Originally posted on Facebook Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 12:51am, reposted here because it's somewhat relevant. While not a reflection on the course, it falls into the topic.
This note's been written and rewritten in my head the last few days, but it also falls into the "Should probably not discuss/post on facebook category". No, nothing of a perverse nature, just musing about my ambiguous religious stance. The three topics best avoided in conversation according to dad (and in no particular order) are religion, politics, and money. But I'm curious on your (the invisible web friends') opinion(s).
First, a bit of background. My dad was raised Methodist, but is nonpracticing at the moment (to my knowledge. Whenever I asked about what he believed in, he told me religion is a personal thing. Or at least, that's what I can remember.). Mom, born and raised in the South, undoubtedly attended a Southern Baptist church of some kind. Our family never went to church on a regular basis, but she'd take Alex and me to Vacation Bible School at Calvary Baptist during the summer until we grew out of it. In fourth grade, a friend of mine got me to start going to AWANA, and I did so for about two years. More about that later.
I've been a nerd for a long time, particularly when it comes to biological sciences. I remember going through interest phrases- for a time it was dinosaurs briefly shifted to Greek and Roman mythology, then turned to many-appendaged invertebrates (jellyfish and cephalopods). I preferred styracosaurus to triceratops because it had more spikes- probably not a normal thing for a first grader, but oh well. On a similar but unrelated note, I didn't know what the word booger meant until second grade, having used the word 'bae si' (for lack of better romanization) meaning roughly 'nose stuff' in Cantonese.
Now in AWANA, we'd periodically have speakers and such at the end. One that stands out in my memory was a woman who showed us an overhead of a Tyrannosaurus rex and talked about how dinosaurs lived in the Garden of Eden. When question time came, I raised my hand and asked, "But... can't scientific things like evolution be God's actions on Earth?" I don't recall the exact response, but it was in the negative. Uncomfortable, I kept quiet for the rest of the session. I didn't go back the next year, my main excuse being that I missed the signup date. But really, I found having to choose between science and religion disconcerting.
I do believe in God, admitting that no one is free from sin and believing that Jesus' sacrifice washed us clean. (I could toss 'confess' in, but that'd be trite). But at the same time, I see life mechanisms such as heredity, evolution, etc. as His methods- programs on the Holy Computer, if you will. I'll save my evolution soapbox for another post, but needless to say there's overwhelming evidence that this is how we reached such incredible diversity of life today.
I guess I fall into the category of theistic evolution. There's no "Church of Darwin" or whatever; it really irks me when in internet arguments people use the word "Darwinist". Hell, if you're going to describe me like that, call me a Wallacist. Or make the assumption that science and religion are incompatible (unless from a literal standpoint). Religion and science are two different windows on the same world.
So that's me. I don't have a 'home' church (if anything it'd be Southern Baptist, but I'm not sure if I can go back...), nor do I feel like going atheist (although I feel a bit heathenish with a lack of any major religious background). Mom said not long ago that she feels her biggest failure is not taking Alex and me to church on a regular basis. I think we turned out as ok people, but occasionally I feel like a religious hobo.
Meh. That's enough Teal Deer bellybutton inspecting. Do kick me in the virtual shins if you deem it necessary.
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