Correcting Scientific Ignorance

It used to be true that the earth was flat. Then it was true that the earth was round. Now it’s true that the earth is rather egg-shaped and seems to be on the verge of being hard-boiled. As my grandmother used to say, “It’s amazing what the LORD has let us learn” and much of that knowledge involves scientific progress.

It’s also true that we seek scientific confirmation for what we already believe.

It used to be “true” that women would collapse and die if they tried to run 800 meters, much less a marathon. In 1928, the International Olympic Committee actually banned women from running more than 200 meters in competition. And so when Joan Benoit ran the women’s marathon in 2:24:52 in 1984, it was a relief to see her successfully win the Olympic Gold Medal without collapsing or dying. In fact, she glowed with health.

With all the erroneous information being shared about what Critical Race Theory is, what we believe about race is all over the place – in spite of what the science says. For that matter, we seem to be all over the place when it comes to science in general. (No, the Covid vaccine doesn’t lead to sterility, blindness, or governmental mind control.)

What has been disproven by science regarding race is still believed by – perhaps – the majority of white people. I encourage you to watch Race: The Power of an Illusion which was part of our training yesterday. For the entire history of the United States and much of the world, we have been taught that science “proves” that “the white race” is the most advanced demographic of human beings. Science has actually proven this to be a lie.

Race is a construct created to perpetuate this lie. It’s not true that people with black skin are better athletes than people with pale skin. It’s not true that people with light skin are better students than people with dark skin. I learned yesterday that it’s not even true that people with black skin are the only humans susceptable to the sickle cell trait. It’s about geography. People with light colored skin are also susceptable to the trait if they happen to live in equatorial Africa because the trait is a genetic protection against malaria.

It’s amazing what the LORD has let us learn. And this God who created us and continues to create us expects us to use our minds to understand that part of God’s creative mastery is expressed in human differences. There are women who can run marathons and there are people with black skin who are mathematical geniuses and there are men who are gentle caregivers and there are white people who have the sickle cell trait and there are brown people who are musical savants. The world God made is colorful and multifarious. This makes a huge difference in how we relate to each other as human beings. Judging each other based on scientifically disproven “facts” only tears us apart.

Also, please get a Covid vaccine if you can.

Image of Joan Benoit who won the Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. It was the first time women were allowed to compete in a marathon event for the Olympics. Source