Just The Wei I Am

Kansas education board downplays evolution

Disclaimer: I'm no expert on the big debate between Creationism (note: not synonymous with Intelligent Design) and Evolution.

But IMHO, the whole debate is based on a false dichotomy, that goes something along the line of "if a higher power created the world, we couldn't have evolved. if we evolved, we must have been born out of the void, and couldn't have involved a higher power." The debate seems to rule out a lot of middle ground that is not explored. There's a link at the bottom of this post about avoiding conflict between science and faith.

And the debate also seem to make people stubborn and close-minded. I might be wrong (am I?) but Darwinism rest upons a flimsy body of evidence, yet there are those who treat it as Truth with a capital T.

"This is a sad day. We're becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that," said board member Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat.

Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, said the decision would encourage school districts in Kansas and elsewhere to make similar moves, distracting and confusing teachers and students.

"It will be marketed by the religious right ... as a huge victory for their side," she said. "We can expect more efforts to get creationism in."

Quotes from the above article. The Kansas Board of Education has voted 6-4 in favor of rewriting the science curriculum along the lines of Intelligent Design rather than tradition Evolution. Intelligent Design (as opposed to Creationism) merely holds that "the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power." There are those who claim that this is simply Creationism in disguise.

Let's look at the three quoted comments of opponents. The first is afraid of becoming a 'laughing stock' because assumably the rest of the world largely subscribes to Evolution, and now they are the odd kid. It seems like vanity where conformity and popularity is what's important. The second is concerned about the curriculum switch becoming distracting and confusing for teachers and students. Perhaps it might be, but then if we discover (or decide in a vote) that the status quo is inadequate, should we not make the effort to change? This concern might be overly pragmatic? The last one just seems like a lot of jealousy.

Yes, I might have been somewhat subjective on this post, but I write from my perspective as a Christian. And not a Creationist. I see the world through what I know about my God, I don't see it through the notes of a debate team. If you are a Evolutionist reading this, well, don't be pissed because of my perspective! Instead I urge you to go explore the body of evidence, and not be blindly staunch.

Here's another article about another American school board getting ousted after they had previously voted for Intelligent Design.

Interesting article where a Catholic cardinal explains that science and faith have no conflict when scientific enquiry is within its limits.

Talking about Science, it sometimes irks when I realise that there are many people who talk about it like it is Truth. It's not surprising, and they can hardly be blamed, when you consider that science is taught in a prescriptive manner in education at every level prior to university. (Everybody knows Newtonian mechanics, but did you know that as a theory, it breaks down in extreme cases? It's not foolproof, but I suppose most people think it is.)

At least in university, some might have the opportunity to attend courses on Scientific Method, Philosophy of Science, etc. Yet the Science-is-above-all mentality is so ingrained that I think some still don't get it after studying such subjects. Wikipedia has an article about Science. Go read it to find out what Science is, and more importantly, realise what it is not.

Ultimately I believe there can't be a conflict between science and faith simply because they belong to different domains. I can compare apples and oranges, but I can't compare mangoes and motorcars. In simple terms, Science is the system which we use to discover more about our physical world and Faith is often a belief in that which is beyond the physical. Seen in this light, I might even venture to say that since faith encompasses both the physical and the not, while science is only about the physical, it must follow that science is a smaller domain within faith. Bitter pill to swallow for some, I suppose, but I believe I wrote sensibly.

"This will go down in church history as the prayer meeting with the blackout. And you can say you were there!" -Ps Jeff

Church prayer meeting tonight (fri) at Touch Coummunity Theatre in Bukit Merah. Going there was so exciting, especially when I reached Red Hill and found the bus-stop full of people from church, from various groups - the youth, the young adults, the Indonesians. Yup, besides Church Camp, this must be one of those rare times the entire church gathers in the same place at the same time. That's why we couldn't go to Nexus, I suppose.

We were having a great time worshipping God together, when suddenly Pzzzt! the lights, the music, the projector, everything! went off.... everything, except the cordless mics.

Not surprisingly, everyone went on singing and worshipping and praying, unfazed by the blackout. This happened when I was in Hope Miri, Sarawak, and they went on singing too. Such are the people of God - it was never about the music. The music is part of the worship, just like the people's voices. The drummer stood up to sing.

Somehow, the cordless mics survived the blackout, and Ps Jeff, Christie and Michael could continue to lead us in praying specifically. I suppose if there were no mics and nobody could lead, we would have just carried on worshipping and praying anyway, but God is the Lord of the blackout. Later Christie told everyone that in their pre-prayer meet prayer meet, God had told her the Holy Spirit would interrupt our prayer meet. And so He did - He gave us an unforgetable experience that touched many.. and He left just enough mics on for the leaders to lead.

God is so cool!

I just caught the latest Tony Jaa blockbuster on the big screen!

I'm not too much of a film nut, so I shall refrain from trying to write a proper review. Let me just say that it was an enjoyable movie for most parts, and quite worth watching in the cinema. For those who haven't already heard of him (I'll admit that I only did recently), Tony Jaa is a Thai action star somewhat in the tradition of Jacky Chan - his martial arts is for real, and he does his own stunts. In fact, I spotted a few Jacky Chan references and perhaps tributes in Tom Yum Goong. In an early scene, Tony climbs over a high fence easily, leaving his pursuers comically stranded on the other side. In the warehouse fight scene, he weaves in and out of small spaces like car windows. In the restaurant fight scene, he kicks a sofa to trip a baddie - that was from the Rush Hour massage parlour scene! Oh, and of course, the leap-off-the-building-after-the-helicopter scene that is classic Jacky Chan.

So much Jacky that the producers of Tom Yum Goong also followed his formula of basing his movies overseas. Tony Jaa ends up in Sydney, where 80% of this movie is filmed. Personally, I found this a pity - the movie starts in the rustic Thai countryside and the featured glimpses of Thai culture like the Songkran water festival were charming. The Thai backdrop could have been more sufficiently explored for its potential even for an action movie, evident in the unique river chase scene. But no, they had to go to Australia, and the movie nearly turns into another Hollywood action flick. It's really rescued only by some rather interesting characters like Police Sergeant Mark - I'm quite positive this supporting role is one that somehow makes a huge difference to the movie.

Most of the fight scenes are showcases of Tony Jaa's Thai martial arts, and while quite the eye-opener, the novelty wears off when he literally fights hundreds of enemies. The first few times, it was "What a cool move!", after that, I just cringed at the incessant bone-shattering. Curiously, it's like those old-school computer games where the hero effortlessly fights off hordes of irritating small fries, before meeting the "level king". In Tom Yum Goong, Tony Jaa is placed in a David-Goliath situation with some wrestler dude (Nathan Jones) and his equally humongous pals, but triumphs in David's fashion. Yes, but I must still reiterate my complaint about the excessive amount of bone-breaking! *cringe* The fight scenes certainly lack the elegance of Jacky Chan ones, but they make up for that with some innovations like the four-minute uncut fight sequence that is truly outstanding!

4/5 stars. Haha.. and I said I won't write a review. Oh well...