"Jerry Oltion - Salvation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Oltion Jerry)

SALVATION
by JERRY OLTION

****

Might there be more than one way?

The scientist was sweating. The conference room of the Universal
Church of the Divine Revelation was air-conditioned against the muggy
Florida heat, but no amount of cool air would comfort the supplicant seated
before the board of regents. That suited the Reverend Billy Dickerson just
fine. Scientists ought to sweat in the presence of clergy, just as they would
sweat in the afterlife to atone for the multitude of sins they had committed
against the Church over the past two millennia. Especially scientists like this
William Winters, the type of snooty academic who would no more call
himself “Billy” than he would get down on his knees to pray to the Lord. His
kind were all equations and electrons and tensors and theories—theories
presented as if they were facts, when everybody knew that the very word
“theory” meant that it was just some egghead’s crazy attempt to remove
God from the explanation.

Oh yes, let this scientist, this precious William, with his refined
mannerisms and his ridiculous ideas, sweat. Let him loosen his tie and wipe
his palms on his polyester pants while he tried to impress the regents with
his credentials. Let him squirm, because the words he spouted were insults
to the Savior and to the men of faith who preached His word.

“You’re used to buying scientists,” William was saying. “People who
will rubber-stamp your preconceived notions of the way things work. All that
does is call your own integrity into question. It’s time you bought some
actual science for a change.”

That bought him a ripple of indignant frowns from the other six
regents seated at the conference table, but Billy couldn’t resist a smile. He
had to admire the man’s nerve, if nothing else. This blasphemer had walked
into the lion’s den on his own initiative, knowing the reception he would get,
but he wasn’t mincing words in an attempt to curry favor. He was sticking up
for his principles, however misguided they might be.

“You’re no doubt referring to our recent work on intelligent design,”
Billy replied. “You may think what you like, but all our researchers are given
complete autonomy in their investigations.”

“After you hand-pick them for their adherence to the paradigm you
support,” said William. “I’m talking about looking at the facts and accepting
what those facts tell you about the way the universe works.”

“And these supposed ‘facts’ would be what? Newtonian physics? But
no, that was later proven wrong by Einstein. Lamarckian inheritance? No,
that was disproven by Mendel and his peas. Evolution? Where are the