Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Norman's Quixotic Thoughts

Norman’s Quixotic Thoughts

Note the title change. “Quixotic” resonates with me as it never did before since I finished reading “The Sanctification of Don Quixote: from Hidalgo to Priest” by Eric J. Ziolkowski. The word has been “sanctified” along with the old anachronistic knight himself. It is good, self-flattering, to style one’s own thoughts quixotic. My first and only entry in this blog, is quixotic. It flies in the face of received wisdom of our day: A God at once just and loving is unthinkable as hundreds of postings on the internet would seem to argue (sorry, I just read titles and descriptions as I Googled through the subject–hence “seem”).

Likewise God’s timetable and procedures in Genesis have no basis in scientific fact, or so I am assured (not that I pretend to understand his timetable or procedures, which I don’t think these others do either). Yet I believe creation was masterminded by an all-wise, loving creator, a personal God. That is quixotic thinking at its best–or worst if you prefer.

However, I don’t like to link myself with intelligent design people nor with the creationists to the extent that they would pit their view against scientific understandings of evolution etc. That is a quixoticism beyond even my tastes. I don’t quarrel with evolution or its time table. There is too much evidence in support of it. I do, however, like the Darwin of “Origin” better that the Darwin who went on to leave God out of the equation–especially after opening “Origin” with a consideration of engineered evolution–man and the rock pigeon. If man can engineer evolution why can we not suppose one greater than we might do so?

Anyway, I am a believer in spite of such weighty evidence and impressive arguments to the contrary. That makes me decidedly quixotic, hence the new title for my nascent blog.

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