Happily confused

Wednesday was club day for Orientation week... which basically means all the clubs have little booths where they try and get you to sign up, and a church goes along and gives out candy and stuff. Last year I never even went to have a look, but this year I am fully embracing the idea of being an active participant in my own life and headed over after my last lecture was let out. I ended up singing up for not one, but three different groups, in addition to the one I signed up for on Monday.

1. Conservation Volunteers
(My passion. A tree hugger from day one)

2. Biology club
(well, it is my major)

3. Greens on Campus
(which is is directly related to the Green Party)

4. Catholics on Campus
(an attempt to make new friends and reestablish faith in my day to day activities)

I know, it is an odd mixture, science, politics, religion and conservation.

I was chatting to a friend this morning about a paper that I am taking this year, and she had to take next year. She, having found out that I am "religious" earlier this week, was confused about how I could be taking a paper on evolution, because wouldn't I be offended. my church friends have the same question.

I can't say this wasn't an expected question, but still I couldn't seem to articulate my answer. Which I guess could be best summarized by saying that i don't think common sense and hope are mutually exclusive concepts. if I'm perfectly honest, I think even as a very small child, I always classed, Adam and Eve as Fairy tales. I never really considered them as having lived exactly as the bible says.

But, I think even if I was to say to myself that every single word of the bible is to be taken as a literally truth, then I would still be comfortable taking this evolution paper, because even though it compares evolution to intelligent design, and discredits creationism, it is still simple information that I can apply to my degree. I am able to learn something even if I don't agree with it, after all, what is there really to stop a vegan learning to fish? Only the will to try.


I doubt i have explained this right, but anyway...

I am happy, I am comfortable, and I can admit that both as a follower of Christ, and a scientist, I have work to do. Will I ever be fully able to reconcile the two conflicting parts of my world? I don't see a conflict. The only real problem I have, is not upsetting my friends on different sides of the fence, because I don't 100% agree with either of them. I think it comes down to my intense fascination with life and the world around me, and a refusal to accept that things are a certain way because some one says so, I want evidence. Which, believe it or not, is a pro-god thing as well as a pro-science thing.


Again, I doubt I have explained this right, but that's abstract thought for you.