Science and God

I've never been one for this Science vs. God thing.

I much prefer the science is the" how?", and God is the "why?"

Stephen Hawking's book, his first one, (that I also haven't yet finished!), "A Brief History of Time" has a foreword written by Carl Sagan, which implies that Stephen's work and the predictions that arise thus, leave little for a God to do.

As I grow ever weary of organised religions, I find that they have no place in either my values, morals and ethical system. Perhaps it's better to say that my ethical system seems to flourish without a God. However, I do dismiss the cliched "religions are the cause of all wars". I find people are much more of a help to global disintegration than religions.

Why is it that whenever you read the Bible, or the Koran, they do start off with the idea of a perfect world, God and then we enter the picture, and from thereon in, it all goes pear-shaped?

We can all point to things in the Bible that appear to justify our values, or, even our bigotry.

Anti-homosexuality, and transgenderedness, is dealt with in Deuteronomy 22:5

"The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man,

neither shall a man put on a woman's garment:

for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God."

And yet, we're told as Christians, we do not follow the Old Testament? Even if we were required to follow this tract, "abomination " is pretty strong stuff from a God that loves us like a father. If parents loved us as conditionally as this, they would be viewed as pretty lame parents.

When parents find their son or daughter is gay, or they find that their son or daughter needs to change from their born gender, they try to overcome their shock, they usually fend off attacks from people with negative views about their child and in the end, hopefully, they arrive at a place where they can find the love in their hearts again.

It really does seem that God, thus described, really does believe that there is little for a creator to do. Perhaps what is meant by this, is that God would not be involved in our day to day lives. He would love us from a distance, the way a mother or father would, when their child is away at university? Like a parent, God will have done the work earlier. It is up to us kids to use what our parents taught us. More about us being wise, loving, peaceable and stable in an unstable world?

Parenting still goes on. But the work you did early, still counts for most of how the kids turn out. You can't make hasty revisions when they are 14. It's too late.

It is a fact that the Earth is 4.3 billion years old, (there is astounding forensic evidence to suggest that it is indeed that old), and not 6,000 years old, after all. We came about, through a bewildering chain of events where whole species were wiped off the face of the Earth. Had this not happened, it is likely, we would be astoundingly a different species ourselves. If we were to exist at all?

The Solar System, according to our best knowledge at the moment, perhaps evolved the way it did partly because there was a succession of planetary collisions. Hundreds of different planets, radically different in size, existed in the early dawn of our Solar System. We Earthlings nearly did not get here, but even more amazingly, also the very planet Earth itself nearly didn't get here!

The planet Uranus orbits the Sun lying on its back. This was almost certainly due to another planet, (possibly an Earth-sized planet), smashing into Uranus and causing its North pole to point slightly downwards while slightly tipping up its South pole.

The evolution of the universe, from where time, space and matter began, would appear to be not the territory of a Creator after all. Perhaps, a Creator's job was completed just the moment the universe exploded into being? And not governed, after all, where Brian likes to dress as Brianna; or where Gary hasn't got Diana as his lover, but Steve instead?

Perhaps that's why a Creator has little to do? It was already done before?

Radio and writing

Quite a lot going on at the moment. A few months ago, I joined Gateway FM, which is a community radio station in Basildon, Essex. I'm learning how to "drive the desk", which is a strange feeling, after having become so familiar with the desk at Hospital Radio Chelmsford for the past 4 years.

Gateway FM, is a fairly new station. It is not on FM at the moment, as there is a licence application going through for a full time licence. There is to be another RSL (a 28 day broadcast) on FM, which is expected to be the station's final RSL. The station broadcasts over the internet. I did have a go on the air and it was a strange feeling to know that it's possible that I could be heard anywhere in the world.

I can't wait to get hold of a recorder and do some interviews. Making radio programmes where the people of Basildon are the stars is very exciting.

The other thing I am doing is writing two Doctor Who stories. I have no idea whether they'll ever be published. The prime motivation for me is to have two good Doctor Who stories, good stories, that have been written by me. Although, just in case, I am writing them to an existing publisher's format!

Wouldn't it be great if I could progress further in both these ventures and become a writer and a broadcaster!

Coming Home

I've been talking about Obama for months and months. And yet, I missed seeing live, the most exciting and truly symbolic Presidential inauguration for many years.

All my life, I've always believed that America is really a great country. However, it seems almost always, America's critics seemed to have been proved annoyingly right. Nationalistic, isolationist, a belief that it ought to single-handedly police the world fuelled by its unhealthy phobia of communism. America seems have been much more willing to prove that it is right, through its military might, rather than the strength of its belief in those iconic statements of what it stands for. "The Constitution".

Britain has an "unwritten constitution". Some would say that's very wise. After all, we can always say, "ah well, we never really said that" when we find ourselves in one of those moral quandaries where we feel that we're required to uphold something, when clearly its bananas, after all.

Perhaps "the right to bear arms", may well have made sense during those pioneering days of the USA. There was a justice system, but that was not accessible to all. People felt, that they couldn't ensure that their freedom and safety. In the 2000's, the right to bear arms is obselete.

The original reason for it has gone. Indeed, almost gone even in the 1880's. American towns and cities were becoming much more law-enforced. Incredible progress was made, although that was overshadowed by what people believed to be wrong with the USA, rather than reality. The stuff of the "Westerns" would probably have seemed unreal to many people, who were actually lived through those times.

