When you were in school, you probably learned that we'd passed through the Dark Ages, sometime around the Middle Ages, enjoyed a Renaissance, and then, at last, phew!, arrived at the Age of Reason, after which it's been smooth sailing, thank God.
Whoops! Reason and God may be slightly incompatible, but why stir up trouble, is my maxim.
For awhile, reason and religion lived side-by-side, as long as religion thought God was responsible for science. But along came a devout bloke named Charles Darwin, who made some observations, drew some conclusions, and figured out that God must not have created all of the species at one blow 4004 years earlier, according to calculations made by the Bishop of Usher.
If I'm right, figured Darwin, these species must've evolved over millions of years through some mechanism that needs someone like me to discover what it is. Whatever could it be? Hmmm.....
What he figured was that the creatures themselves must've created themselves, just as they usually do, but with changes and variations that helped some survive and reproduce further while the others not enjoying those alterations died off and too bad for them. No room for God in there, was there?
Charles Darwin had Deep-sixed none other than God Himself, and this is very sad.
Darwin knew he was in trouble from the git. So he sat on his work for as long as he could and only published when someone else published first. Then he stepped up to take his share of the credit, or blame. The religious folk preferred to think that they had descended from God, instead of apes. Little did they know that their ancestors were far more ape-like than God-like, although this is a matter of opinion. God has caused far more damage, whether he exists or not, than all of the apes who ever lived, combined. This is a fact.
Because the Great Church of the United States is at risk of losing the benefits of the Age of Reason, so-called (why not the age of fundamentalist Christianity?), since so many of us seem to believe that God created the world and lives in the White House where he provides personal guidance to Pres. George W, we have a problem.
Bush and the Fundies are against abortion, condoms in developing countries to fight AIDS, stem-cell research, gays, gay-rights such as to serve in the military and marry, and other immoral things, in large part the result of religious attitudes. They also insist on teaching religion as science in the public schools. We're governed by a home-grown Taliban of our own.
Science is a series of testable propositions while religion is a series of untestable propositions. When something doesn't work in science, it is jettisoned as false. When something doesn't work in religion, we use it as proof that it is still just as true, it's just that God works in mysterious ways.
You can see why scientists and ministers have to be kept apart or they'll drive each other crazy.
A number of prominent scientists have announced the formation of an organization dedicated to electing politicians "who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy." And good luck to them.
The article is below.