It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
 | What Is a Faith-Based Experiment? |
Right wing politicians play a difficult juggling game with religion and science, relying on both to justify their policies, but trying not to explicitly mention the two mutually-exclusive frames at the same time. Every now and then, however, they goof up, and bring the systems of religion and science together, resulting in rhetorical distaster.
An example of this was recently provided by Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback. While campaigning in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Brownback declared, “America is a faith-based experiment as a nation.”
What exactly is a faith-based experiment?
Faith is not a scientific concept. Faith is religious trust, given in spite of the lack of direct evidence that something is true.
An experiment is not a religious activity. An experiment is a rigorously defined set of procedures set up to determine a model of reality based upon direct evidence.
Faith is not only absent to experiments, it is antithetical to experimentation. The phrase “faith-based experiment” is an oxymoron.
According to standard Christian doctrine, God isn’t supposed to conduct experiments. For one thing, God is not supposed to need experiments to determine the truth. He’s omniscient, after all. For another thing, God is supposed to have a predetermined plan for the world. Otherwise, prophecy would be understood as completely unreliable.
When Sam Brownback stated that America is a “faith-based experiment”, he didn’t just demonstrate his ignorance of American history and law. Brownback also demonstrated a profound misunderstanding of both religion and science.
In 2008, we need to elect a President who understands the difference between science and religion, and doesn’t try to mix the two in the sloppy way that Sam Brownback and his right wing colleagues often do.
(Source: Fort Dodge Messenger, June 20, 2007)
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You linked to one faith based experiment a while back. A south african preacher took a boat out onto a lake, and conducted his own faith based experiment. He stepped out onto the surface of the water, and sank like a stone. Every year at Lourds, around 80,000 people conduct their own faith based experiments. In around 100 years of experiments, around 60 people have been healed. For the sake of the people of america, I hope that it is not, and never becomes a faith based experiment.
Comment by MadMike — 6/26/2007 @ 10:18 am