In this blog, I write about Religion, Science and Peace, and the relationships between them.
Although I hope my writing is based on reason and evidence, this is not a dry academic discussion. I am a passionate advocate of all three.
Some say that religion and science are incompatible. Under the topic CREATION I argue that there can be no such conflict. Nor can science prove or disprove the existence of God. On the other hand, is it certainly true that the growth of scientific knowledge must have an impact on religious thinking, and I hope to make some contribution in this area.
Some say that religion is harmful, that it is the main cause of war, that it belongs to a primitive stage in human development, and should now be abandoned. On the contrary, I argue under the topic SHALOM that the ultimate goal of religion is, for the individual and for humankind, that state of peace, well-being, wholeness, harmony and unity that is expressed by this hebrew word. Religious people and institutions do not always live up to their ideals, but overall, I claim that religion is an immense force for good.
Other topics in the blog include
- SWORDS & PLOUGHS where I concentrate on the need to divert effort from the technologies of death to the technologies of life, in order to secure a better future.
- RELIGIONS where I comment on particular religions, especially thoughts on my own faith, Christianity; plus what I am learning about Islam.
- HOT SPOTS where I comment on ongoing conflict situations, particularly in the Middle East, attempting to analyse causes and identify paths to peace.
- BOOKS where I summarise and comment upon books that have informed this blog.
- QUICK SCANS where I give a brief round-up of relevant articles recently posted on the web.
- REFERENCE where I place copies of important documents whose position on the internet may not be permanent.
I now run this blog in my real name, David Gerald Fincham. I include my middle name because I am fairly certain that my name is unique in world, and to avoid confusion with other David Finchams. Previously I used the screen name ‘Walk Tall Hang Loose’.
In recent years most of my writing has been about the Israel-Palestine situation, and other sections have been neglected. I hope to get back to them at some time.