faith, science, John Adams & Ben Franklin

There swirls around us debate about what is called "intelligent design" and the creation narratives in the Bible, and questions of the nature "Why did God allow (Katrina, Rita, tsunami and so on)?" This op-ed piece from yesterday's New York Times is a wonderful historical view of how similar issues were faced in the pre-US Revolutionary War times by ones such as John Adams and Ben Franklin. It is well worth the read.

Op-Ed Contributor
Shaking the Foundation of Faith
Published: November 18, 2005
New York Times
Madison, Conn.

AN event that occurred 250 years ago today stands as a singular reminder that the war between faith and science in America did not start in Dover, Pa., where several school board members who promoted the teaching of intelligent design were voted out of office last week, or even in that Tennessee courthouse in 1925 where John Scopes was tried for teaching evolution. It has been a recurring theme in our history since the very seedtime of the republic.

In the early hours of Nov. 18, 1755, the most destructive earthquake ever recorded in the eastern United States struck at Cape Ann, about 30 miles north of Boston. "It continued near four minutes," wrote John Adams...(continue)