{"id":78192,"date":"2019-09-16T10:02:01","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T16:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=78192"},"modified":"2019-09-16T10:36:34","modified_gmt":"2019-09-16T16:36:34","slug":"oklahoma-with-a-note-on-atheism-and-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/09\/oklahoma-with-a-note-on-atheism-and-science.html","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma! (with a note on atheism and science)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Queensland<\/a>
Is this heaven? No, and it\u2019s not even Iowa. Nor is it Oklahoma. We\u2019re not talking about THIS kind of waves. California and the American West haven\u2019t yet collapsed into the Pacific Ocean.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I begin with this curious story:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMysterious waves have been pulsing across Oklahoma: A buzz that rocked the state all summer sent geologists on a labyrinthine chase\u2014and unearthed new mysteries about how energy moves through land and air.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I can only assume, based on what some zealous atheists have told me, that there were no religious believers among those who figured this mystery out.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Surely it\u2019s obvious.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The puzzling waves typically occur in the morning. \u00a0That\u2019s an interesting fact, and it might point to the involvement of, say, the God of the Bible, who (according to Genesis) set the sun and the moon in the sky as a means of telling \u201cthe times and the seasons.\u201d \u00a0Plainly, the biblical God is very concerned \u2014 and, historically, always has been \u2014 with the telling of time. \u00a0Having these waves occur only in the morning is surely interesting, theologically speaking.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the clincher is the fact that the waves never, ever, occurred on Sundays<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Compare Genesis 2:2-3:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. \u00a0<\/span>And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

At this point, a theistic scientist would, my atheist friends tell me, simply say \u201cWell, that settles it. \u00a0God done it. \u00a0Ain\u2019t no reason to look no farther.\u201d \u00a0(That is, I\u2019m reliably informed, the way theists in general and theistic scientists in particular actually speak.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thus, the fact that puzzled scientists pushed on further and discovered a quite terrestrial and entirely mundane explanation for the mysterious Oklahoma waves demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that the scientists who solved the puzzle were atheists. \u00a0QED.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In further news from the field of evidence-free ideologically-driven assertion, the New York Times<\/em> has covered itself with richly merited shame over the past couple of days, and several Democratic politicians have eagerly sought to share in that shame. \u00a0If you are likely to be offended by somewhat graphic descriptions, you should consider not reading the following:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDem Presidential Candidates Call for Kavanaugh Impeachment After New Allegation\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0New York Times<\/i>\u00a0Anti-Kavanaugh Bombshell Is Actually a Dud: The authors omitted the fact that the alleged victim has no memory of the alleged incident.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York Times<\/i>\u00a0Walks Back New Kavanaugh Sexual-Misconduct Accusation\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Real Reason for That Kavanaugh Smear:\u00a0The media and Democrats want to place any decision by the Supreme Court to overturn\u00a0Roe v. Wade<\/i>\u00a0under a cloud.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, in related news:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRuth Bader Ginsburg defends Kavanaugh, Gorsuch as \u2018very decent and very smart'\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

My admiration for Justice Ginsburg, whom I would love to see enjoying healthy retirement from the Court, remains high.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I begin with this curious story: \u00a0 \u201cMysterious waves have been pulsing across Oklahoma: A buzz that rocked the state all summer sent geologists on a labyrinthine chase\u2014and unearthed new mysteries about how energy moves through land and air.\u201d \u00a0 I can only assume, based on what some zealous atheists have told me, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5565,1014,2355,1050,2352,5562,5568,62,138,401,5571],"class_list":["post-78192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-allegations","tag-atheism","tag-brett-kavanaugh","tag-geology","tag-kavanaugh","tag-new-york-times","tag-oklahoma","tag-religion-and-science","tag-science-and-religion","tag-theism","tag-waves"],"yoast_head":"\nOklahoma! 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