# Did this passage come from a Christian textbook? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771 "2022-06-06T19:07:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/21 "2022-06-07T18:07:28Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > When you burn fossil fuels, you are releasing chemical energy that was stored in dead plants and micro-organisms that eventually became coal, oil, natural gas, etc. The ultimate source of that chemical energy was sunlight. By the logic of this book, we can just say that the origin of milk is not cows but the Big Bang. I’ve seen lots of posts from creationists along exactly these lines, so the nonsense here doesn’t really surprise me all that much. “You can’t see the wind, therefore god. You can’t prove ancient animals existed, therefore God.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/22 "2022-06-07T18:37:07Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Based on the “nobody has ever seen it or felt it” part, I’m guessing the writer doesn’t know lightning is electrcity. A bit of googling led me to [this old reddit thread about the book](https://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/kkn3g/electricity_according_to_christian_science_book/), which shows an image of the page in question. The page includes a Bible verse that mentions thunder and lightning. [![](https://i.imgur.com/4hfC6.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/4hfC6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/23 "2022-06-07T21:06:04Z")
Strangely enough, this sounds almost exactly like something from the book _Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman_, where Richard Feynman discusses what a primary school textbook should state about energy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/24 "2022-06-08T00:24:19Z")
…Why is the kid wearing spaghetti on her head? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/25 "2022-06-08T00:37:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > …Why is the kid wearing spaghetti on her head? - Closet Pastafarian. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/26 "2022-06-08T00:42:39Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Based on the “nobody has ever seen it or felt it” part, I’m guessing the writer doesn’t know lightning is electrcity. Good to know. I didn’t feel anything last week when I tried to replace that light switch after turning off the wrong circuit breaker. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/27 "2022-06-08T00:53:00Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Based on the “nobody has ever seen it or felt it” part, I’m guessing the writer doesn’t know lightning is electrcity. Technically, lightning is the result of ionized air particles, resulting from the passage of an electrical force. The force itself, like gravity, is not visible. [photons - Can lightning happen in a vacuum? - Physics Stack Exchange](https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/281246/can-lightning-happen-in-a-vacuum#:~:text=Yes%2C%20because%20charge%20can%20flow,charge%20moving%20through%20the%20atmosphere). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/28 "2022-06-08T01:53:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve seen lots of posts from creationists along exactly these lines, so the nonsense here doesn’t really surprise me all that much. > “You can’t see the wind, therefore god. You can’t prove ancient animals existed, therefore God.” “You can’t measure electricity, therefore God.” What’s that? You can measure electricity? “You can measure electricity, therefore God.” ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/29 "2022-06-08T02:20:35Z")
Foreshadowing your next cooking video? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/30 "2022-06-08T03:47:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > _"We can see and feel and hear only what electricity does . We know that it makes lightbulbs shine and irons heat up and telephones ring. But we cannot say what electricity itself is like._" Same is true of everything. Sure, I know the sensation in my brain when cheese exudes certain molecules that interact with olfactory receptors in my nose. And I know what occurs when the molecular forces on the surface of cheese interact with the molecular forces that form the surface of my skin. And we can detect pressure waves in air that result from cheese hitting the floor when we drop it. And we know what wavelengths of light are reflected by cheese and travel to our retinas. But that is only what cheese _does_. We cannot say what cheese itself is like. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/31 "2022-06-08T06:29:04Z")
_You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it smart…_ Textbooks are supposed to be written by exerts in the particular field sufficiently knowledgeable to give a version of the complex science behind certain aspects of nature and life and reduce it to terms appropriate to the target audience without being misleading. Textbook companies spend a lot of time and effort trying to produce books that are honed to the truth while not confusing little minds - mostly the minds of some school boards who decide what is appropriate, that is. This however seems to be the writings of a misguided earnest know-not who has a single message to get across - and it’s not a message about explaining science to be understood. it ticks a box for equally misguided parents who want to home-school their kids to the same message. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/32 "2022-06-08T07:18:45Z")
The idea of a textbook that literally explains that it can’t explain anything, and that nothing _can be_ explained, would be deliciously ironic if it were not in earnest. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/33 "2022-06-08T09:33:27Z")
> **[Christian Textbook Urges Readers To “Keep a Closed Mind”](https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2017/08/25/christian-textbook-urges-readers-to-keep-a-closed-mind/)** > > Can't let facts get in the way of indoctrination now, can we? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/34 "2022-06-08T11:38:01Z")
In the interests of factual rigour, shouldn’t it be noted that this book’s author and its market are representative of only a certain sort of people who call themselves Christian? I’m sure there are a fair few Christians who would say of this that what it’s got to do with Jesus, Jesus only knows. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/35 "2022-06-08T12:27:18Z")
I would hope that everyone here was already taking that as given. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/36 "2022-06-08T13:01:48Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The idea of a textbook that literally explains that it can’t explain anything, and that nothing _can be_ explained, would be deliciously ironic if it were not in earnest. **An Introduction to Ontology** seems like what you might be looking for. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/37 "2022-06-08T16:37:01Z")
In another thread someone mentioned [Abeka](https://www.abeka.com/), a company (not this one) that produces materials and courses for Christian schools and home schooling. One thing that struck me, prowling around the STEM stuff is that they gave no samples except for a few partial images of some of the pages, just statements like _You—not a teacher—are the one shaping their values._ and _Our mission is to support and equip students, teachers, and parents by providing amazing Pre-K through Grade 12 academic resources based upon biblical values._ I was wondering what they were trying to hide and who they were trying to hide it from. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/38 "2022-06-08T19:30:02Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I’m sure there are a fair few Christians who would say of this that what it’s got to do with Jesus, Jesus only knows. True, but their response would be that those are not true Christians. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/39 "2022-06-08T19:49:21Z")
Since visible light is the optical portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, electricity is actually the only thing anyone _can_ see. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771/40 "2022-06-08T21:43:25Z")
Only if it ionizes the air, or something. For the same reason, all those s-f movie beam weapon shots visible are hooey but at least there’s a story-telling reason to have them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-passage-come-from-a-christian-textbook/965771.md?page=3)