Sunday, May 24, 2009

What’s Your Highest Value – Truth or Being Right?

An interesting post at Uncommon Descent today (it can be seen here). The contest winner answers the question of "Why does Earth's unique situation for science discovery threaten many?" Writer Bruce David asks the interesting question, what is your highest value? There are "those whose highest value is truth, and (also) those for whom being right is more important than anything else." And so, my question to all of us is this – what's more important to you, truth or your being right?

Now you may think I am taking a shot at the atheists out there with this question. But I think it applies at least equally, and perhaps more so, to Christians out there as well. I know I have had (many) times in my life where I wanted to prove someone else wrong (I'm speaking to you Tom L. and Ed, and others), rather than leading us both into a better understanding of what is true. If truth be told, I began reading the Bible just for the purpose of showing my older brother Bill that he was wrong (and that I was right) with his understanding of Christianity. And I am guessing I am not the only one out there to have preferred being right over truth. And so, Mr. David's article raises an important question, why do we fight so hard to show that we are right, especially when the evidence is against us?

Here is the rest of Mr. David's article:

…Imagine that you have grown up into a smug atheist, secure in your beliefs, looking down your nose with benign condescension on those benighted souls who, being either ignorant, stupid, insane, or (dare I say it) wicked, persist in believing in that ancient superstition, the existence of a Creator. Now imagine that suddenly, without warning, science itself has begun to turn on you–cosmology has determined that the Universe had a beginning, the fundamental constants of physics and cosmology are turning out to have been incredibly fine tuned to support the existence of life, the stunning complexity and sophistication of the cell beggars any naturalistic explanation of its origin, and the neo-Darwinian synthesis is being called into question by unanswerable attacks on its explanatory power.

In such a situation, if you are one of those for whom being right is your highest value, one who has identified yourself as a member of the elite who know the obvious truth of things, all this evidence for the existence of a Creator will not just be a threat to your beliefs, it will be a threat to what you imagine is the very core of your being.

And now Guillermo Gonzalez adds fuel to this blaze by providing powerful evidence that the earth itself, the home of and support for human life, is in a highly improbable position perfect for the pursuit of scientific inquiry. Is it any wonder that this is a threat?

The great thing about Antony Flew is that his life has been devoted to a genuine search for truth, and he has always respected those with whom he disagreed. Thus, he had no emotional stake in the outcome of his inquiries, and when the evidence became overwhelming for the existence of a Creator, he happily changed his mind. He is one of my heroes.

I hope this article has caused you to pause for a moment and think about the importance of truth in your life. And so my take away is that we should all embrace truth wherever it is found. Yes, sometimes there can be misreporting of evidence, and untrustworthy sources to be careful of, but I think most of us now what is true when we see it. And how we handle truth when it challenges our long-held beliefs is a good measure of a person's character. Therefore, let us go seek that which is true. Thanks.

Monday, May 18, 2009

More Americans for the First Time Are Pro-Life

Hi y'all,


 

An interesting new Gallup Poll (here) shows that for the first time Americans now identify themselves as Pro-Life rather than calling themselves Pro-Choice. A new Gallup Poll, conducted May 7-10, finds 51% of Americans calling themselves "pro-life" on the issue of abortion and 42% "pro-choice." This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question in 1995…


 

Americans' recent shift toward the pro-life position is confirmed in two other surveys. The same three abortion questions asked on the Gallup Values and Beliefs survey were included in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from May 12-13, with nearly identical results, including a 50% to 43% pro-life versus pro-choice split on the self-identification question.


 

I don't know why this would happen, but it looks like a good change. Just in time for our next Supreme Court Justice to be nominated. May God bless your week. /s/Tom