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| I wonder if it's a sin that Ken Ham doesn't seem to use his God-given gift of intellectual curiosity. |
More planets, more strange places, even parts of the universe that could support intelligent life.
Ken Ham doesn't get such a thrill. Maybe because his world doesn't support intelligent life.
He's that famous creationist who says God created the world something like 6,000 years ago, that evolution doesn't exist. He notably debated Bill Nye (the science guy) on this subject not long ago, and from my perspective, it didn't go well for Ham.
But Ham is back! He's got an op-ed, timed the other day for the 45th anniversary of the moon landing He said space exploration is a complete waste of money and time.
Especially since space aliens probably don't exist, and if they do, they're damned to hell.
He writes: "Of course, secularists are desperate to find life in outer space, as they believe that they would provide evidence that life can evolve in different locations and given the supposed right conditions!"
The exclamation point is Ham's. He's flabbergasted that anyone would have any curiosity about anything going on beyond Ham's tiny little fundamentalist Christian world.
Ham goes on:
"And I do believer there can't be other intelligent beings in outer space because of the meaning of the gospel....You see, the Bible makes it clear that Adam's sin affected the whole universe. This means that any aliens would also be affected by Adam's sin, but because they are not Adam's descendants, they can't have salvation."
I'm confused by so much of this, I'm afraid. First of all, I've always wondered why some people thing God is such a control freak and a passive-aggressive guilt tripper that when this Adam guy supposedly screwed up once, it's everybody else's fault as well.
Even if Adam was there and improperly ate the apple, you and I weren't there. We had nothing to do with it. So don't tell me I'm a sinner, at least for that reason.
It's probably good that space aliens are not descendants of Adam and Eve. The only way Adam and Eve could have propogated the human race is through incest.
That's one reason evolution works better for me. (The more important reason is science seems to have more evidence on its side)
Ham also throws in some lines that are slightly off topic, but still reflect his deep, deep lack of intellectual curiosity. I have to wonder if some people who are that into extreme religion use it as crutch so they don't have to think.
Anyway, there's this gem:
"The Earth was created for human life. And the sun and moon were created for signs and our season - and to declare the glory of God."
Well, yes, the Earth, the sun and the moon are pretty impressive. But so are the zillions of stars and planets and other known and unknown objects in the universe. Don't all those things declare the glory of God, too?
Here's more: "Many secularists want to discover alien life hoping that aliens can answer the deepest questions of life. 'Where did we come from?' and 'What is the purpose and meaning of life?' But such people are ignoring the revelation from the infinite God behind the whole universe. The Creator has told us where we came from: 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' And He told us what life's purpose is 'Fear God and keep his commandments'
What do I know? Maybe there is a God who created the whole universe. And for that matter set in motion evolution. If that's true, there's a truly impressive God right there, let me tell ya.
But are purpose in life is to "fear God and keep his commandments." Life is to be feared? No boldly going where no man has gone before?
I like to think God, if there is one, wants us to go boldly where no man has gone before. Might bring him closer to him, for all I know.
As Salon points out, the most infuriating thing about Ham is he thinks all the answers are in the Bible, or at least his interpretation of it. His world does not extend beyond that book.
He has no intellectual curiosity at all. He'll never ask why about anything, which is totally sad. Even worse, other people buy his argument and they won't ask questions as well.
Which begs the point: If there is a God, why did he give us the ability to be curious, to ask questions, to explore? Why bother if if God doesn't want us to use these skills.
Look, believe what you want. Don't be that curious if you don't want to. Find all the easy answers through religion. It's your right. Go for it. But leave me out of it.
Salon goes on to quote Neil deGrasse Tyson, who caused a great stir earlier this year with his series "Cosmos : A Spacetime Odyssey."
In it, Tyson said: "It's OK not to know all the answers....It's better to admit our ignorance, than to believe answers that might be wrong. Pretending to know everything closes the door to finding out what's really there."
Ham his closed his door tight. And if you shut the door to your own curiosity, your life becomes stilted, meaningless, and in my view, not what God intended.
My favorite type of kid are those youngsters, maybe four or five years old, who constantly pester you with "Why?" questions. About everything.
When those kids do that, it makes me feel like the kids are alright.
Ham, sadly, is not.
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