January 1, 2018

Religion and the non-overlapping magisteria position.

There are many posts regarding religion that are posted here by non-theists. Often, these posts rely, sometimes insist, on a literalist reading of Bible passages. So if one can prove that the universe was not created in 7 days, that proves that the Bible is nonsense, or magical thinking.

But that simplistic argument ignores the non-overlapping magisteria position because to admit this position defeats this type of literalist argument.

To refresh:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-overlapping_magisterial

The NOMA position allows for one to have religious belief as well as a recognition that science legitimately provides answers to many questions.

The NOMA position allows for a non-literal interpretation of the Bible because the Bible is seen as a moral textbook rather than a complete histroy of physical existence.

The NOMA position allows for this because it recognizes that scientists and theologians are not seeking to answer the same questions.

But, if one has as a goal the mocking of religion as childish thinking, or contrasting the simplistic views of theists with the supposed insight and rigorous analysis of homo logicae, (the logical successor to homo sapiens), one can understand why some refuse to admit the NOMA position as a proper and logical position.