Monday, April 10, 2023

"Billyuns and Billyuns..."

Writing on his Substack “Friendly Atheist,” Hemant Mehta proclaimed “the joy of seeing a NASA official swear her oath on Carl Sagan’s ‘Pale Blue Dot.’” He noted that NASA’s press release didn’t note Lystrup’s choice of books, but it was visible in a photo that accompanied it. 
“It’s a little tough to see, but if you zoom in, that’s no Bible,” Mehta wrote. “That’s a copy of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot." 
.... 
Added Mehta: “It’s the antithesis of the Bible, really, because it suggests we’re not the center of the universe. It's all about how there’s so much we don’t know, so much to explore, and why we shouldn’t take for granted how lucky we are to have the opportunity to answer questions that perplexed our ancestors. It’s motivation for all the work done at the GSFC.”
A) I have no problem with the book not being a Bible. Indeed, the symbolism of using a book for a swearing in ceremony is the last gasping elevation of ritual-which-has-lost-its-meaning over substance (or reason!) I can think of. Who needs a book at all? Raise your hand (right or left is equally irrelevant), repeat the words, it’s as effective as using three Bibles.

B) But Carl Sagan? Carl “Billyuns and billyuns” “Demon-Haunted World” Sagan? The worst peddler of pop sci in the 20th century? Do better. Please. I’m begging you. 🙏 

C) That last paragraph. Bad enough you praised Sagan (I skipped that paragraph in my quote). Personal opinion, I understand; we all make mistakes. But it's "the antithesis of the Bible" to suggest "we're not the center of the universe"? That concept is almost anti-Biblical (yes, it’s historically accurate for Xianity, but that just affirms my point), actually.  The witness of the scriptures is that humanity is a part of the cosmos, not the reason for it. Why are atheists always so publicly stupid? I’m embarrassed for them.

D) and no, a theology of Christ as redeemer of the cosmos does not put the earth at the center of creation.  It acknowledges earth as the home of humanity, and connects humanity to the cosmos.
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1 comment:

  1. The Thought Criminal10:04 AM

    If I were younger I'd go over to Hemant's hate site and ask some questions about atheists taking oaths and just what was the force that made it more than empty words. Oaths certainly imply some kind of superior power that gives the oath some kind of significance.

    All this oath taking is silly. It's not as if it has any demonstrable effect on the uprightness of those who take them. If a single Republican-fascist holding high office in the federal government who has taken such an oath has been faithful to it I'd be shocked.

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