Dear Dr. _______,
I’m writing to call your attention to a grave error you made in your September 22, 2013, message on the subject of science and faith. Since I am sure you do not want to bear false witness against the fundamentalists whom you call your friends, I do hope you will take a closer look at the issues you have raised and refrain from disseminating false information about us.
You said, “… our fundamentalist friends who insist that so-called intelligent design be taught in the classrooms ... insist that science and faith cannot co-exist.” This is simply not true. On the contrary, fundamentalists say, quite correctly, that science supports the Bible rather than godless evolutionary theory.
Creation scientists have written hundreds of outstanding books on every imaginable aspect of this subject, and there are scores of web sites addressing these issues. If you don’t care to take the time to investigate this critical issue yourself – which of course speaks to the very authority of scripture –then I would ask you to simply stop making such false statements.
If, however, you would like to be in a position to speak the truth on this issue, here is a solid starter list of books for you to read: http://www.everlastingplace.com/library.html.
You might want to spend some time on the web sites of Answers in Genesis, the Institute for Creation Research and the Creation Research Society. All three of these organizations (as well as many others) count among their ranks highly credentialed Ph.D. scientists.
You might also want to take a look at resources such as these:
- A list of more than 2000 highly qualified scientists who have, at the risk of their careers, taken a public stand against Darwinian evolution
- Another list of nearly 3000 equally qualified, Darwin-doubting scientists
- Dr. Jerry Bergman’s remarkable book Slaughter of the Dissidents: The Shocking Truth about Killing the Careers of Darwin Doubters.
In your message, you also apparently claim to know the hearts of “the writers” of Genesis (please note that there was only one -- Moses). You said, “The writers of Genesis did not view science and religion as being in conflict. They wrote their poems of creation as works of art and theological reflection without concern for their scientific accuracy.”
But Genesis is not a poetic work or a theological reflection; compare it to the Psalms, and you will see the difference. Instead, Moses was faithfully recording history in a book inspired by the only One who was actually on the spot “in the beginning.”
You may not believe any of this; that is your privilege. However, you should know that, in standing with Richard Dawkins and his ilk against your fundamentalist “friends,” you are in essence advising listeners to reject the authority of scripture, which is in turn an invitation to pick and choose whatever they want to believe and obey. This is bad enough when you are speaking to adults; consider what Jesus Himself said about those who lead children into sin (Matthew 18:6).
Finally, I would like to remind you that it is spiritually and perhaps eternally dangerous to shrug off Jesus’ own endorsement of the Pentateuch. As He said, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.” (John 5:46)
It is my prayer that you will apply that fine mind of yours to seeking out the truth of scripture and of science, and to sharing that truth with others. But if that’s too much to ask, please at least refrain from misrepresenting what fundamentalists and creation scientists teach.
Sincerely,