To the editor:
This is written in response to Lynnie Sedgwick’s letter of Sept. 15 titled “God did not want humans to be his puppets,” which she wrote in response to my letter of Aug. 18.
It is abundantly clear that there is nothing I could say which would cause Ms. Sedgwick to change her mind regarding “intelligent design.” Instead, I write one last time for those who have not yet made up their mind on this issue.
Ms. Sedgwick believes in creationism because that is the story offered in the Bible and the Bible is to her an unimpeachable source on how the world works. She wrote, “The Bible … is an historic book that has survived the ages, not only because it is God’s Word, but because learned individuals recognize its accuracy and the scope of knowledge it contains … ”
Regarding her claim about the Bible’s accuracy and the “scope of knowledge it contains,” I suggest the reader consider for a moment that she is talking here about a book with a cast of characters which includes witches, wizards, sorcerers, ghosts, giants, spirits, demons, dragons (34 mentions!), satyrs, and unicorns (nine mentions), with a talking snake, a magical fruit tree, 900-year-old men, and a talking jackass thrown in for good measure.
In any other book such things would be taken as sure markers for myth and legend. Should the Bible be judged any differently? Why? How can we be sure the authors were competent to discern the difference between fact and fiction? Recall that these were men who didn’t know where the sun went at night, and believed that one day the stars would all fall to the earth (Mark 13:25).
Does it really make sense to throw several hundred years of scientific discovery into the dustbin? Would you consult a 2,000-year-old medical book to learn how to treat a cancer? You decide.
Galen Rose
Damariscotta
