Posted by giveawayboy on August 26, 2002 at 08:53:50:
In Reply to: Re: they found it off the coast of new zealand.... posted by john on August 26, 2002 at 07:04:40:
First let me say that I believe in a BEING who CREATED all things.
Next, let me state that I AM NOT A SCIENTIFIC CREATIONIST.
Finally, let me introduce you to the NEW ZEALAND MONSTER:
***************************************
The thing I found most interesting about the article was that western scientists for the most part flatly rejected the idea without investigation. Then set about theories to back up their opinion. This is entirely against the spirit of science and discovery, and illustrates the "religiosity" that many western scientists confer to their discipline. What I'm saying is that it isn't as factual and demonstrable as people claim. It is a mythology and a religion much like the rest of the worldviews that come and go throughout history. Scientists are often the priests of this worldview, their mystify through empiricism, and their sacred texts are scientific papers. Of course this doesn't refer to ALL scientists, nor all scientific disciplines, I am one myself. But it does exist heavily in disciplines which require more assupmtion, like archaeology, quantum physics, etc. And by mythology I mean a way of viewing the world and communicating things that are otherwise uncommunicable.
I agree with you about this 'so called' science, which I usually refer to as 'scientism'. it actually militates against true science, which has an element of 'wonder' to it.
: To prove this to yourself, retell the generally accepted scientific theory of the creation of the universe and leading up to our time... Long Long ago the universe exsited in a single point, infinitely hot and infinitely dense. At one point the whole thing exploded and rocketed outward spinning matter and antimatter and space into existence. Some of this matter formed, and reformed, and congealed into stars and planets. One of these planets happened to be just the right conditions for electricity to generate long amino acid chains in the sea of nutrient rich water. Somehow these amino acids developed a will in the primordial soup and began to devour other chains. As they grew and amassed, chains began ever so slowly to specialize and work togehter until they became dependent... and then people stood upright to outrun the tiger.
: This is not very different than "in the beginning God..." or "Chaos spawned children which became the Titans..." or "mankind is descended from the earth and emerged from it when the sky was pushed up..."
: All of these stories are full of the best factual evidence available to those who created them and they explain things that are otherwise unexplainable and important to the worldview of a culture..
actually some of those stories are more reliable and true for being myths than for being scientifically accurate. Give me the Titans and Mother Earth over 'scientism' anyday.....at least myths still reverence and wonder at and hold sacred the creation of the world.
: Again I recommend the book "Ishmael" to everyone (although I don't agree with his interpretations of the Cain and Abel story)
: My point is that we don't know as much as we think we do, and even those who are supposed to be most open to new discoveries (scientists) refuse to even consider the possibility if it doesn't fit into their culturally defined worldview.