talk of the little woman needing some aid from us men around my Mother or her sisters. Any of them would have knocked your block off. The women of AWS [the website in which these comments were initially posted] do not need me to speak for them, but my guess is that, if any of them had heard such talk, she would have elbowed my Mother aside to throw the first punch.
- Dick Lanham
- Posted originally on http://richardjlanham.wordpress.com
Quotes
"I was bold in the Pursuit of Knowledge, never fearing to follow Truth and Reason to whatever results they led and bearding every authority which stood in their way" ~ Thomas Jefferson
Showing posts with label muslim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label muslim. Show all posts
Friday, July 16, 2010
Milky Way and the Big Bang
Monday, January 4, 2010
The Fundamental Transformation of America - Special to The Bold Pursuit ....
While Clio recuperates from a blogging injury, The Bold Pursuit is pleased to share with our readers some of the finest work from the conservative blogger community. Today, we are delighted to feature a blog from "Tony's Take":
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Fundamental Transformation of America
How long has Mr. Obama been President? Not even one year yet and look at all the things he has accomplished. This is the change he promised us. Does anything matter to you anymore?
When Obama wrote a book and said he was mentored as a youth by Frank, (Frank Marshall Davis) an avowed Communist, people said it didn't matter.
When it was discovered that his grandparents, were strong socialists, sent Obama's mother to a socialist school, introduced Frank Marshall Davis to young Obama, People said it didn't matter.
When people found out that he was enrolled as a Muslim child in school and his father and step father were both Muslims, people said it didn't matter.
When he wrote in another book he authored “I will stand with them (Muslims) should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” people said it didn't matter.
When he admittedly, in his book,said he chose Marxist friends and professors in college, people said it didn't matter.
When he traveled to Pakistan , after college on an unknown national passport, people said it didn't matter.
When he sought the endorsement of the Marxist party in 1996 as he ran for the Illinois Senate, people said it doesn't matter.
When he sat in a Chicago Church for twenty years and listened to a preacher spew hatred for America and preach black liberation theology, people said it didn't matter.
When an independent Washington organization, that tracks senate voting records, gave him the distinctive title as the "most liberal senator", people said it didn't matter.
When the Palestinians in Gaza , set up a fund raising telethon to raise money for his election campaign, people said it didn't matter.
When his voting record supported gun control, people said it didn't matter.
When he refused to disclose who donated money to his election campaign, as other candidates had done, people said it didn't matter.
When he received endorsements from people like Louis Farrakhan and Mummar Kadaffi and Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.
When it was pointed out that he was a total, newcomer and had absolutely no experience at anything except community organizing, people said it didn't matter.
When he chose friends and acquaintances such as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn who were revolutionary radicals, people said it didn't matter.
When his voting record in the Illinois senate and in the U.S. Senate came into question, people said it didn't matter.
When he refused to wear a flag, lapel pin and did so only after a public outcry, people said it didn't matter.
When people started treating him as a Messiah and children in schools were taught to sing his praises, people said it didn't matter.
When he stood with his hands over his groin area for the playing of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, people said it didn't matter.
When he surrounded himself in the White house with advisers who were pro gun control, pro abortion, pro homosexual marriage and wanting to curtail freedom of speech to silence the opposition people said it didn't matter.
When he aired his views on abortion, homosexuality and a host of other issues, people said it didn't matter.
When he said he favors sex education in Kindergarten, including homosexual indoctrination, people said it didn't matter.
When his background was either scrubbed or hidden and nothing could be found about him, people said it didn't matter.
When the place of his birth was called into question, and he refused to produce a birth certificate, people said it didn't matter.
When he had an association in Chicago with Tony Rezco, a man of questionable character, who is now in prison and had helped Obama to a sweet deal on the purchase of his home, people said it didn't matter.
When it became known that George Soros, a multi-billionaire Marxist, spent a ton of money to get him elected, people said it didn't matter.
When he started appointing czars that were radicals, revolutionaries, and even avowed Marxist/Communist, people said it didn't matter.
When he stood before the nation and told us that his intentions were to "fundamentally transform this nation" into something else, people said it didn't matter.
When it became known that he had trained ACORN workers in Chicago and served as an attorney for ACORN, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed a cabinet members and several advisers who were tax cheats and socialist, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed a science czar, John Holdren, who believes in forced abortions, mass sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Cass Sunstein as regulatory czar and he believes in "Explicit Consent", harvesting human organs with out family consent, and to allow animals to be represented in court, while banning all hunting, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Kevin Jennings, a homosexual, and organizer of a group called gay, lesbian, straight, Education network, as safe school czar and it became known that he had a history of bad advice to teenagers, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Mark Lloyd as diversity czar and he believed in curtailing free speech, taking from one and giving to another to spread the wealth and admires Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.
When Valerie Jarrett was selected as Obama's senior White House adviser and she is an avowed Socialist, people said it didn't matter.
When Anita Dunn, White House Communications director said Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher and the person she turned to most for inspiration, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Carol Browner as global warming czar, and she is a well known socialist working on Cap and trade as the nations largest tax, people said it doesn't matter.
