Evolution - It's not a belief

Some sort of religious conference for kids was taking place on our campus, something about how to be a good Lutheran as best could be determined based on t-shirt logos. While grabbing a bite of lunch in the student center some of the adult conference attenders asked if the Phactor was a faculty member? Yes. What does the Phactor teach? Economic botany, evolution of plants, and plant identification. Oh. We don't believe in evolution. Then the Phactor recommends that if your children wish to attend college they find a nice little religious school with a curriculum straight from the middle ages. But actually you need to know that the Phactor does not believe in evolution either. You see, belief is an act of faith, and evolution isn't a matter of faith. It exists, the evidence abounds, we use evolution to do science, to understand plants, animals, and yes, even disease organisms, and in that regard there is no alternative at all. So once you know something, instead of engaging in willful ignorance, which is the denial of something you know nothing about, you need not take evolution on faith, and when an expert tells you something, you might consider for a few moments that they just might know what they are talking about. Have a nice day ladies.

Manuscript deadline - out of time or end of time?

Enjoying a cup of coffee on a quiet Saturday morning, but the Phactor is worried about a manuscript deadline upcoming, fast. And then an NPR story tells me that rather than being a deadline, it's actually going to be the end of time. So why bother? The true believers are quiting their jobs, spending their money, in anticipation of the best (rapture) or the worst (left behind). It's very hard to take such thinking seriously, and you could feel sorry for these people on May 22nd, but excuses will be made, rationalizations, so that their faith may be preserved undented by the failure of their predictions. End of time predictors have a perfect track record of failure so far, and that doesn't seem to affect the expectations of followers. How sad to have such a life sapping faith. But come Monday, the manuscript will proceed, and perennials have been planted. Such is the strength of my faith.