Literally ten minutes ago, I finished watching "Angels and Demons", the movie starring Tom Hanks based on the book by Dan Brown. As far as entertainment value, the movie was filled with live action sequences and fun to watch. However, the underlying message, which is that the meshing of religion and science does not need to be blasphemous, was both intriguing and thought provoking.

Obviously, to start off with, the plot is pure fiction. If the symbolism and path was so easy to trace (as Tom Hank's character makes it appear) then it would have been discovered decades ago. The same goes for all of the secret passageways and such. As far as the Catholic folklore, I don't know if it is fiction or not (I'm a baptized and confirmed Lutheran) however I'm sure if there are any grams of truth to them they are stretched to fit the plot.

However, as I had mentioned earlier, the overall theme was that religion and science do not necessarily have to war with each other. I would encourage both die hard Catholics and die hard atheists to watch the film and learn something.

Perhaps my favorite quote from the movie is that of one of the cardinals: "Religion is flawed, but only because man is flawed...even this one." Another character makes the observation (and I'm not 100% sure this one is a direct quote, but at the very least is close): "Science is so young, so reckless. It has much to learn from religion."

Now, how does a fictional movie about the Vatican make it's way into a political/cultural blog site such as this one? Because of the very real battles that occur on the political scene every day. The church, and by association the religious right, will constantly assert that different parts of scientific progress are against Gods will and break moral barriers. The scientists (who are, as a whole, profoundly atheist) assert that there is no God and no moral boundaries to be aware of. For each case, I'm sure, there can be middle ground.

In the case of stem cell research, instead of a collective "no" from the church, why not insist that government funding only goes to those that pursue stem cell research using skin cells, which has not only been more successful than stem cell research using fetuses but eliminates the moral argument?

Instead of Christians demanding that schools teach creationism in science class, why not focus those demands at more school choices, such as voucher programs, and concede that public schools are no place to fight religious, idealistic battles with Darwinism?

Instead of atheists constantly preaching their "church of atheism", and diminishing the opinions of religious people, why don't they try and push that perhaps evolution and other scientific break throughs aren't the answer to "why life was created", but rather "how"?

I know, I know. Some guy sitting in his attic that just watched a really cool, thought provoking movie isn't going to solve a problem that has been around since men can remember. However, why not? If somebody reads this, and is inspired by it, and passes the message on to a friend, it is worth it. If another passes it on, and then another, and then another...well, that's how hearts and minds and ways of thinking are changed. If nobody decides this post is worth any salt? Then it's just that, another post. And depending on who's reading it, either one of the greatest...or a horrible one. Which is it?