Synopsis:
In God Behind the Movie Screen, Allen uses popular movies to bring science and religion together.
Allen uses the gratuitous ignorance in several motion pictures to demonstrate how little the public cares about science. As a result of this disinterest in science, Christians often give literal interpretations to biblical parables. Consider, for example, water and wine. Each fluid is made up of different kinds of atoms and the difference between those atoms is a tremendous amount of energy. As a result, to turn water into wine is the same as exploding a large hydrogen bomb. However, Christians don’t take the Bible literally when it says that unruly children should be stoned to death. The problem is scientific ignorance, not religion.
Scientists need not be atheists though. Scientific studies of obedience have shown that most people will commit evil acts, such as harming or even killing innocent people, if it pleases a human authority figure. It’s better to have a belief in a higher power that forbids such behavior.
If you’ve ever pondered the big questions, such as, “Where did we come from?” and “What does it all mean?” you’ll enjoy reading this book. Whether you are religious or interested in science, this book is for you.
Read an excerpt:
In the spring of 2014, the Associated Press published the results of a poll on American attitudes toward science. This poll found that most Americans doubt scientific discoveries if they concern subjects with which the public is unfamiliar, such as the creation of the universe. This is also the reason for an apparent conflict between science and Judeo-Christian faiths. The Bible reflects human knowledge as it existed thousands of years ago when the books of the Old and New Testaments were written. People understand this when it comes to familiar subjects. When the subject is familiar, people can distinguish between what the Bible intends to teach and the antiquated way in which it’s being taught. Here’s an example:
Lesson for Parents: Children should be well behaved and disciplined when they’re not.
Deuteronomy 21:18–21: An incorrigible child, who misbehaves and defies his parents, should be taken to the gates of the city and stoned to death.
Most Americans would agree with the above lesson for parents. Combined with love, it’s the essence of parenting. Experts tell us that without limit setting, children can become spoiled, antisocial, and anxious. But Americans don’t take Deuteronomy 21 literally. From time to time, for example, American mothers kill their children, or try to. These women usually plead not guilty by reason of insanity. They never invoke scripture to claim it was justifiable homicide because their children were unruly. Likewise, an armed man who lies in wait for the chance to murder some teenage thugs isn’t considered pious in America; rather, he risks being sentenced to a long prison term. Would he be found not guilty if he cited Deuteronomy 21 and said, “God made me do it”? Not a chance.
But Americans are at a loss when it comes to science. How many Americans realize that if Jesus had turned two lighter chemical elements into heavier ones as described in John 2, it would cast doubt on what makes the sun and stars shine? For the same reason, it would cast doubt on whether nuclear weapons can work, as explained in the next chapter.
The unpredictable government of North Korea knows that nuclear weapons work. So does the radical government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And the mullahs don’t seem deterred by the fact that nuclear weapons are a Jewish invention. Doubts about whether nuclear weapons can work could have devastating consequences for Western civilization. But how many Americans realize that a literal reading of John 2 raises such doubts?
Buy links
Allen D. Allen is the author of God Behind the Movie Screen, an eBook published in August 2014. He is a retired scientist with an extensive body of published articles in the peer-reviewed physics and medical journals. Allen’s science training came from the University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles. He has also worked as a film composer and has won several music awards. To learn more, go to http://www.godbehindthemoviescreen.com/ or connect with Allen Facebook on Twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment