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Show WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 7 24, 2001 tions and pick their ery own continued from psq mites. Science and Religion Can Mix 3J Chronicle News ) Editor Why do I believe in God? Lots of reasons. One is, it's a pretty big part of being Mormon. But another is fruit. Fruit. Uh-hu- h. personal Spirituality Ultimately, my in God is ait,h built upon a foundation of prayer, famil- ial love, spiritual experiences, scripture study and preaching by the Lord's servants. But as Elder Olsen and I were talking late one evening in Dresdena city in the former East Germanywe started talking about fruit as a deliciously eloquent argument for God's existence. Religion and belief in God were all but outlawed in East Germany. About 40 years of that kind of human-rights-crushin- g, state-enforc- ed atheism pretty well raised a nation of people who didn't want to believe in the Almighty. I learned if I wanted to engage people in religious conversation, to share with them the most sacred and important things in my life, I'd have to find a different, more basic piece of common ground than pro found spiritual experiences and scripture reading. Before I could get people excited about a boy meeting God and his son in a New York forest, I had to get them excited about opening their minds to an idea their government had basically forbidden. And fruit is a pretty basic piece of spiritual real estate. Bear with me. Now what is fruit? Biologically, fruit houses the seeds through which trees reproduce. Fruit serves a very basic, natural purpose in that regard. But then from an evolutionary-advantag- e point of view wouldn't it save the tree time to just genreally erate the seeds? Why do they need to produce small, attractive, pleasant-tastincolorful seed houses? And why do these seed houses come in the wide variety of flavors that they do? And why of all things is a conveyance system nutritious for people? I believe the answer to these questions is divine design. Fruit trees need to repopulate themselves (so, incidentally, they can furnish us with fresh oxygen), and God thought it would be an easy way to provide his children with food. To ignore God's orchestrating this natural, scientific process demands more faith than it does to acknowledge it. Fruit is but one of many examples of God's role in nature. I do not see g, on Hi EZTZZZT, separation between religion and science. Last year, I was The Daily Utah Chronicle's health science reporter. The more I learned about research, science and the exploration of the natural world in a second-han- d fashion, admittedly the more my belief in God was confirmed. As the architect of all truth, whether it is scientific, moral or personal truth, God is the inventor of the natural world. The more human beings add to their wealth of scientific knowledge, the more they become like their creator. I reject the absurd idea that science and faith cannot play in harmo- a pur.; kin from the garden. 6 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 for Other fun Farm events include creating your own scarecrow and feeding the ducks. If you will be making a scarecrow, be sure to bring some old adults and $4 for seniors and children." There will be creepy crafts, a costume parade, an opportunity to make a scarecrow and a puppet show. There will also be storytelling around a campIre presented by the Utah Storytellers Guild. If you're looking for some thing with a little farm flair, try the Historic Wheeler Farm's, "Scarecrow Masquerade " taking place during the test two Saturdays of the month (Oct. 20 and pants, shirts, hats and a pillowcase for the head the Farm will provide the rest. If feeding the ducks, be sure to bring some bread. Whatever you chose to do, it is a great time to enjoy the fall leaves and the beautiful scenery "down on the farm," So with these activities to keep the kids busyand plenty of toothpaste on hand Halloween can be fun for even the busiest cf stuiert families. Just remember you may want to hire a baby titter to zfui-waideal with the sujrar-hig- h cavity-preventi- Tickets are $4 for children n and under and 55 for adults. For this price, each person gets to take a wagon ride around the farm, create Halloween decora- - d! heiseli ny. Albert Einstein said the more he learned about the universe, the more he believed in God. He also said he didn't believe that God played dice with the universe. If anything, scientific pursuit relies just as heavily upon faith as does spiritual exploration. Scientists exercise faith that what their instruments tell them is true. They exercise faith that their searchings will not be in vain, that they will lead to discoveries and advancements. God is more than the divine botanist who created fruit for me. He is the father of my soul and my constant companion. With him, my victories are multiplied and my failures are divided. Jared welcomes feedback at: jwhitleychronicle .utah.edu. 7 X - UTA is hiring 150 drivers trt wnrk rliirino fliA Olympic Winter Games, salt lake 2002 999 m W UOC Earn S9.00 per hour during training. Earn SI 1.39 per hour after training. Become a trained transit bus operator and receive a Commercial Drivers' License (CDL). Receive a Free Official Games Transportation Coat. Earn a $500 bonus for completion of all assignments during the Games. Just fill out an application and basic skills test in the Union building or at the Student Employment office located in the Student Services building, room 380 from 8:00 a.m. to 1 1 :30 p.m., 1 :30pm to 5:0Cpm Oct. 24th (Wednesday). Utah Transit Authority www.rideuta.com 36C0 South 700 West, Salt Lake City 135 West 17 Street, Ogdea 1110 South Geneva Road, Orcm AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER - FMDV U!C Z3VM ng r ' S V chronic! s. ct sh.edu |