(no subject)

[carmenbeaudry]

...at the Seattle Science  Center.  The exhibit will be in town until March 8th, and it's well worth seeing.  A lot of the exhibit is some very interesting things about the history of Ethiopia, and some about palaeontology and evolution in general.  It's really well done, and would be worthwhile just for that, but then you see the actual fossil bones of the female hominid that became known as Lucy.  It was moving in ways I can't even begin to explain.  Bones of our common ancestress.

What many of you don't know about me is that I consider myself profoundly spiritual.  I truly believe in the force far greater than ourselves that we have given the name "God'.  I have never been able to understand the mindset that finds science, and especially evolution, in opposition to belief and knowlege of God. Gwalchgwyn put it very well tonight:  If you  have a really great handmade watch, you can admire the maker without knowing anything about how that watch works, but if you learn everything there is to be known about how that watch was made, you have a much deeper appreciation for the watchmaker's work.

Here's the songs that's been going through my head all day.

The Word of God

Lyrics and melody © 1994 by Catherine Faber

From desert cliff and mountaintop we trace the wide design,
Strike-slip fault and overthrust and syn and anticline. . .
We gaze upon creation where erosion makes it known,
And count the countless aeons in the banding of the stone.
Odd, long-vanished creatures and their tracks & shells are found;
Where truth has left its sketches on the slate below the ground.
The patient stone can speak, if we but listen when it talks.
Humans wrote the Bible; God wrote the rocks.

There are those who name the stars, who watch the sky by night,
Seeking out the darkest place, to better see the light.
Long ago, when torture broke the remnant of his will,
Galileo recanted, but the Earth is moving still.
High above the mountaintops, where only distance bars,
The truth has left its footprints in the dust between the stars.
We may watch and study or may shudder and deny,
Humans wrote the Bible; God wrote the sky.

By stem and root and branch we trace, by feather, fang and fur,
How the living things that are descend from things that were.
The moss, the kelp, the zebrafish, the very mice and flies,
These tiny, humble, wordless things---how shall they tell us lies?
We are kin to beasts; no other answer can we bring.
The truth has left its fingerprints on every living thing.
Remember, should you have to choose between them in the strife,
Humans wrote the Bible; God wrote life.

And we who listen to the stars, or walk the dusty grade,
Or break the very atoms down to see how they are made,
Or study cells, or living things, seek truth with open hand.
The profoundest act of worship is to try to understand.
Deep in flower and in flesh, in star and soil and seed,
The truth has left its living word for anyone to read.
So turn and look where best you think the story is unfurled.
Humans wrote the Bible; God wrote the world.

.

Comments

[fittzwm.livejournal.com]

I so know what you mean. I felt so very humble and small after the exhibit. Not insignificant at all, but very connected. It was truly awe inspiring. Matthew claimed boredom, but I think he realises it was pretty special. He now wants Ethiopian food, though!

Gwalchgwyn is a smart cookie. You twp are great together.

[italy-katy.livejournal.com]

BAAAAAAH I have to make it across the state to see that! Problem is, the next few weekends(as in, the entire time she's still in town) I have training at 8:30 every Sunday. Maybe I'll skip class on Friday and come out(my teachers might understand considering what the exhibit is)

[fittzwm.livejournal.com]

It is SO worth it. Just Do it!! You'll be sad if you miss it.

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

It's half-price on Thurs. nights, although that will probably be impossible to make.

[italy-katy.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm, it would take skipping an additional class on Thurs, but I could make it in theory... This weekend Cara Mia is comin down for Lionel Hampton, but next weekend I might be able to pull it off... I'll talk to my teachers

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

The thing that's really special about this, is that in Ethiopia, the actual fossils aren't on display. So, unless you're a scientist that has a really compelling reason to view them, you won't be able to see them unless you catch this tour. Just giving you more reasons to give your teachers.

[tradarcher.livejournal.com]

Is the exhibit something that Hroswitha might enjoy? Is there enough light? Or is it all darken hall with lighted exhibits?

[gwalchgwyn.livejournal.com]

it had good light throuh out except the last room (the one with the real fossils in it. there were several interactive displays mostly aim at the kids but I found them interesting and inforitive. I think she could enjoy most of it, except for maybe the last room and the crowds.

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

Most of the exhibit is well lit and there's a lot of replicas to actually handle. However, the last room, where the actual fossils are, is very dim. I would call the Science Center and ask if they have accommodations for low-sighted folks, because there were a couple of blind people there, and I noticed that they had people working with them.

[vesta-aurelia.livejournal.com]

You can find the songwriter here on LJ as
catsittingstill

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

Yep, been listening to her songs (and singing quite a few) for a long time.