[BBC]

Believers may be partly responsible for the decline in faith by losing sense of the mystery and treating God as a “fact in the world”, he said in a lecture.Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor called for more understanding and appreciation between believers and non-believers.

But the leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales said that Britain must not become “a God-free zone”. The cardinal’s lecture at Westminster Cathedral comes after a spate of public clashes over issues such as stem-cell research, gay adoption and faith schools.

God is not a “fact in the world” as though God could be treated as “one thing among other things to be empirically investigated” and affirmed or denied on the “basis of observation”, said Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor.

“If Christians really believed in the mystery of God, we would realise that proper talk about God is always difficult, always tentative.

“I want to encourage people of faith to regard those without faith with deep esteem because the hidden God is active in their lives as well as in the lives of those who believe.”

But Richard Dawkins, scientist, staunch atheist and author of books including The God Delusion, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the cardinal’s comments carried no weight.

Referring to God as an “imaginary friend”, Mr Dawkins said: “When talking to a politician you would demand proof for what they say, but suddenly when talking to a clergyman you don’t have to provide evidence.

“There’s absolutely no reason to take seriously someone who says, ‘I believe it because I believe it.’

Read about it here.

[From me]

I think the Cardinal makes an excellent point.  Degrading and calling people names isn’t going to change their mind.  Mr. Dawkins comes off as an arrogant know it all.  I wonder how many atheists and agnostics think the same of believers who have the same arrogance about their faith.  Respect, friendship, love and dialogue is important.  

What do you think?

[Ottawa Citizen]

Books denouncing religion as superstition have enjoyed lofty positions on bestseller lists recently. The authors, the so-called “new” atheists, would like us to believe that science and religion are mutually exclusive. This kind of aggressive atheism is itself a kind of fundamentalism, and fortunately some thoughtful scientists are objecting to it.  

Mr. Ayala’s approach conflicts with that of Richard Dawkins, also an eminent evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion. Mr. Dawkins has no kind words for traditional religion. He believes that raising children in a religious tradition amounts to child abuse. He accuses the winners of The Templeton Prize, awarded annually to people who seek to bridge the gap between religious and scientific thought, of being intellectually dishonest. No fan of humility, he has even encouraged non-believers to refer to themselves as “brights.”In his new book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, Francisco J. Ayala, an eminent evolutionary biologist, expresses his opinion that belief in evolution can coincide with belief in God. A former Dominican priest, Mr. Ayala claims that while science allows us to find “material explanations for material processes,” it cannot be used to prove or disprove God’s existence. Furthermore, the idea that only atheists can truly embrace evolution is bad for religion and science, he argues.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Child abuse?  Sounds like Mr. Dawkins has some issues that therapy could help him with.  No actually he needs a relationship with Jesus.

What do you think?

[World Net Daily]

A controversial new documentary, following in the footsteps of the popular, if heretical, “The Da Vinci Code,” asks the brazen question: “What if the greatest story ever told was a lie?” Coming to theaters later this month, “Bloodline” seeks to prove the conspiracy tale that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child whose bloodline continues today. Ben Hammott, an English adventurer, claims to have discovered in southwest France a remote tomb and relics from Jerusalem, dated back to the first century. The discovery provides the subject matter for this new film about what producers say is “the Church’s best kept secret.”

The findings include a pottery cup and an ointment vase that were reportedly used at the alleged marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.The British Museum and Gabriel Barkay of Bar Ilan University in Jerusalem have analyzed the items.

“It is possible that artifacts excavated by the Templars on Temple Mount would find a way to Europe,” said Barkay. “The finds in this chest are really intriguing and it is really something that inflames the imagination.”

The tomb contained a mummified corpse lying beneath a shroud with a red cross, the symbol of the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order. The documentary shows that a DNA test revealed that the corpse is of Middle Eastern origin.

According to the documentary, the tomb was discovered because of information found in a bundle of papers, hidden by a French priest at the end of the 19th century. The papers explained that he discovered the tomb and it led to him to break from his Catholic faith.

“The resurrection of Jesus was a trick, it was Mary Magdalene who took his body from his tomb,” the priest said. “Later, the body of Jesus was discovered by the Templars and then hidden three times. Not in Jerusalem. The Tomb is here. Parts of the body are safe.”

Read more here.

[From me]

Knights Templar?  This sounds more like a Disney movie with Nicolas Cage.  Where do they get this stuff?  

[Christian Post]

In Ben Stein’s recent box office splash and pro-intelligent design documentary, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” links between Darwinism and the genocidal policies of Adolf Hitler are probed and explored. That link, according to Coral Ridge Ministries, has been historically proven time and time again.In 2006, Coral Ridge Ministries, one of the largest Christian media ministries in the nation, produced its own documentary on the subject titled, “Darwin’s Deadly Legacy.”

Jerry Newcombe, co-producer of the film, said “Expelled” brought up a fresh examination of the facts – namely that Darwinism, and later, through its racially charged forms of social Darwinism advocating the extermination of “inferior” races, provided Hitler with the springs to launch the most horrific genocide known to man.

“The ideas of Charles Darwin helped fuel the Nazi killing machine, which took the lives of some 10-15 million people,” he said in a statement.

Read more here.

[From me]

Rebuttal, anyone, anyone?

Last night I attended Expelled with a couple of guys from our church.  We had a great time eating at Moes Grill and then going to the movie.

The premise of the movie is that scientists who believe in Intelligent Design are losing jobs & being denied tenure. Ben Stein was witty, funny, and brilliant in the movie. He interviewed both sides so those who argue it was slanted have their own agenda. It is obvious from this movie that those in charge of tenure in universities & the scientific community really don’t want freedom of expression when it comes to the origin of humans.

The best case for ID came from those trying to destroy it. Richard Dawkins was no match for Stein’s questions. The sad thing about this movie is that it was true. I highly recommend it & give it 4.9 out of 5 hockey sticks.

What do you think? anyone, anyone?