Regular blogites who visit this site will know that I have been given a calendar with a joke a day. This was from a member of our church, and I am not sure if it is because they know I like jokes (I know they do) and wanted to bless me, or because they think my jokes need improving (I know others do).
Today’s offering tickled me:
God was talking to an angel, “I’ve just created this spinning earth, which revolves around that sun thing I made and is orbited by a moon. This creates an alternating pattern of day and light over a 24 hour period.”
“Wow!” said the angel, impressed. “What are you going to do next?”
“Oh, I think I’ll call it a day.”
I like it because of the word play. And I like it because it suggests that God knowingly created the orbits, the heavenly bodies and the timing. How did he know it would take exactly 24 hours for the earth to spin around once as it orbited the sun?**
I am reading a lot of books at the moment about the alleged conflict between science and religion. And it saddens me that flat earthers on both sides of the argument are still wanting to excommunicate those who insist on a scientific explanation for our Universe or discredit those who believe in a divine Designer. In many ways it is a non-argument. The first three chapters of Genesis are more about who and why than how and when. Cosmology and Biology are more about what and when than who and why.
It seems that it is when people think they know better than others that they claim more for their knowledge than it can contain. If someone wants to claim that they do not believe in God and have a naturalistic explanation for the formation of our world and the diverse life forms upon it then, while I may disagree with them (I do) that does not mean that I should think that they are therefore completely wrong about everything. While I believe in a benevolent Creator who shapes this Universe, is involved and wants to know us personally (I do) that does not mean I know all there is to know about the formation of the Universe and how God did it and cannot learn from others, even those who don’t believe in God. A little mutual respect goes a long way.
Jesus said that if someone demands your coat from you, give them your jumper as well (loose paraphrase). He is expecting a servant attitude from his followers. But that does not mean that we should not point out that the coat (and jumper) recipient should not be told that they are being unfair, nor that perhaps their perceived need of the coat (and jumper) is actually symptomatic of a more deep-seated problem within their life (poverty, bullying, inability to dress appropriately for the weather conditions…) with which we could help if they would like. How might that be applied to our interaction with people who disagree with us?
*an attempt to transcribe the opening bars of Also sprach Zarathustra from 2001 A Space Odyssey
**irony alert, since irony does not easily appear in plain text
nukelearfishing 
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