Do not confuse science, religion
I would like to state in response to David A. Brown’s letter of June 19 that further obfuscation of the dispute that you say that you have started does not help to calm people. Being insistent about re-defining the clear line dividing science and religion with an obscure definition of considerable obliquity does little to help people confused about what science is and what it does for humanity.
Creation theories, as you prefer to call them, do not include evolution. Evolution IS a principle of science, NOT to be confused with any religion. If religion, regardless of its benevolence, seeks to control science by denying the principle of evolution, science is reduced to a meaningless hodgepodge of scientific perjuries that are utterly useless to help us understand how we might save our environment, prevent disease, discover new drugs and perform technological feats that seem miraculous to an average person without scientific training. We will replace science with faith. That will not benefit humanity.
If, however, science tries to control the religious belief systems of humanity, at once mankind is devoid of the hope of an eternal soul and a personal relationship with God for eternity. Knowing how the creator “did” creation is of no concern to us in a mortal condition. What IS of the foremost concern is maintaining your personal faith, regardless of the obstacles that are thrown in your way. Luke 17:6 — And the Lord said, “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”
Two of the principles that made America great are the separation of church and state and freedom of religion. We are free to worship God by conviction of the spirit in the way that we see fit, not in the way that somebody tells us we MUST feel owing to their own literal interpretation of Holy Scripture. That was tried in the Inquisition. It didn’t work.
We can all agree upon what it takes to run a scientific experiment, and what empirical evidence is without a spiritual component. Such empirical evidence can easily convince even an atheist. However, to ask as a Christian for science as a sign of God’s work instead of feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit is tantamount to asking NOT to be made to bother to maintain your faith and humility, and we all know what Jesus had to say about that, don’t we? Matt. 16:4 — “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them and departed.”
If America is to compromise her Constitution by the injection of religious principle, what shall it be? Mormonism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Baptists, Methodists, Buddhism or will it be Paganism? Or, will YOU be making that decision for all of us, David? The best advice is to not mix science and religion. Science belongs to all but religion is personal.
— John Garner
Terre Haute
Responding to the ‘uninformed’
Since Randall Allen will no longer be responding to me I appreciate him giving me the last word.
If this clearly uninformed person had looked at the Toles cartoon I cited he would have seen that I used the exact quote Toles used in his caption referring to the Second Amendment and conservative talk radio as “Not that I am suggesting anything”.
How this could possibly imply that I believe Toles is a unabomber escapes me. I believe ostracize is the correct word I chose as Allen and others of his ilk would love to exclude me from the conversation. As I have stated I am not going away anytime soon.
By the way, I am still waiting for someone to give me an example of a successful government program and I thank Mr. Allen for acknowledging “you were the one who listed only failed government programs”. Maybe Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Sallie Mae come to mind as successful programs. Oh well.
— Raymond E. Broshar
Terre Haute
Letters
Readers' Forum for 7/3
- Letters
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READERS’ FORUM: May 28, 2012
• Veterans, especially from WWII, deserve our lasting thanks
• All Bibles agree on ‘Golden Rule’
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READERS’ FORUM: May 27, 2012
• Alaska connection vital to Hoosiers who love wildlife
• Commissioners sell out Woodgate
• Same-sex marriage equalizes for all
• Mourdock can’t compromise on taxes
• Sweet lessons on ‘Lemonade Day’
• African Americans, slavery and Islam
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READERS' FORUM: May 25, 2012
• Mayor, Republic solve trash issue
• Negative ads pervert politics
• VCSC team gives all-star response
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READERS' FORUM: May 24, 2012
• Cartoon unfunny, insults disabled
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READERS’ FORUM: May 23, 2012
• The rule of the ‘government czar’
• Promises often don’t prove noble
• Smoking not going away soon
• Primary voting gets it wrong
• Where’s the pride in our parks?
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READERS’ FORUM: May 22, 2012
• Try a new approach to control drugs
• Our president is ruining the USA
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READERS’ FORUM: May 21, 2012
• Some still don’t understand presence of pervasive racism
• Thanks for help in emergency
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READERS’ FORUM: May 20, 2012
St. Ann’s gives thanks to those who supported its mission
No deception, just GOP spin
Disdain for only liberals
Writer doesn’t know the Bible
Flawed primary discourages voters
Recognition was much appreciated
Who’s fanning marriage issue?
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READERS’ FORUM: May 18, 2012
• Romney imperfect, but better option
• Great support for Strassenfest
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READERS’ FORUM: May 17, 2012
• Don’t ignore what GOP won’t tell you
• Scotties help keep neighborhood tidy
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READERS’ FORUM: May 16, 2012
• Assessing the tough decisions
• Take another look at school schedule
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READERS’ FORUM: May 15, 2012
• Attack obesity at its causes
• Uplifting service for believers
• Evolution based on faith, not proof
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READERS’ FORUM: May 14, 2012
• Liberals distort women’s issues
• Davis Park says thanks for honor
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READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2012
• Right answer is respect, inclusion
• Theme sounds strangely familiar
• Good explanation, still no solution
• Facts about our founders
• Santorum and the Constitution
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READERS’ FORUM: May 12, 2012
Don’t be afraid to seek help
Thanks to young man for honesty
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READERS’ FORUM: May 11, 2012
• Loving your mom life-long devotion
• Opinions should be based on facts
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READERS’ FORUM: May 10, 2012
• Open your hearts to moms Sunday
• How can we be proud of this?
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READERS' FORUM: MAY 9, 2012
• Too much info in missing child case
• Motorists throw trash along road
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READERS’ FORUM: May 8, 2012
• Job well done on highway problem
• THN squads excel at high level
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READERS’ FORUM: May 7, 2012
• Let’s protect the unborn as well
• Animal ordinance handled responsibly
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READERS’ FORUM: May 6, 2012
• Nothing militant about tea party
• Resources abound to prevent child abuse
• IDOE chasing red flag of bias
• Ping gives voice to all voters
• Charity auction set for June 30
• Great support for meeting
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READERS' FORUM: May 5, 2012
• Candidate would be team builder
• New event for local golfers
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READERS’ FORUM: May 4, 2012
• Romney speech truly inspiring
• Students get a dose of reality
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READERS’ FORUM: May 3, 2012
• Stand against fed harassers
• GOP’s war on women is real
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READERS’ FORUM: May 2, 2012
• Bryan an asset to County Coun
• Gravity proven, evolution is not
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READERS’ FORUM: May 1, 2012
Community steps up to tee again
Foolish comment missed its mark
Newest enemy worse than all
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READERS FORUM: April 30, 2012
• Moving toward sustainability
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READERS’ FORUM: April 29, 2012
• Column highlights crucial document
• Trash bins still an ugly problem
• Incumbents have earned re-election
• On energy, Lugar has been leader
• Understanding law and theory
• Special day at Riley school
• A busy time at Franklin school
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READERS’ FORUM: Apr. 28, 2012
• Seeking help to make our city better
• Club style show a major success
• Sen. Lugar is a serious leader
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READERS’ FORUM: April 27, 2012
• Lugar initiatives helped the Valley
• Theory, law not the same
• Retire Sen. Lugar and Rep. Bucshon
• In government, less can be more
- More Letters Headlines
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READERS’ FORUM: May 28, 2012