When he appointed Van Jones, an ex-con and avowed Communist as green energy czar, who since had to resign when this was made known, people said it didn't matter.
When Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for health and human services secretary could not be confirmed, because he was a tax cheat, people said it didn't matter.
When as president of the United States, he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, people said it didn't matter.
When he traveled around the world criticizing America and never once talking of her greatness, people said it didn't matter.
When his actions concerning the middle-east seemed to support the Palestinians over Israel, our long time friend, people said it doesn't matter.
When he took American tax dollars to resettle thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to the United States, people said it doesn't matter.
When he upset the Europeans by removing plans for a missile defense system against the Russians, people said it doesn't matter.
When he played politics in Afghanistan by not sending troops the Field Commanders said we had to have to win, people said it didn't matter.
When he started spending us into a debt that was so big we could not pay it off, people said it didn't matter.
When he took a huge spending bill under the guise of stimulus and used it to pay off organizations, unions and individuals that got him elected, people said it didn't matter.
When he took over insurance companies, car companies, banks, etc. people said it didn't matter.
When he took away student loans from the banks and put it through the government, people said it didn't matter.
When he designed plans to take over the health care system and put it under government control, people said it didn't matter.
When he set into motion a plan to take over the control of all energy in the United States through Cap and Trade, people said it didn't matter.
When he finally completed his transformation of America into a Socialist State , people finally woke up........ but it was too late.
Any one of these things, in and of themselves are bad, but does that not really matter? Can you add to this list? I can name two more just from today. Did I mention giving terrorists the same rights as American Citizens? I guess that doesn't matter either.
And.... when you add them up one by one you get a phenomenal score that points to the fact that our Obama is determined to make America over into a Marxist/Socialist society. All of the items in the preceding paragraphs have been put into place. All can be documented very easily. Before you disavow this, do an internet search. The last paragraph alone is not yet cast in stone. You and I will write that paragraph. Will it read as above or will it be a more happy ending for most of America ? Personally, I like happy endings.
If you are an Obama Supporter, please do not be angry with me because I know your president is a socialist. There are too many facts supporting this. If you seek the truth you will be richer for it. Don't just belittle the opposition. Search for the truth. I did. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Constitutionalists, Libertarians and what have you, we all need to pull together. We all must pull together or watch the demise of a society that we all love and cherish. If you are a religious person, pray for our nation.
Never before in the history of America have we been confronted with problems so huge and numerous that the very existence of our country is in jeopardy. Don't rely on most television news and what you read in the newspapers for the truth. Search the internet. Yes, there is a lot of bad information, lies and distortions there too but you are smart enough to spot the fallacies. Newspapers are a dying breed. They are currently seeking a bailout from the government. Do you really think they are about to print the truth? Obama praises all the television news networks except Fox who he has waged war against. There must be a reason. He does not call them down on any specifics, just a general battle against them. If they lie, he should call them out on it but he doesn't. Please, find the truth, it will set you free. Our biggest enemy is not China , Russia , Iran ; no, our biggest enemy is a contingent of politicians in Washington DC . http://speaktony.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Fundamental Transformation of America
How long has Mr. Obama been President? Not even one year yet and look at all the things he has accomplished. This is the change he promised us. Does anything matter to you anymore?
When Obama wrote a book and said he was mentored as a youth by Frank, (Frank Marshall Davis) an avowed Communist, people said it didn't matter.
When it was discovered that his grandparents, were strong socialists, sent Obama's mother to a socialist school, introduced Frank Marshall Davis to young Obama, People said it didn't matter.
When people found out that he was enrolled as a Muslim child in school and his father and step father were both Muslims, people said it didn't matter.
When he wrote in another book he authored “I will stand with them (Muslims) should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” people said it didn't matter.
When he admittedly, in his book,said he chose Marxist friends and professors in college, people said it didn't matter.
When he traveled to Pakistan , after college on an unknown national passport, people said it didn't matter.
When he sought the endorsement of the Marxist party in 1996 as he ran for the Illinois Senate, people said it doesn't matter.
When he sat in a Chicago Church for twenty years and listened to a preacher spew hatred for America and preach black liberation theology, people said it didn't matter.
When an independent Washington organization, that tracks senate voting records, gave him the distinctive title as the "most liberal senator", people said it didn't matter.
When the Palestinians in Gaza , set up a fund raising telethon to raise money for his election campaign, people said it didn't matter.
When his voting record supported gun control, people said it didn't matter.
When he refused to disclose who donated money to his election campaign, as other candidates had done, people said it didn't matter.
When he received endorsements from people like Louis Farrakhan and Mummar Kadaffi and Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.
When it was pointed out that he was a total, newcomer and had absolutely no experience at anything except community organizing, people said it didn't matter.
When he chose friends and acquaintances such as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn who were revolutionary radicals, people said it didn't matter.
When his voting record in the Illinois senate and in the U.S. Senate came into question, people said it didn't matter.
When he refused to wear a flag, lapel pin and did so only after a public outcry, people said it didn't matter.
When people started treating him as a Messiah and children in schools were taught to sing his praises, people said it didn't matter.
When he stood with his hands over his groin area for the playing of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, people said it didn't matter.
