American Scientific Affiliation: Why does it exist? Who would have believed these results?

First, no particular surprise, nearly 86% agree that the universe is about 14 billion years old, and Earth is about 4.6 billion years old. These are the given figures. Even if they were wrong, it would make sense to accept them, for calculation purposes.

But ...

What is a surprise is that six percent believe that there are other universes. I wish ASA had also asked how many of its members believe in astrology or visit Madam Rosa the Psychic.

Well, after that, it all goes downhill quickly, like a toboggan on ice: Over 60% actually believe that “Biologically, Homo Sapiens evolved through natural processes from ancestral forms in common with primates.” Well then, goodby, God. Nice knowing ya.

Even funnier is that nearly 27% believe that “consciousness and self-awareness emerged in hominids through natural processes”.

In reality, no one has any idea how consciousness emerged. It is unclear to me why anyone who opts for “natural processes” would claim to be a Christian. What the term means is plain enough to anyone who finished high school.

Now, this next part is not at all funny; it is scandalous: Unbelievably, over 27% of these Christian science luminaries actually believe that “Human behaviors, like kindness, care for children, competition, or desire for revenge, developed through evolutionary processes with natural causes.”

So why are they Christians? They are - in effect - saying that God never communicated directly with man - in defiance of all monotheist religion whatever.

It is one thing to disagree on the meaning of texts of Scripture, but everyone who accepts Scripture as defining the moral life agrees that it is a communication from God.

Disagreement about the meaning of communications from God or anyone else is nothing very unusual. My mother and I have strongly disputed the meaning of obscure communications from the firm that supplies the hot water tank.

It would be quite another matter for both of us to assume that no one at all had written that letter; that it somehow got composed and written by chance forces.

Is tenure at bible colleges worth this much? Who knew?

More on ASA later. My view is that it is a dying organization, but maybe Grecian Formula will help.