<<Regarding #4, this is invariably an issue that I must deal with when I
reveal to my secular colleagues and students that I, a scientist, am also a
Christian. I get tired of having to point out that faith in God is not in
conflict with my science--an opinion they hold as a result of the scientific
excesses of creationists.>>
Lest all the scorn be heaped on Christian brothers, it bears repeating that
the excesses of the psuedo-scientific atheists are also at fault. The
unabashed scorn of a Richard Dawkins, supported by questionable "facts," is a
lot more widespread than the views of a certain segment of creationism.
Students fall into the fog that assumes the primacy of naturalism and the
quackery of Christianity, and it's hard to blow away that steam.
Further, Sagan and Dawkins and their ilk have the support of the academy,
implicitly and explicitly. No wonder students are stunned to find out one can
actually be a scientist and a Christian.
Jim