THE TELESCOPE
Science and religion do not like each other well;
One is always prying while the other preaches hell.
Galileo said the earth revolves around the sun;
The Pope warned Galileo that this doctrine he should shun.
Defenders of the pew said leopards cannot change their spots.
Stem cell research might just help to stamp out all disease;
But it makes the pious fall upon their stubborn knees.
Faith is something you cannot put into a test tube;
And calculus still separates the scholar from the boob.
It came to pass that scientists propounded a grand theory
That left the church-attending folk feeling mighty leery.
According to this theory every particle of light
Could be transferred by telescope to man's dim mortal sight.
All the past and present, and all future ages, too,
Could be taken in at once with panoramic view.
"Blasphemy!" the faithful cried; "'twould be another
the scientists all curled their lips at such faint-hearted rabble.
"Such vision, if accomplished, would indeed make us like God."
To which the churches of the world could only reply: Fraud!
The building of this telescope began with great fanfare;
There was rioting and bloodshed and goodwill was very rare.
Armies marched and nations clashed and angels, if they're real,
Wept to see the innocent wiped out with holy zeal.
At last the thing was finished and stood ready to be used;
They turned it on . . . and what they saw left nobody amused.
After a brief flicker what they saw looked like a man;
He had another telescope turned on them to scan.
Silence reigned upon the earth, then with a queasy shrug
The scientists decided that they'd better pull the plug.
The treasures of the earth had gone into that great machine;
But nobody was willing now to say what it might mean.
The weary world went back to work to build what was destroyed.
No one was very anxious to make that lone man annoyed.
For when they looked upon that man, everyone was seized
With the feeling that with them he was not very pleased.
Faith became much humbler and scientists decided
That no man's system of belief ought ever be derided.
Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give. Learn more.
No comments:
Post a Comment