What do we need more of?

[ThinkForYourself]

Pure science, yes. Unfortunately science is often corrupted by scientists.

I think "often" would be a gross overstatement.

I would guess the percentage of dishonest scientists is close to the same as the percentage of dishonest Christians, which is probably close to the percentage of dishonest Muslims, which is ....

Any large group is going to have people like this. To expect or demand scientists to be different than other groups is unrealistic and unfair.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I think "often" would be a gross overstatement.

I would guess the percentage of dishonest scientists is close to the same as the percentage of dishonest Christians, which is probably close to the percentage of dishonest Muslims, which is ....

Any large group is going to have people like this. To expect or demand scientists to be different than other groups is unrealistic and unfair.

I think we are in general agreement on this although in many cases science must be held to a higher standard; medicine for example.

 

[stevenfrancis]

IMO, the bible should never be considered a go to source for morality.

Genocide, Slavery, Murder, etc., are all immoral imo.

Not to pick nits, but I said Christianity. Not the Bible. But putting that aside, the things you mention here are simply examples of immorality written of in the Bible. The Bible gives the whole story of the relationship between God and man. Human nature, warts and all. Christianity is the religion which emerged from the relationship between God and man as time unfolded. God entered human history as Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. All of faith and morality is in and of Jesus Christ. So yes..........Christianity is the go-to source for morality.

The bible, (compiled nearly 300 years after the institution of the Church by Jesus), which you misquoted me as referring to, is a compilation of our story. Our history from the dawn of man through the fulfillment of all prophecy in Christ. Our poetry. Our songs. Our literature. Our wisdom. It is a collection of diverse books, all inspired by God through the Holy Spirit, and originally circulated among Jewish and later Christian (both gentile and Jew) communities. The scrolls/books were read aloud in liturgical settings at synagogues and within communities, since there was no mass media, and people didn't own "bibles". There was not much literacy, even if Bibles had been available earlier on. As it was, it would more that 1,000 years before regular folks could have a Bible.

Detractors of Judaism, and it's result, Christianity point to some particularly harsh times and codes in the early development of the covenants and relationship between the creator and His creatures as if Levitical law was all that is contained in this most important treasury of God inspired thought ever compiled. It is an enormous work spanning 6,000 or more years by many authors under the inspiration of God Himself, and presented in nearly every form of literature in use between 6,000 BC and 100 AD.

Yes......man had a hard heart in the early days. Still does in many respects. Man fell so hard in the beginning that we were destroyed as a bad idea, save for one family found to be upright.

The difference now is that Christ has come. There is now a pathway to salvation. There is now an example of perfect love. God in the flesh of man who lived and died in perfect love, in order to conquer death itself out of love for us.

It is the good news.

And yes.............Jesus and His Church is the go-to source for truth, wisdom, morality, and most importantly...love.

 

[jayem]

Unfortunately science is often corrupted by scientists.

Like religion has been corrupted by churchmen.

“The authors of the gospels were unlettered and ignorant men and the teachings of Jesus have come to us mutilated, misstated and unintelligible”

--Thomas Jefferson

 

[GrowingSmaller]

A prescient sense of urgency with regards to planetary habitability.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Like religion has been corrupted by churchmen.

“The authors of the gospels were unlettered and ignorant men and the teachings of Jesus have come to us mutilated, misstated and unintelligible”

--Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's sympathies didn't lie with religion, especially Christianity.

 

[ThinkForYourself]

I think we are in general agreement on this although in many cases science must be held to a higher standard; medicine for example.

Scientists are held to the highest standards.

But that doesn't change the fact that there are going to be some dishonest people mixed in, just like any other group.

Because scientists are held to such standards, any fraud or dishonesty is reported by scientists as soon as it is discovered. ie Piltdown man.

I really wish the same could be said for some of the leadership in the Christian community. They allow blatant fraud to go on under their noses without saying anything. Peter Popoff comes to mind.

 

[jayem]

Jefferson's sympathies didn't lie with religion, especially Christianity.

TJ was religious in his own way. In his maturity, he appreciated Jesus's moral teachings, but he rejected the idea that Jesus was in any way divine, or a path to salvation in an afterlife. He believed that Jesus's supernatural trappings were created by the early church leaders as a way to gain followers and influence. Jefferson was not so much anti-Christian, as he was anti-doctrinal and anti-clerical.

Sorry for going off-topic.