When he surrounded himself in the White house with advisers who were pro gun control, pro abortion, pro homosexual marriage and wanting to curtail freedom of speech to silence the opposition people said it didn't matter.
When he aired his views on abortion, homosexuality and a host of other issues, people said it didn't matter.
When he said he favors sex education in Kindergarten, including homosexual indoctrination, people said it didn't matter.
When his background was either scrubbed or hidden and nothing could be found about him, people said it didn't matter.
When the place of his birth was called into question, and he refused to produce a birth certificate, people said it didn't matter.
When he had an association in Chicago with Tony Rezco, a man of questionable character, who is now in prison and had helped Obama to a sweet deal on the purchase of his home, people said it didn't matter.
When it became known that George Soros, a multi-billionaire Marxist, spent a ton of money to get him elected, people said it didn't matter.
When he started appointing czars that were radicals, revolutionaries, and even avowed Marxist/Communist, people said it didn't matter.
When he stood before the nation and told us that his intentions were to "fundamentally transform this nation" into something else, people said it didn't matter.
When it became known that he had trained ACORN workers in Chicago and served as an attorney for ACORN, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed a cabinet members and several advisers who were tax cheats and socialist, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed a science czar, John Holdren, who believes in forced abortions, mass sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Cass Sunstein as regulatory czar and he believes in "Explicit Consent", harvesting human organs with out family consent, and to allow animals to be represented in court, while banning all hunting, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Kevin Jennings, a homosexual, and organizer of a group called gay, lesbian, straight, Education network, as safe school czar and it became known that he had a history of bad advice to teenagers, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Mark Lloyd as diversity czar and he believed in curtailing free speech, taking from one and giving to another to spread the wealth and admires Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.
When Valerie Jarrett was selected as Obama's senior White House adviser and she is an avowed Socialist, people said it didn't matter.
When Anita Dunn, White House Communications director said Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher and the person she turned to most for inspiration, people said it didn't matter.
When he appointed Carol Browner as global warming czar, and she is a well known socialist working on Cap and trade as the nations largest tax, people said it doesn't matter.
When he appointed Van Jones, an ex-con and avowed Communist as green energy czar, who since had to resign when this was made known, people said it didn't matter.
When Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for health and human services secretary could not be confirmed, because he was a tax cheat, people said it didn't matter.
When as president of the United States, he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, people said it didn't matter.
When he traveled around the world criticizing America and never once talking of her greatness, people said it didn't matter.
When his actions concerning the middle-east seemed to support the Palestinians over Israel, our long time friend, people said it doesn't matter.
When he took American tax dollars to resettle thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to the United States, people said it doesn't matter.
When he upset the Europeans by removing plans for a missile defense system against the Russians, people said it doesn't matter.
When he played politics in Afghanistan by not sending troops the Field Commanders said we had to have to win, people said it didn't matter.
When he started spending us into a debt that was so big we could not pay it off, people said it didn't matter.
When he took a huge spending bill under the guise of stimulus and used it to pay off organizations, unions and individuals that got him elected, people said it didn't matter.
When he took over insurance companies, car companies, banks, etc. people said it didn't matter.
When he took away student loans from the banks and put it through the government, people said it didn't matter.
When he designed plans to take over the health care system and put it under government control, people said it didn't matter.
When he set into motion a plan to take over the control of all energy in the United States through Cap and Trade, people said it didn't matter.
When he finally completed his transformation of America into a Socialist State , people finally woke up........ but it was too late.
Any one of these things, in and of themselves are bad, but does that not really matter? Can you add to this list? I can name two more just from today. Did I mention giving terrorists the same rights as American Citizens? I guess that doesn't matter either.
And.... when you add them up one by one you get a phenomenal score that points to the fact that our Obama is determined to make America over into a Marxist/Socialist society. All of the items in the preceding paragraphs have been put into place. All can be documented very easily. Before you disavow this, do an internet search. The last paragraph alone is not yet cast in stone. You and I will write that paragraph. Will it read as above or will it be a more happy ending for most of America ? Personally, I like happy endings.
If you are an Obama Supporter, please do not be angry with me because I know your president is a socialist. There are too many facts supporting this. If you seek the truth you will be richer for it. Don't just belittle the opposition. Search for the truth. I did. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Constitutionalists, Libertarians and what have you, we all need to pull together. We all must pull together or watch the demise of a society that we all love and cherish. If you are a religious person, pray for our nation.
Never before in the history of America have we been confronted with problems so huge and numerous that the very existence of our country is in jeopardy. Don't rely on most television news and what you read in the newspapers for the truth. Search the internet. Yes, there is a lot of bad information, lies and distortions there too but you are smart enough to spot the fallacies. Newspapers are a dying breed. They are currently seeking a bailout from the government. Do you really think they are about to print the truth? Obama praises all the television news networks except Fox who he has waged war against. There must be a reason. He does not call them down on any specifics, just a general battle against them. If they lie, he should call them out on it but he doesn't. Please, find the truth, it will set you free. Our biggest enemy is not China , Russia , Iran ; no, our biggest enemy is a contingent of politicians in Washington DC . http://speaktony.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
