Who Says Religion is at Odds With Science?

Traditionally we regard science and religion as opposing systems of ideas where one cannot prove or profit from the ideas of the other. St. Augustine made this point, and was a little less than charitable than is usually observed toward the system of knowledge he considered as anti-religious, math and natural science.

“The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine man in the bonds of Hell.”

St. Augustine must be spinning in his grave with today’s news that the religious are making good use of the devil’s tools to preserve and protect their icons of faith.

It’s in the Chron, an AP article by religion writer Eric Gorski.

It seems that every year about this time a rash of thefts takes place at Nativity scenes from coast to coast.

They keep stealing Baby Jesus.

Jesus in the manger keeps getting swiped, sometimes more than once a year. This comes to some consternation of churches and families that put together these displays because in some cases the statue representing Jesus is an objet d’art, and worth some significant coin.

For example:

“For two consecutive years, thieves made off with the baby Jesus figurine in Wellington, a well-off village of 60,000 in Palm Beach County, Fla. The ceramic original, donated by a local merchant, was made in Italy and worth about $1,800, said John Bonde, Wellington's director of operations.”

So these people don’t get mad, they get a GPS location system.

“So last year, officials took a GPS unit normally used to track the application of mosquito spray and implanted it in the latest replacement figurine. After that one disappeared, sheriff's deputies quickly tracked it down.”

Now I call that a fine marriage of science and religion, don’t you?

So Savior snatchers, be on notice. That Baby Jesus you just lifted just may be bugged.