Here is an article I came across and want to share. It includes comments by men I can appreciate for standing by their values. It is healthy for open discussions to happen surrounding religion and science. Of course, folk can enjoy religion without science, science without religion, and religion/science. The world is big enough for all belief systems.
Pat Robertson implores creationist Ken Ham to shut up: ‘Let’s not make a joke of ourselves’
By Scott Kaufman
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 12:19 EST
Pat Robertson responded to the recent debate between Young Earth creationist Ken Ham and Bill Nye, a.k.a. “The Science Guy,” by reiterating his disagreement with Ham’s form of creationism.
“Let’s face it,” Robertson said, “there was a Bishop [Ussher] who added up the dates listed in Genesis and he came up with the world had been around for 6,000 years.”
“There ain’t no way that’s possible,” he continued. “To say that it all came about in 6,000 years is just nonsense and I think it’s time we come off of that stuff and say this isn’t possible.”
“Let’s be real, let’s not make a joke of ourselves.”
“We’ve got to be realistic,” he concluded, and admit “that the dating of Bishop Ussher just doesn’t comport with anything that is found in science and you can’t just totally deny the geological formations that are out there.”
Last November, Robertson raised the ire of Young Earth Creationists when he made
similar statements. The hosts of “Creation Today,” Eric Hovind and Paul F. Taylor, attacked Robertson for claiming that dinosaurs could exist, because the world isn’t, in fact, only 6,000 years old.
“Pat Robertson is claiming, then, that 6,000 years comes from Ussher’s book and not the Bible,” Taylor said. “The point is, where did Ussher get his figure of 6,000 years?”
Amy Simpson asks some serious questions in her blog. My work in helping to improve the lives of people living with mental illness placed me in a position to know the answers to her questions. The BOTTOMLINE is: Faith communities can treat consumers like other congregants. And when consumers need a bit of help they can make that happen. " when you do for the less fortunate . . ."
"Spiritual experiences, promises of peace and joy, opportunities for community and for communion with God…these elements of church life are understandably attractive to many people with mental illness. Churches have a special responsibility to recognize this and respond intentionally.
- Do you make people with mental disorders feel unwelcome? ignore them and focus on the more attractive new people who walk through your doors, hoping they’ll go away and other churches will meet their needs?
- In sermons, Bible studies, and classes, do you send the false message that Christians should not expect trouble, pain, or sickness? that happy, comfortable, and “victorious” life is the norm?
- When was the last time mental illness was mentioned in a sermon, in a way that normalized it?
- Does your community expect people to have it all together when they walk through the doors?
- Do you expect people to be “cured” before finding a place to serve?
None of us will ever be whole this side of heaven—and many people with mental illness suffer from chronic and repetitive symptoms that can be managed but not technically cured. These conditions do not cancel God’s purposes for them. They do not disqualify people from a place in the body of Christ. Just as much as other ill or injured people, they deserve loving acceptance, clear and consistent boundaries, and grace."
Does your church inadvertently hurt people with mental illness? Guest blogger Amy Simpson
Posted on May 5, 2013 by drgrcevich
Editor’s note: Our Key Ministry staff and volunteer team is pleased to extend our congratulations to Amy Simpson upon her recognition as a winner of of one of Christianity Today’s 2014 Book Awards for Troubled Minds: Mental Health and the Church’s Mission.
