Knowledge is Power: G-dly Knowledge is Super Power.
I was watching an interview with a Chabad Rabbi and Richard
Dawkins, a British biologist, evolutionist, agnostic and leftist/liberal, an
ardent opponent of religion which he dismisses as mere superstition. Mr.
Dawkins is aghast that the Jewish Religion should be teaching the universe is
only 5776 years old, when it is incontrovertible in science that this is utter
rubbish.
The Chabad Rabbi argues, the mere wide discrepancy among the
scientists in the millions and billions of years demonstrates how unclear and
unsure their own position really is. Besides, whatever is leading the
scientists to their own conclusion as far as the age of the world, was built in
to creation just as Adam and Eve were already created, evolved and mature. This
seemed to catch the good scientist by surprise.
The Rabbi continued. Just as 100 years ago scientists were
singing a different tune regarding matter and the universe, there is every reason
to believe they will be doing the same in another 100 years, so why take
science today as an absolute irrefutable truth.
Mr. Dawkins responded, that our science today is of the
highest caliber, and believing otherwise was irresponsible and foolish.
This reminded me of a statement said in the name of Charles
H. Duell who was the Commissioner of the US patent office in 1899. Mr. Deull's
most famous attributed utterance is that "everything that can be invented
has been invented." In 1899!!
The other day I was reading an article extolling the latest
discoveries in the study of human embryos. For the first time they were able to
grow embryos outside the uterus for up to 13 days, an accomplishment that opens
a NEW window on the earliest stages of human development. This key period of
time, “was entirely a black box of development that we were unable to access
until now.” Magdalena Zernicka Goetz Professor at Cambridge UK.
Well, imagine what happens when a Rabbi is asked a halachic
legal question regarding abortion and must draw wisdom from the eternal truths
of the Torah and disagrees with a Medical Doctor! Now we are hearing, they
aren’t even sure of what happens exactly during that period of time!
The researchers were surprised to notice how the embryos were
able to “self-organize” without any biological cues from the mother.
Dr. Hyun a bioethicist at Case Western University school of
Medicine said. “We’re now at the stage where the decades old rule (growing
embryos after 14 days to keep within international regulations when a key
change in development occurs) is up for challenge because of the scientific
value of what these scientists are trying to do.”
Another key finding of this study was that early embryonic
development is significantly different in humans than in animals such as mice.
Let me tie everything together by concluding with one more
anecdote.
Mr. Michael Mandelbaum. an eminent foreign policy scholar
from Johns Hopkins University has recently authored a book, Mission Failure.
He is filled with criticism, and asserts that US attempts
abroad after the cold war, time and time again have totally fallen short of
their ambitious goals.
So, we have one scientist who believes HE has the absolute
last word on science and how dare anyone hold on to a notion that contradicts
his idea of reality. We have other
scientists, who admit, not knowing everything and being in a black box
regarding a critical time frame in the development of the human species.
These scientists are also discovering, an age old axiom that
declared mice are the same as humans and on this basis many medical conclusions
have been influenced as perhaps totally wrong!!!
And another scientist ethicist, because of the always
changing fluid state of science and the possible current benefits, expressing
interest, to change the standards of ethics!!
And, to top it all off, we have a prominent scholar accusing
all the very smart well educated people in our government as being total
failures for all these, so many years.
What’s the conclusion to all this?
In the book of ethics, it is written, “it is not upon you to
conclude the work, and yet you are not at liberty to desist from making an
effort.”
As human beings, we must acknowledge and recognize our
limitations. It is, TOGETHER with G-d and it is with His partnership we are
assured of blessings in our efforts.
We are fortunate that G-d who created the universe
communicated with millions of people at Mt Sinai and gave us a book of rules
and guidelines, the Torah.
“And (when) you will cleave to G-d your G-d; you will live
eternally.” The path to success is
never, in trading in our G-dly granted eternal truths. On the contrary, “you
have chosen us from all nations and have given us your Torah… and eternal life
you have planted in it…”.
While humans continue placing their good foot forward not
always sure of where it will take them, fortunate is the person who “G-d
blesses in all that a person does.”
No comments:
Post a Comment