Are we Living in a Scientific Dark Age?

There's a passage in "The Portrait", by Nikolai Gogol, one of his stories of the St. Petersburg Tales, that excited me greatly when I read it, because it was my very own discovery and means of learning. The quote is:

"My father was a man remarkable in many respects. He was an artist such as few are, one of those wonders that Russia alone brings forth from her inexhaustible womb, a self-taught artist who found rules and laws in his own soul, without teachers or school, driven only by his thirst for perfection, and following, for reasons perhaps unknown to himself, no path but that which his own soul indicated".

But what's this passage to the title of my post? Well let me put it this way. Nobody: scientist, preacher, artist, lawyer, businessman {and these are all works that have legitimacy and therefore need perfecting because they are in the world}, can ever know the truth and the deeper things of our existence without first knowing their own soul and its path. This knowledge of oneself opens up so many unknown things. If so called professionals don't acknowledge the soul or preach over it, their science and sermons are only more stuff to clutter and divide the mind because none of it ever comes to any proof or power but strife and contention, because where does any of it stand out and take the mind in beauty and purity instead of by force and death?

Let me give an example. Will history read something like this - They build these huge sprawling faculties, and it was a big part of their economy, where the sick were taken to be made to feel better, but more and more people got sick and the sick got sicker. The scientists were found there, the preachers were found there, the businessmen were found there, everyone small and great, rich and poor, old and young where found there trying to get better and feel better.

They didn't take natural drugs but concocted their drugs out of dangerous chemicals they could buy on almost every neighborhood street corner. At these stores they could line their cars up at a pickup window and get their daily drugs. Their liquors were used in excess for entertainment, and not in moderation as a medicine. All their religious belief systems were burdened with theology, choked and clogged so that none of their ideas flowed free any more. There was to much vying and to much of a maze to sort anything out. Their economic systems were rife with waste and greed.

Aside from whatever the history books will say, things aren't working very well anymore and not many things touted as science or truth are believable anymore.

There are some models out there to correct our world. One of these is in the Bible and is the most convincing for me. Most of the utopian models leave to many unanswered questions with what to do with all the leftover things that don't fit into their model. You can't just go into an utopia with all the rest of the unfinished business left in the world. Other models come out of science fiction {and this is interesting to me} because here's science under the openness of fiction that has more believable ideas than so many other ideas in actual reality passed off as truth and then taught and promoted. Established science has its models to, like cleaning up our environment and things like that, plus shaping the human being to believe and accept an explanation of our existence, which I suppose they suppose will make us healthier, happier and safer. So there are a lot of models out there vying to correct some of the problems in the world that are slowly but surely taking us down.

I want to make a side note here: I'm not opposed to all health care. Obviously there's a need for people to care for the injured and victims of accident.....to work over them, to comfort them, to close up their flesh, to set their bones, to anoint their wound, and to give them a bed in the inn so to speak until they have recovered from their wounds. This is a good Samaritan.

But where gluttony and excess and unsafe food is so much the cause of our health problems, and then when the body repels it, we treat it with dangerous chemicals and unneeded operations all in the name of science that has nothing but the mark of superstition on it, because so much of the benefit is only temporal and causes new diseases and bigger problems later on.

I see similar problems in the science of evolution. But they're not as clear in my head yet, so I won't try to articulate them here.

So again, how brilliant are we, what will history say about us?

Brent

Very very interesting!!!! Good writing!

Yes clearly there is much good knowledge in our world. Nevertheless there is also much folly in high places, forced by those of wealth and influence, and those who are to proud to admit error.


I think we are in a time when people feel rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and thus few are willing to admit their errors, which errors will likely seem obvious to future generations, as well as at the last day when God brings all things into account. This involves religion, medicine, and science. Yet possibly God is going to soon take away our worlds riches and then people might not feel so rich and increased with goods, and then become more open minded.


