The publisher of The New Republic is the latest winger to claim left-liberals want to exclude Christians from government. His “proof”? Objections to Obama’s naming Francis Collins to head NIH. The worry is not about Collins as a Christian. It’s that, among other things, Collins might use his particular evangelical beliefs, since he is very open about his religion, to influence genetic research decisions, federal funding for genetic research, etc. We saw exactly that happen under President Bush’s bioethics council, with stem-cell research.
The fact that, per Wiki, Collins believes in a “gOd of the gaps,” with gOd itself above gap-investigation, makes this problematic. Essentially, Collins’ metaphysical beliefs are mush, pure mush. And, if that makes his science soft, that’s problematic. What if he, without religious beliefs, but with the same mushy thought, signs off on spending more money on alt-medicine?
A skeptical leftist's, or post-capitalist's, or eco-socialist's blog, including skepticism about leftism (and related things under other labels), but even more about other issues of politics. Free of duopoly and minor party ties. Also, a skeptical look at Gnu Atheism, religion, social sciences, more.
Note: Labels can help describe people but should never be used to pin them to an anthill.
As seen at Washington Babylon and other fine establishments
July 10, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment