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4A – Daily News – Saturday, January 29, 2011 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Thanks John Editor: The biggest boost this county Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 has received to its mentoring pro- gram has been John Minton and I just want to say “thanks John” for what you have done to help the youth of this county. Ken Swanson, Red Bluff Tehama County gem - Ishi Cave Editor: On Oct. 9, 2010, I visited Ishi Cave during an invitational public 5-mile round-trip outing that was made on foot specifically to see the cave. I would like to discuss some surprising features I observed dur- ing this, my first-time visit to this local, little-known and hidden Tehama County gem. First, here is a little background information about the cave's loca- tion. This volcanic rock cave is located 5.5 air miles due east of Highway 99E and Lassen View School. The cave is more than 2 miles from civilization. It is near the top of an approximately 600 foot high, very steep, sheer vol- canic rock canyon wall and about 500 feet above the main fork of Dye Creek. The cave is on private property and uninvited trespassing is not allowed. The cave interior consists of two rooms. One room is surpris- ingly large and is much larger than the other. Both rooms share one south-facing common opening. The cave opening is about 40 feet wide, along the nearly flat base, and with a height of about 15 feet at its ellipse-shaped top. The cave walls and ceiling surfaces are basi- cally large, broad, smooth sur- faces, as contrasted to the com- plex, cluttered interior of lime- stone caves. Therefore, the rooms are unobstructed, open spaces. The larger room is about 50 feet deep, hor- izontally. The width is similar to the openings base width. The smaller room is a uniquely posi- tioned side-pocket look- ing room, located off the main room, on the west side of the cave opening. If a "top view" diagram drawing of the cave interior were available, the orientation of this smaller room would appear to be much like that of the thumb on a mitten. The smaller room is about 20 feet deep, horizontally, and about 10 feet wide, as I recall. The interior dimensions of the cave were eyeball-estimated by me while sitting inside, trying to imagine the appreciation the local, stone-age native people must have had for many hundreds of years of the cave's existence, especially Your Turn during periods of weather extremes. I now have a better understanding of at least one reason why many ancient indige- nous cultures reference the phrase, "mother earth". Clyde Muir, Red Bluff End wars Editor: To cut Social Security in order to balance the budget is beyond stupid. It is a separate trust account, not part of general bud- get, unlike the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. We have spent more than $2.3 trillion. Now with that in mind, bring the troops home alive and put the savings to balance the bud- get. These wars have no connec- tion to 9-11, Bob Hogan, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3063 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. An evolving discussion Commentary I am encouraged by the general tone of the recent spate of letters and columns in the Red Bluff Daily News; these writings were spurred by a relatively polite letter by a parent about “Darwinism” in the public schools and an alleged conflict between it and her faith. In fact, there has been a lot written in the paper lately about the Bible and perceived conflicts between faith and science. For the most part the letters and commentaries have been polite, even those that have been somewhat assertive. There may have been some gaps in vari- ous writers' knowledge of either science or Scripture, but the tones were civil. This is a good sign, and maybe can be an example for other communities. I do not believe issue of science versus religion is an either/or proposition, however. Some writers supporting Bibli- cal faith have also given lip service to the general consensus of science that our universe is around 14 bil- lion years old. This is in contrast to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher who in the 17th cen- tury claimed he used Biblical clues to place the day of Creation as October 23, 4004 B.C. Clearly many writers acknowledge the advances we have made in describ- ing the Creation through science. Biblical faith has often assumed a defensive posture since the Age of Enlightenment in the seven- teenth century. The Enlightenment emphasized humanism and sci- ence, and probably created a more prominent pride on the part of humankind; some would say that because of our "advanced" knowl- edge we now believe we can do just about anything. Biblical faith, of course, focuses more on humili- ty and servant leadership, not the pride of accomplishment and the development of personal enlight- enment. A good example of the contrast between Enlightenment science and the Bible is the account of the Battle against the Amorites in Joshua: 10; Hebrew scripture says the sun stood still, but there is no record of such an Earth shattering event in history. If the earth would have stopped rotating, the inertia of such an abrupt stop would have been felt around the world. Science has demonstrated beyond a doubt that the sun always stands still in relation to the Earth; the Earth rotates on its own axis, giving the impression that the sun rises and sets The “war” between science and the literal interpretation of the scripture in this specific case is really a case of whether or not the words describing the events on the day of the battle were literal or fig- urative; the description of the event most likely reflects the pre-scien- tific world view or understanding of those who edited the scriptures. One of the local pastors alluded to this issue when he commented that the length of a day in the first chapter of Genesis is not clear. The same pastor mentioned the 14 bil- lion year age of the universe, so it must be assumed the Biblical “day” in Genesis is a figurative, not a literal term. Studying the Bible to learn its important truths requires patience and perspective. The various narra- tions about the creation in the Bible provide a good example of this. The most familiar creation account is in the first chapter of Genesis; it is the seven day creation narration, with our Creator proclaiming that the creation is good. After bringing order out of chaos, the Creator forms the creation during the first five days, then creates mankind on the sixth day. For purposes of this example, it is important to remem- ber that it was mankind that was created on the sixth day, not a sin- gle man, and the Creator says humankind will have “dominion over…every living thing.” Immediately after the seven day creation narration is another story about the creation of one man in Genesis 2:4-9. This less familiar story is: “In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heav- ens, when no plant of the field had yet sprung up---for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” The narration continues with the cre- ation of the Garden of Eden, and then the use of the man’s rib to create a female companion for the man. (Quotes are from the New Revised Stan- dard Edition) Joe Harrop the world based on his study of scriptures; he claims to have studied the entire Bible for over 70 years, and although he made a mistake before about making such predictions, he claims that the secret mathematical formula he found in the Bible predicts the end of time. He now he asserts that the world began in 11,013 B.C. and most likely will end this coming May. The “secret number” he dis- covered is 722,500. This number has not been confirmed by any other researchers; nor do mainstream scholars believe the Bible is a code book. Most affirm that our Creator speaks to us plainly through the Scriptures. This second story of the cre- ation of man has some possible chronological inconsistencies with the first, and is somewhat puzzling in the use of a rib to create woman; it talks about the creation of one man, not humankind. The image of our Creator forming us is clear, however, and the narration begins with”In the day that the Lord God made the earth and heavens” which conceivably places it within the context of the earlier narrative. There are other creation refer- ences in the Bible as well; these may or may not be consistent with the narrative in Genesis 1. Psalms 74:13, 14 refers to the Creator breaking the heads of sea monsters at the beginning of creation; Isaiah 50:9 also speaks of the drying up of the primordial waters and the slay- ing of dragons. It is easy to ignore parts of the Bible and jump to conclusions. However, even seasoned Bible students can come to surprising conclusions. Harold Camping an 88 year old radio evangelist from Oakland has predicted the end of The Scriptures can obviously mean different things to different people. I try to keep this in per- spective when I remember Paul’s words to Timothy (3:16, 17), “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” We may dis- agree about aspects of Scripture, but if Paul is correct, it is an inspired guide to empower us to do the Lord’s good work in this Cre- ation. I also believe that Paul hits the nail on the head when he says, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22, 23) As long as our public discus- sions demonstrate these fruits, we will make progress. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.