The Come and Go of Theories

New University of Washington research indicates it is highly unlikely that comets have caused any mass extinctions or have been responsible for more than one minor extinction event.

After decades of assurances from scientists that comets were responsible for periodic extinction of life on planet earth they have recently reversed themselves due to data received when a comet smashed into the planet Jupiter July 20, 2009. Scientific inquiry is one of proposing then disputing their own theories. Now new text books will have to be written and new theories embraced.

Torah knowledge is different from scientific inquiry in that Torah makes firm statements and challenges the reader to find contradiction, but because of the way the Torah is written the contradictions do not disprove the Torah but cause the student to look deeper into the words and ideas. The Torah promotes ideas tethered to immutable truth because the knowledge comes from the Creator of creation, a firm pillar in the ever-changing sea of relativity.

What keeps truth from becoming dogma is inquiry; the slightest perversion of the text causes havoc within the truth–radically changing perceptions of reality. Science is no different, also seeking true knowledge through inquiry, but lacking that steady hand of the Creator to which all is relative.

The Cabala points out that even though there is nothing new beneath the sun, there is new beyond the sun.