(more on) my (biological) father.

My dad told me something along the lines of this: religion cannot advance. When religious people try to reinvent themselves, they have to break from their previous groups/associations and start a new religion; it is not something that is changing and/or cannot be reinvented. He claimed that science, the superior path, was something that was constantly evolving and advancing itself. That it was constantly being put to the test and being recreated, that it is constantly progressing, moving forward.

He also stated that science was the antithesis of religion.

It seems like we often have this misconception of what religion is. What faith is. What spirituality is. A lot of times it seems like a lofty idea that is unreachable without breaking the lines of logic and some sense of absolute truth. I think that's where he was coming from. That there was simply not enough proof towards the existence of a God.

There's a lot I could say about this. I could talk about how science is not advancing, nor has the ability to advance, any more than Christianity does (I can't speak for religion as a whole because I'm not really familiar with other faiths). I would bring up the point that though you could argue that there is a finite set of words and such in the Bible, there is also a finite amount to be learned/discovered about science. I could say that science actually argues for the existence of God, not against it. I could say that macro-evolution is only a theory, even though micro-evolution has been proven. I could expand on the argument against religion/the existence of God as a whole and then make efforts to refute each one of those points. I might do a good job, but I could try.

And we might be able to learn a lot from hearing each side of the argument, each push and pull.

But I think I will hold back on expounding on those points for now. Whether or not my father would ever realize those things, I think what's more pressing than debating with him is breaking this characteristic of his: that he does not even give God a chance. (Whether he sees God as synonymous to religion, I do not know. He might not. In which case, he does not even give religion a chance.) He's completely ruled out the possibility of a set of truths that is different from what he believes. He laughs at any thought that religion is something to be considered as truth.

How amazing it would be if one day he would come to realize the overwhelming power and truth of the Gospel. How much would God be glorified if my dad, after being so set in his ways, so convinced of his own truths, would humble himself and accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. That one day, he might be able to look back, and wonder, "how could I have been so blind?" How then, would we see the power and grace of God in another sinful man...

I am praying for that day.

PS. What seems more odd to me is that my dad's totally cool with me being fully convinced of something that (in his eyes) is completely false. Interesting.