Racial prejudice was rife in those days. People, even very "respectable" people simply were unable to believe that they could have, black sheriffs, black judges or black Senators and Congressmen. Not just white people, but black people themselves, couldn't counter any white originated arguments that would put the case about their true equality.

I heard someone observe today, that sixty years ago, almost any USA restaurant would have refused to serve Obama's own father. And now, his son is President of the United States of America. It clearly points the way to how the USA has and is, truly evolving.

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness " never was, and is certainly not now, merely the right of some Fundamentalist religious right, corpulent, white conservative. It truly means, at last, it is indeed, an inalienable right for all Americans.

The British are extremely pleased with the Obama victory, not merely because it represents some narrow based political victory, but because they feel when one nation truly heals, especially a strong, rich one like America, it also brings about much more hope for the whole world. Leading by example. It can't be long before we have our first black Prime Minister and that will be good for Britain on so many levels, not just for black people, but for people of all kinds of races and creeds. America's authority abroad is going to be greatly increased, and that implies that they will be much more sucessful agent in realising world peace.

As I see the deluge of images flowing from Washington DC, I see true patriotism flow from those steps where Abraham Lincoln's statue sits, one hopes, seeing something on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, worthy of what he strove to achieve himself. He will be be so pleased as, he will see a new black President of the United States. A truly free America, united, after being so divided for so long.

Welcome home, America.

Stars in my eyes

I've seen this all before.


A recession is something that you just shouldn't panic about. Using the wisdom you were born with, and some you've gained along the way, you ensure that you adapt to the recession. After all, my mortgage is the same. The Diesel I put in my car is a lot cheaper than a year ago! I am still going to work, doing a job that is needed. (I was clever, or lucky, enough to go into something that is much more likely to remain needed).


So, just before the recession became "official" - I bought myself a telescope and hopefully, when I get a clear night, (that'll teach me to live in England!), I will be able to gaze at the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, a mere 2 million light years away and a whole host of other cosmic goodies.




The beauty of the cosmos, and perhaps its relative immortality, up there, compared to us guys, with our 3 or 4 score years down here, really does teach us that all of our narrow-minded, parochial stuff here, really doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

Picture credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage

(STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration
The European Homepage for the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope

http://www.spacetelescope.org/index.html

My conclusion? Just look at a picture of the Orion Nebula, that is a perspective!

Does Labour deserve to win?

Damn right it does!

First, the economy. The Stock Exchange stopped going down yesterday and actually went up. That couldn't have happened if the banks were still in free-fall. I find that this month isn't markedly different from around 4 months ago, when this crisis first appeared in the news. Actually, tomorrow, when I fill my car with diesel, it will cost me less than it did 4 months ago. My mortgage is the same now as it was then. My other bills haven't gone up. Food did go up, but is now on the way back down. World leaders have complimented Gordon Brown's bold handling of this crisis. People here in the UK are slowly catching on to that, judging by the Opinion polls, finally favouring Gordon's handling of the economy.

Employment. Correct me, if I'm wrong, but didn't the Tories have much higher unemployment than we do now? Double now? Many more people were benefit-trapped. We are a much more service-based economy than we used to be, so we have no more, or little more, manufacturing base to lose. Labour introduced Sure Start, the Minimum Wage, Childcare and after school clubs, which has enabled many, particularly single parents to re-enter the job market.

Education. Schools were dire when I was at school in the 1960's. Schools didn't even try to move around 75% of their students forward to college, grammar schools or university. During the first year in the newly elected 1964 Labour government, one teacher told us that Labour was spending £25 million on education. £25 million was a huge amount back then.

Law 'n Order. Finally, Labour has been proving that this topic is no longer exclusive Tory turf. It never has been, in fact. But for some reason, people's perception is that Tories are tough on crime. Probably because the right of the party succeed from time to time in attempting to return the Death Penalty. They always fail and they always will.

Crimes get reported now much more than they ever did before. There's always been murders, robberies and fraudsters. There's always been crooks and paedophiles. There's always been knife crimes, bombings and shootings.

The irony is, that the authorities are more successful than ever, in both catching and punishing criminals, although this is overshadowed by so much more information about how violent a place any nation can be.

Of course, it is always right to campaign, and do whatever we can to rid the streets of murderers, rapists, paedophiles and thieves. Education is key here. Crime is a weed that's fertilised by people who are excluded. Criminals prey on their need for money, drugs and drink, and even sex. The weeds take over the garden. The best way to make sure you don't have weeds is to have a tidy garden in the first place.

Labour has probably only achieved a small part of what people, and good, loyal Labour people, believe it should achieve. World class schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and also decent affordable homes for people who would like to improve their lives and for those who simply can't.

The Tories believe in an Excel spreadsheet where only companies and shareholders matter. Everyone else is rewarded as an afterthought. Without the "afterthoughts", there would be no companies to have shares.

What Gordon Brown's been trying to do, is to help our country and also the world to avoid a terrible depression. If people refuse to co-operate and try to make political capital out of this situation, then that's all they'll end up with. Political capital. Even America, that proud bastion of Western capitalism, is wising up that their government and opposition alike, will need to unite to see us through this. If the majority of people refuse to co-operate over here, then we're all really going to head for all time economic nose-dive - and we'll have deserved it, if we're that daft!