Wirt Atmar wrote:

> At the risk of deeply offending again those who tend to believe that the
> Earth was created 6004 years ago, last Thursday, I believe it's important to
> understand why we're doing this. This mission is not merely planetary
> astronomy. Rather, the Mars Polar Lander is just the first in a long series
> of missions to come that will change their emphases from simple geology to
> biology, and this mission is a first step in a fundamental exploration in
> evolutionary biology. For more than fifty years now, planetologists and
> biologists have believed that life should be as common in the universe as is
> warm mud.

I am looking forward to hearing more on the Mars lander.  I hope that people are
not offended.  Religion helps us ponder questions that science can never answer
(Where did life come from originally and who started up this great big universe
and why am I here?) . . . whereas science answers questions that religion isn't
really concerned with (How do things work around us and what are the apparent
rules that govern the universe and how can I make a better mouse trap?).
Conflicts occur when people decide that scientific questions can be answered
through religion or that religious questions can be answered through science.
Both disciplines are helpful and really do work together.

--

        Tom Hula
        Victor S. Barnes Company
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