05-09-2008, 09:51 AM
Lerner himself is a member of the Bay Area Skeptics, and like all Skeptical groups it is essentially atheistic and anti-christian. But the BAS downplays this by the claim:
[INDENT]âWeâre absolutely not a religious or antireligious group. We respect the religious and nonreligious beliefs of others, and recognize that spirituality is based on faith and is not testable.â8[/INDENT]
The atheistic Marxist evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould has claimed that religion and science are ânon-overlapping magisteriaâ (NOMA). That is, science deals with facts of the real world, while religion deals with ethics, values, morals, and what it means to be human. He expounded this thesis in his book Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life (Ballantyne, NY, 1999).
However, this is based on the philosophically fallacious fact-value distinction, and is really an anti-Christian claim. For example, the Resurrection of Christ is an essential part of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:12â19), but it is also a matter of history, it passed the âtestableâ claim that the tomb would be empty on the third day, and impinges on science because it demonstrated the power of God over so-called ânatural lawsâ that dead bodies decay. Christians must realise that this is not only a theoretical argument about the anti-Christian nature of NOMA, but also a practical one â Gould dismisses Johnâs historical narrative of Jesusâ post-Resurrection appearance to doubting Thomas as a âmoral taleâ [Rocks of Ages, p. 14].
By contrast, please study the Arguments creationists should NOT use.
This NOMA distinction really teaches that religion is just in oneâs head, which seems to dull the senses of many Christians more than an overt declaration that Christianity is false. So this is even more dangerous.
Christians should not fall for this. Christ is the Lord of the universe, and the Bible is accurate on everything it touches, not just faith and morality, but history, science and geography also. So Christians should not give up any part of the âreal worldâ to those with a materialistic agenda. Especially when atheists are happy to let their own faith influence their science, by promoting evolution.9
This applies not only to science, but to public life. Itâs unfortunate to hear professing Christians who say that they wonât let their faith influence their public policy, e.g. âIâm personally opposed to abortion, but I wonât enforce my faith on the pregnant woman who must be given the right to chooseâ, although the unborn baby has no âchoiceâ. However, atheists are very happy to let their own faith influence their public policy and enforce their views on people â we rarely hear: âIâm personally in favor of abortion, but I wonât enforce my view on the innocent unborn babyâ. [For a refutation of the related fallacy that âyou cannot/should not legislate moralityâ, see Dispelling false notions of the First Amendment: The Falsity, Futility, Folly Of Separating Morality From Law]
http://www.answersingenesis.org/news/Lerner_resp.asp
[INDENT]âWeâre absolutely not a religious or antireligious group. We respect the religious and nonreligious beliefs of others, and recognize that spirituality is based on faith and is not testable.â8[/INDENT]
The atheistic Marxist evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould has claimed that religion and science are ânon-overlapping magisteriaâ (NOMA). That is, science deals with facts of the real world, while religion deals with ethics, values, morals, and what it means to be human. He expounded this thesis in his book Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life (Ballantyne, NY, 1999).
However, this is based on the philosophically fallacious fact-value distinction, and is really an anti-Christian claim. For example, the Resurrection of Christ is an essential part of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:12â19), but it is also a matter of history, it passed the âtestableâ claim that the tomb would be empty on the third day, and impinges on science because it demonstrated the power of God over so-called ânatural lawsâ that dead bodies decay. Christians must realise that this is not only a theoretical argument about the anti-Christian nature of NOMA, but also a practical one â Gould dismisses Johnâs historical narrative of Jesusâ post-Resurrection appearance to doubting Thomas as a âmoral taleâ [Rocks of Ages, p. 14].
By contrast, please study the Arguments creationists should NOT use.
This NOMA distinction really teaches that religion is just in oneâs head, which seems to dull the senses of many Christians more than an overt declaration that Christianity is false. So this is even more dangerous.
Christians should not fall for this. Christ is the Lord of the universe, and the Bible is accurate on everything it touches, not just faith and morality, but history, science and geography also. So Christians should not give up any part of the âreal worldâ to those with a materialistic agenda. Especially when atheists are happy to let their own faith influence their science, by promoting evolution.9
This applies not only to science, but to public life. Itâs unfortunate to hear professing Christians who say that they wonât let their faith influence their public policy, e.g. âIâm personally opposed to abortion, but I wonât enforce my faith on the pregnant woman who must be given the right to chooseâ, although the unborn baby has no âchoiceâ. However, atheists are very happy to let their own faith influence their public policy and enforce their views on people â we rarely hear: âIâm personally in favor of abortion, but I wonât enforce my view on the innocent unborn babyâ. [For a refutation of the related fallacy that âyou cannot/should not legislate moralityâ, see Dispelling false notions of the First Amendment: The Falsity, Futility, Folly Of Separating Morality From Law]
http://www.answersingenesis.org/news/Lerner_resp.asp