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Saturday, May 06, 2006
Creationism as Paganism
Belief in creationism is a form of paganism in that it conceives of a god that is responsible for natural events - this according the Vatican's official astronomer. Brother Consolmagno, who heads the Vatican's observatory, interviewed in the Scotsman said:
"Knowledge is dangerous, but so is ignorance. That's why science and religion need to talk to each other... Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism - it's turning God into a nature god."
The interview also touched on matters regarding the pope and his theological authority:
"...the idea of papal infallibility had been a "PR disaster". What it actually meant was that, on matters of faith, followers should accept "somebody has got to be the boss, the final authority". "It's not like he has a magic power, that God whispers the truth in his ear..."
It will certainly be interesting to see how "the final authority" feels on these matters.


2 Comments on "Creationism as Paganism"
These are fascinating quotes from Brother Consolmagno. Thanks for bringing this article to our attention.

I liked the "creationism is a form of paganism" frame - and given that it comes from the Vatican's official astronomer makes it all the more interesting.

I also liked his "Religion needs science to keep it close to reality" statement.

Papal infallibility...well, he is merely a human authority figure for some religious folks... devoid of any magical powers that would permit some supernatural entity to whisper "the truth" in his ear...

Anonymous Anonymous @ Wed May 17, 10:03:00 AM EDT  
Thank you for you comment.

Blogger Tano @ Mon Jan 01, 09:39:00 PM EST  
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