I’m writing this as I’m going out the door and without proof-reading.

Yesterday I posted that the finding of extraterrestrial life will be the forth major scientific find that will cause the Christian religious groups to further their war on science. This morning I woke up to a NASA press conference stating that they, most likely, have found proof of that life on Mars.

Many times before, NASA has found evidence of life, but no “proof.” Because science is interested in factual truth, they are very cautious about stating certainty. This evidence was found over a year ago, but before they went public, they farmed out the evidence to a spectrum of scientists. In previous finds, the scientists come back with a cautious “It could be life, but here are other explanations.” This time, the answer came back as, “Yes, this is most likely proof of life, but because we can’t exam these specimens in our lab, we can’t be 100% sure.”

I will post the press conference here.

I have to stop posting on my blog as I need to focus on trying to get my new novel, Agony of a Woman, published. It takes a huge amount of work to do that. You must first find an agent, which is daunting. However, afterwards, I do want to continue this blog or some equivalent, trying to focus on the positive.

When I discovered the words of Thomas Aquinas, that God has inspired two scriptures, the Bible, and Nature and Reason, and the two “books” are equal in value and must agree, it changed my life. The understanding of this idea would prevent the hemorrhage of thinking people out of the church, when they are told that their view of nature and “true Christianity” are incompatible.

But the bias against this second inspired book of God is tremendous. I go to a gracious and thinking church, for most parts. But two years ago I attempted to introduce a healthy understanding of science in the Adult Education program. The only feedback I receive was from the same individual who sucker punched me, “Your class was horrible. Science is not from God.” I gave up. But I must find a voice and I’m not the only one.

BioLogos is a Christian organization that tries to merge science and faith in a healthy way. I discovered this concept of the “Two Books” by reading Aquinas, however, I was not the only one. Here is an article posted by BioLogos. My point is that I’m not just a lunatic or bottom feeder in the Christian world, but I think I’m really on to something and I’m not the only one.

Some people try to paint me as just a negative critic of the church. That’s not the case and I want to try and do better. I feel like my 38 years as an evangelical was like trying to scrape out a living in a desert. Then one day, I climb a local mountain, and on the other side is this lush land of milk and honey. I return to the arid landscape with excitement about what is on the other side, all the things that nature can teach us about God (far more than the Bronze-Age God I used to believe in). But the people in the arid land don’t believe me and pity me for having such lofty ideals.

Got to go,

Mike