Physicist-turned-priest Nick Knisely recalls that Einstein's attitude toward the the Michelson-Morley experiment's outlandish results was, in brief, to face the facts and deal with them. He suggests that Einstein's example should inform the church's current struggles to deal with gay and lesbian Christians today.
Excerpt:
Einstein started his thinking toward Special and General Relativity by postulating that each observer’s experience must be treated as valid. By so doing, he constructed a physics that would require that the speed of light was exactly the same for all observers, whether they were moving or not. Einstein then was able to suggest experiments that demonstrate that his ideas were correct.
But the key point in all this was that he accepted the experimental evidence of the Michelson-Morley experiment as valid, even though it seemed to make absolutely no sense within a Newtonian (and deterministic) framework. Einstein decided to trust in the report of the observer and by making that decision he was able to gain a radical new insight into the nature of reality.* * *
Gay and lesbian people report that they find themselves transformed by their encounters with the Risen Christ. But they do not uniformly find that their sexuality or sexual orientation is transformed. If we believe this report, then what does this tell us about God's desires for them?
Entangled States: The Michelson-Morley Experiment and the Experience of Gay and Lesbian Christians.
I do not really understand the question for our God is the same yesterday today and forever. Therefore the Einstein experiment would not change the mind of God at all. Perhaps in our puny little human minds it may cause some of us to depend on Einstein’s evidence more than God, which reminds me a lot of the Gnostic beliefs. Second of all if if any gay or lesbian people have had a true encounter with the risen Christ or a salvation experience they would feel extremely guilty for their actions of the past and they would truly repent which means that they would turn the opposite direction of their past sins and not look back. This is not always an instant change for everybody but the guilt upon your previous actions and future actions through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in us is a fact. Therefore this gay and lesbian people have not truly been through a salvation experience if they feel any need to stop that lifestyle. I will be praying for this couple that their blinders will be removed and they will see the truth that is directly in front of them. They need to know that the Bible is God’s Word which makes it absolute truth and not whatever truth they think it is or want it to be. Russell
Posted by: Russell | July 31, 2006 at 04:50 PM
Russell writes: "... our God is the same yesterday today and forever. Therefore the Einstein experiment would not change the mind of God at all. ..."
Russell, I'm forced to ask a variation on my Favorite Theological Question # 1: What precisely makes you think this is the way things are, and why should the rest of us take your word for it? (Follow-up question: How are your assertions not blasphemous, in that they presume to say definitively what God will or won't do?)
Russell writes: "... if any gay or lesbian people have had a true encounter with the risen Christ or a salvation experience they would feel extremely guilty for their actions of the past and they would truly repent which means that they would turn the opposite direction of their past sins and not look back."
Same question: What precisely makes you think this is the way things are, and why should the rest of us take your word for it?
Russell writes: "... the Bible is God’s Word which makes it absolute truth ...."
Same question as before. Moreover, while I don't mean to give offense, it seems to me that no thinking person can possibly assert that the Bible is "absolute truth," in view of the indisputable inconsistencies and just plain errors it contains. (See, for example, "Troubling Inconsistencies in the New Testament Writings: Six Reasons for Skepticism About the Traditionalist Account.")
In any case, thanks for stopping by; I appreciate your having taken the time to comment.
Posted by: D. C. | August 02, 2006 at 08:01 AM
Gays and lesbians... not to mention the radical outliers like little old me. :)
Oh, and *golf clap* on your reply to Russell.
Posted by: Kaitlyn | August 04, 2006 at 01:13 AM
If this is the Kaitlyn I think it is, it's good to hear from you.
Posted by: D. C. | August 05, 2006 at 11:44 AM