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This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall
be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,
heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this
sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins,
led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge
of the truth.
(II Timothy 3:1-7)
Preface
In matters of faith, it is the best of times, and it is
the worst of times. We view virtual simulations of significant events tied to the
history of our faith on televisions in our homes, and can feel the emotions and spirit
of the moment. With more data than has ever existed in the history of mankind, most of
us can not sort fact from fiction, events from opinion, history from agenda, relevance
from distraction, science from pseudo-science, or faith from tradition. The foundation
upon which we build our lives, and the philosophy on which we base our faith, becomes
critical to finding meaning as well as our personal happiness and fulfillment.
Those of us with faith call on others to have an open mind
and a contrite heart. And yet, upon reflection, maybe in an attempt to protect those
fragile portions of our faith, we sometimes put up barriers. We demonstrate by our
actions we lack the open mind regarding scientific discoveries which we request others
to have with regards to our faith. We make up our mind the earth is 6,000 years old,
or there is no such thing as evolution, and these pre-determinations color all of our
interaction with scientific data and scientists. In a very real sense, when we do this,
we have closed our mind. Is it any wonder those who study data often do not seriously
consider looking into the basis behind our faith? When we close our mind, we demonstrate
an arrogance, a type of hypocrisy, and the type of pride which is condemned by teachers
of all religious backgrounds. We seem to forget that if there is truth, it is eternal.
It does not matter whether that truth comes from science or from religion. The key is
to know the truth, for the truth surely will make us free (John 8:31-32 P1).
This book is about paradoxes. It is written by a geoscientist
with faith. In some religious and in some scientific communities this is THE "modern day"
paradox1 (at least for the last 200+/- years).
Although I, the author, exercise my faith through a specific organized religion, this book
is written with the unattainable goal (another paradox 2)
to help those of faith from all religions, or those outside of
organized religion, in their personal quest to reconcile scientific discovery with
their faith in God. At the same time, I hope some of these words will help my
scientific colleagues become more open to the role faith can play in their lives.
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paradoxes