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Evan S. Kurtz
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 July 2022
Location: Canada
Posts: 247
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 2:26pm | IP Logged | 1
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I grew up in a pentecostal household, which gives you an impression about my childhood if you know anything about pentecostalism. It's a testament to my mom that only one of her four kids grew up to be pentecostals. When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the Noah's Ark stuff, used to watch documentaries searching for it, etc. etc.
I mean, I also was obsessed with Ancient Mysteries, and like the Time Life books that were mass printed in the 70's and 80's, whether it be books about Atlantis, or crystal skulls, or the Bermuda Triangle, or whatever else. Again, in praise of my mom, she never looked down on my seeking answers, and because I did it earnestly, I obviously came to rational conclusions about all the things I just mentioned.
Some people just want answers and will settle on whatever feels safest. I want better questions.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 2:33pm | IP Logged | 2
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As someone said, science asks questions, religion gives answers. Trouble is, once we think we know the answers, we stop asking questions.
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Shaun Barry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 08 December 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 7161
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 3:58pm | IP Logged | 3
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As I've tried to explain to my kids:
People say they "believe" in things. What they should be saying is that they want to believe.
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Bill Collins
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 26 May 2005
Location: England
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 4:47pm | IP Logged | 4
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Trevor, i wrote a full story at school explaining aspects
of the The Bible as a Sci-Fi tale. The star the wise men
followed was a spaceship in orbit, angels were astronauts
with jet packs to allow them to fly, their halo's were
illuminated helmets. A lot of the "miracles" could be
explained as technology more advanced than ours. Was Jesus
really dead after the crucifiction, or placed in an induced
coma to heal?
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 5:25pm | IP Logged | 5
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Do angels have wings and halos in the Bible?
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Evan S. Kurtz
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 July 2022
Location: Canada
Posts: 247
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 5:49pm | IP Logged | 6
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I'm pretty sure accurately depicted angels from the Bible would look from our perspective like nightmares - which would at least explain why they always start out with "Be not afraid" when visiting one of us mere mortals.
Edited by Evan S. Kurtz on 13 March 2026 at 5:50pm
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Evan S. Kurtz
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 July 2022
Location: Canada
Posts: 247
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 5:56pm | IP Logged | 7
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JB: Trouble is, once we think we know the answers, we stop asking questions.
Kind of summarizes the problem with our discourse in a nutshell. People really don't like being shown that they're wrong about something. I tell people - and, especially, my students and my son - that being wrong is the best. Being wrong means we just learned something. If we're never wrong, the unspoken statement is that we never learn.
Edited by Evan S. Kurtz on 13 March 2026 at 7:17pm
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Richard Stevens
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1984
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 6:05pm | IP Logged | 8
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Clearly, Noah was Chief O'Brien and he saved all the animals by storing them in the Ark's transporter buffer until the flood waters subsided.
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Brian Rhodes
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 3405
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 6:08pm | IP Logged | 9
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When driving thru the Midwest a few years back, across the street from a hotel we stayed in (just as a rest point between two destinations) was a building that had a life-size T-rex head popping out of its wall.
So, my wife and I were curious, and walked over and checked it out. It was the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum, the "Largest Dinosaur & Fossil Museum in the Context of Biblical History."
What does THAT mean?
It was in Montana, so it's difficult to deny the existence of dinosaurs, as the state is lousy with fossils. So, the crux of the entire thing is that Noah took dinosaurs on the Ark, but they didn't make it. A large, two-story building entirely dedicated to this notion.
There was all kinds of evidence presented to bolster the supposition, including 'more accurate' carbon dating results that place the creatures as merely thousands of years old.
I've rarely seen so much science (however skewed) used to argue for something so definitively not science-y.
Edited by Brian Rhodes on 13 March 2026 at 6:19pm
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 6:09pm | IP Logged | 10
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I tell people - and, especially, my students and my son - that being wrong is the best. Being wrong means we just learned something. If we're never wrong, it the unspoken statement is that we never learn.••• Three most important words in science: I was wrong.
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Shaun Barry
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Location: United States
Posts: 7161
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 6:40pm | IP Logged | 11
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Ugh. I recall a Sunday school lesson (kind of forced upon me, when my late father was in his "born again Christian" phase) where another kid asked the teacher about "why dinosaurs weren't in the Bible."
I'll never forget his smug, arrogant, condescending response: "I think God put all those bones out there to test man's faith."
Even at my young age at the time (11 or 12?), I thought to myself, "Really??!" Didn't pass the smell test for me, even then.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
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| Posted: 13 March 2026 at 7:13pm | IP Logged | 12
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I'll never forget his smug, arrogant, condescending response: "I think God put all those bones out there to test man's faith."••• My best bud in high school believed this, tho he substituted the Devil for God. The fossils and bones were there to trick us, not to test us. It used to amazing me that he stated this claim so matter-of-factly.
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