Cut The Body Loose!

It seems to me with growing frequency that much of what some people call religion is indistinguishable (in this life) with superstition.  Neither superstition nor religious belief is provable by measurement or statistics.

I think superstition whenever some belief only works if the believer “has faith”.  Nothing wrong with an informed and examined faith, but frankly some of the things many religions would have us believe on blind faith alone are really quite preposterous and unlikely.  Creationism in the strict seven days work done 6000 years ago variety of the religious far right seems to me to be such a superstition, certainly not a science at all.

Here we have come to Darwins’ 200th birthday this month, and don’t you know it but that Mr. Jindal’s solidarity with the religious right caused him not to veto the Science Education Act last year.  Now that act is causing loss of revenues in Louisiana and also impeding Science in Louisiana.  One national group of biological scientists, The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology,  has canceled their significant convention here, and other groups of scientists are speaking out as well on web sites and blogs.

Geez Louise, evolution has evidence to support its theory all around us.  It is a theory, but a well suppported scientific theory of the type science treats as true until or if later proven false.  A theory that has withstood years of research and questioning by the same biologists who cancelled their conference here in New Orleans.

Creationism or Intelligent Design has zero science involved, there is no growing body of evidence to support it.  In fact evidence says it cannot be as the Earth is more than 6000 years old for a start.  It points to the Bible for proof, which one must then first try to translate in the correct context and then also must believe on faith alone (blind faith I think) in the Bible as the inherrent word of God.  This is just as silly as the flat earth thing folks, although the flat earth theory had no big religious meaning behind it.

Now, if somebody wants to believe that God created everything in seven days is a metaphor for God or a Higher Power or Nature guiding evolution or setting it in motion, no problem.  To stand in the way of Science though, to harm Science and attempt to change its results to fit a superstition, those who do this should be ashamed of themselves.  Talk about sore losers.  But, you see, if Creationism isn’t “literal” about the seven days and the 6000 years ago, then all kinds of other things in the Bible likely aren’t literal either, it all falls more suspect and needs close inpection.

Mr. Jindal is an educated man and knows better, he should have vetoed the bill last year and needs to see it gets rescinded.

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Are you good?  More than simply checking for good behavior , being good has now come to include the status and condition of our life,.  Are our needs and perhaps some wants met?  Are we are hale and hearty?  Satisfied with our lot, and prepared for tomorrow and our future?  Then you are good.

So what about your investments?  You good?  Nearly every person I speak to says their net worth took a hit in 2008, usually by the falling housing market and the stock market 401K’s got hit too.  What will 2009 bring, other than the job losses we see in the first half at least?  Will our economy bottom and bounce a litte up again this year? Is it time to double down on our equity investments yet?  I mean, if you are going to buy low, then we must be getting to the time to buy soon with these record lows.

What about those job losses?  I guess a lot of folks will be forced into early retirement.  Some of these might actually afford to retire, others will want to work albeit perhaps less than full time or for less than previous pay at less demanding jobs.  One thing I experienced in Calgary in the early 90’s economic bust there was that enemployed people with bills to pay soon become very entrepreneurial as it is one of very few things you can do to survive or even thrive without a job.  Have you got a plan to retire, to scale back, or to get entrepreneurial if the ecomony doesn’t provide a traditional job?

Comments welcome, are you good?

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