Editor,
Richard Berthold, in his column published in the Daily Lobo on Friday, begins with, "Like Darwinian evolution, the idea that the Earth circles the sun is just a theory. But like evolution, it is a theory with an incredibly high probability of being correct ...."
Hardly. The mechanics of our solar system, based on the work of Kepler and Newton, are cyclic, quantifiable and verifiable - not a theory but a proven fact. Evolution, a theory, which among other complexities, is temporal, nonmechanistic and multivariable, does not warrant "an incredibly high probability of being correct."
Berthold's article descends further as he proceeds. It becomes an exercise in demeaning the Hebrew scriptures and belittling the biblical Jews. Thus, near the end, he posits that "the grand empire of David and Solomon was, in reality, a miserable collection of hill
forts ...."
In all this, not a single source is cited. Berthold may be correct in this, or he may not understand the kingdoms of David and Solomon any better than he does the solar system. In any event, the importance of the Hebrew scriptures is not in describing power structures - it is the moral message "to do justice and to love kindness" and the idea that man is not the measure of all things.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
And yes, Berthold, to your consternation, the people of the book, Israel, live.
Donald Gluck
UNM Israel Alliance