How much of our popular education system teaches basic and important truths? Or how much is simply popular theories? Many of the more outstanding men on earth got at odds with the popular education system when young and were self educated, by searching in all directions. They had unanswered questions and sought for real answers rather than following a system built on greed and prestige. This is true regarding both religion and science. Many such questioners and seekers were thought odd and rejected because they did not simply yield to the emphasis and bubble of the big boys, but later after their death it was discovered what truth the really did have.

May God through Christ have mercy on us.

I'm with you fellows.

On the other hand since we started out with basically nothing so far as our personal development once the Eden scenario took place, we may not be doing so awfully bad. Everything must now happen by revelation.

It's true it seems to me that we are staggaring around a whole lot. If we were all to come to a vibrant Faith in Christ along with His nature being formed in us, things would get better quickly. There goes the preacher again, but I have no apology for that.

Science can merge with Faith but until this occurs science will continue to be a mere shadow of something larger.

Thanks, Brent and Amos.

Brent, just a little reminder that the life expectancy of humans has steadily risen over the last several hundred years, and once-killer diseases such as small pox and polio have been wiped out using modern medicine. Medical technology is really quite amazing these days, when you look at the delicate surgeries they are able to perform on such organs as the heart. So I dont think the current state of modern medicine is quite as bad as you depicted. I do wonder if many people are over medicated, and rely to heavily on medicine to the point their bodies have become unable to function properly without it. But I would put the blame for that on greedy marketing techniques, and probably not the science itself.

If by natural drugs you mean just a healthy diet and exercise program, then I agree whole-heartedly. That is exactly what science advocates as well. But if you are referring to natural cures such as homeopathy, most herbal remedies, and reflexology, then I would like to see the data showing they are effective. Everything I read and hear is that they are the snake oil of our day.

He will speak for himself but I think what Brent was refering to was that science has further to go than they have already come.

For instance, during the civil war, nurses and doctors were going from one patient to another without washing their hands. Germs? Bacteria? What's that? That is so recent in terms of history.

On the larger front I feel sure that science on many many fronts is just out of the gate, which does not say that much is not being accomplished, as you say Stan.

It's amazing how delicate certain clinical operations are now. No brain transplants yet.

I think it is quite likely that exterior drugs will be replaced with things that induce the body to generate it's own drugs before long. I also think it is quite likely that the D.N.A. will be stimulated to regrow worn out parts and do it without the use of fetal stem cells.

Science itself will finaly prove to us that science is not the whole answer to our well-being! The thing is, we're trying.

There are other things of truth to consider without consulting the snake oil salesman. If we could find a way to walk in Perfect Love, there would be few if any diseases that would touch us. The body is not meant to embrace hatred, unforgiveness, darkness, bitterness, and malice and still be healthy!

I agree that some of what can be seen in certain health encouraging circles and in certain religious circles as well and all for our well being, smack of the snake oil salesman.

The crowed that is determined to fly off into the natural air to be with the Lord Jesus, in order to get it all just right, is an idea that will fall by the wayside in another fifty years or so. I perdict this. The thing is, we're trying! How we would like to escape so many of our shortfalls. And how we would like to get everything fixed that's needs fixing! Hey!

Stan,

By natural drugs I meant illegal drugs. They're probably safer for people than some of these legal drugs.

The other healing arts you mentioned I agree with you. I've looked into them with actual experience and they didn't help me any.

Stan, as you know I pretty much accept things the way they are....from government to the medical profession. I'm not out to get a band wagon started against anything, NOTHING. I guess my point is if a person wants a more permanent and spiritual way, the medical profession really can't help them much.

And I think before people come against the spiritual way, they should fast their things of excess. I'm not talking about for a week or two, but until the thing is broken out of them and they don't need it anymore. Then those that are leery of spiritual things would be more receptive to them. And Stan I wouldn't believe it or except it just because the Bible said so. I've had experience in these things and the Bible just happens to say the same thing. That's why I kind of roll my eyes when people discredit scriptures and I know they haven't had any experience in them.

Brent