Predrag Sustar
Minister for Science, Education and Sport
Croatia
Photo: fah
It’s been reported by Croatia’s portal Index.hr Tuesday 16 February 2016 that Croatia’s new Minister for Science, Education and Sports Predrag Sustar believes that God is the designer of the world and that the question of evolution remains open. Media outlet in Croatia – Index.hr – makes malicious allegations that Croatian scientists claim that Sustar cannot stay as a minister, writes Index’s journalist Martina Paucek Sljivar without actually giving the public some clue as to how many of Croatia’s scientist might think this way, apart, of course, from the two men from Split the article mentions (further on in this post) – and, oh boy – is Split red as in communist red!
Index.hr seems to have dug out an article written by Sustar in 2012 “Science and Religion of Rudjer Boskovic”, in which he reportedly states that the question of evolution remains open and that the God option (as the one who created the world) remains open, for testing the waters in order to see whether yet another minister of the new government in Croatia could be pinned up for ridicule and eventual sacking or resignation (first the minister of veterans’ affairs Mijo Crnoja was on this agenda, he resigned from pressure ….then came Zlatko Hasanbegovic who still honourably survives). Destabilising the new government so it’s incapacitated to do its work is very much the agenda of the left side of politics, former communists, who simply have no interest in seeing significant progress and advancements in all aspects of democratic life and independent Croatia.
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“In God we trust”
“It seems that so far the theory of evolution did not offer any definitive solutions, which still leaves room for God as the designer. In other words, that means that the God option is open “, Index.hr says Sustar wrote in 2012 in the article together with his colleague from the Faculty of Philosophy Aleksandra Golubovic.
“Many scientists in modern times believe that the design can be perfectly explained by the theory of evolution and that God in this context is redundant. How can the organization of the universe be supported by the evolution? Evolution, it seems, is sufficient to explain the process of natural selection, which results in adaptation of organisms to their environment. The only question is whether the theory of evolution can constitute the final explanation for the organization of the whole universe or whether it explains only one aspect, one segment? If the evolution cannot explain the whole of reality, and it seems that it cannot, than there is space for God”, wrote Sustar as reported by Index.hr.
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“In God we trust”
“Theism, that is the view that God is the one who in an optimal way ‘arranged’ the interplay of forces seems like the best explanation for the fact that life in the universe is possible, because if the values of forces were different (or if there was even a minimum deviation in their values), the likelihood of survival would be extremely low or even non-existent. This interpretation could be seen as the best explanation, which tells us that of all the solutions we should choose the one which has the highest probability. God, as the one who ‘arranged’ the forces in an optimal way, is according to theists the best explanation”, Sustar reportedly added.
Pope Francis 2014:
“Evolution in nature is not
inconsistent with the notion of creation,
because evolution requires the creation
of beings that evolve.”
Even though it quotes from 2012 the journalist wickedly compares them with what Pope Francis said in 2014 as if the two were occurring at the same time – today! “These statements by the Croatian Minister of Science are at odds with what Pope Francis said two years ago. “’The theory of evolution and the Big Bang are accurate, and God is not a magician with a magic wand’, said Pope Francis and put an end to theories about God as the creator and designer of the world,” says that evidently ridiculous and seemingly malicious journalist of Index.hr, obviously manipulating Pope Francis’ words and cutting the full truth of Pope’s words from the Croatian public. What Sustar reportedly wrote in his 2012 seems not all at odds with what the Pope said in 2014, indeed if anything both opinions are quite commensurate with one another.
Furthermore, the Index.hr article goes on to refer to what two scientists in Croatia have said about the 2012 Sustar article as though the article was fresh off the press! Those two scientists Ivica Puljak, Split Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Shipbuilding: “…The strangest of all statements in the article (Sustar’s) is that the world has obviously been designed. I do not believe that someone could write something like that. Not a single serious religious person would say that. This is totally wrong because the world has not been designed. Science and religion have nothing in common. All that we know about nature and the universe we have learnt through science, and it will remain so in the future. I would like him to explain what he meant when he said that the question of evolution is open and that the world has been designed”, said Puljak.
Well Mr Puljak – and Index,hr – check out Pope Francis’ words in full from 2014, including: “Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.”
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Austria
St Stephen’s Cathedral
in Vienna image
Dejan Vinkovic, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Split and the director of the Institute of Synergy Between Science and Society, who also spoke for Index.hr on this issue, was reportedly “shocked by ministers words and went a step further and said that a person who does not accept biological evolution is not capable of heading a science and educational system of a country.” Again Vinkovic refers to a 2012 article as if it represents current views of its author and at no time has Index.hr written about any attempt to seek minister Sustar’s current views on “evolution Vs divine creation”; besides and contrary to insinuations made here against Sustar he did not in his writings reject evolution. Indeed, Vinkovic tells us “Creationism advocates the view that the world is a few thousand years ago, and that God created everything as it stands now. These views are equivalent to those who believe that the Earth is flat.” What a ridiculous man – he and not minister Sustar needs a brush-up on how Catholic religion accommodates evolution and creationism as hand-in-had process to the world we have today.
“The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it,” said Pope Francis in 2014 on the issue.
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It is apparent that the article in Index.hr by Martina Paucek Sljivar had no intention of educating the Croatian public as to where evolution stood against creation when it comes to the world’s origins as we know it, but to pluck out bits and pieces of a 4 year old article written by the scientist Sustar in 2012, who is a government minister in Croatia in February 2016, and use those to start a public lynch against him regardless of the facts or full truth – as it stands then and now. “The Council of Europe has warned about the expansion of creationism in schools, but Croatia is making a step backwards by having an education minister who advocates a milder version of creationism. The only responsible thing would be for the minister to resign, or for the prime minister to dismiss him. Everything else would be putting the religious over the secular, pseudoscientific over the scientific”, concluded Vinkovic and proves the correctness of my analysis of the intention of the article on Index.hr.
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Oh dear!
Well now, all the free and democratic world needs to do right now to satisfy Index.hr and its collaborators’ as to how much religion should guide secular democracies includes: the USA must erase “In God We Trust” written on its Dollar bill; EU countries such as France, Germany, Austria – almost all – must remove from their Euro currencies in circulation all religious symbolism; and such. I do trust the new government in Croatia will know how to swiftly kill-off stumbling blocks to progress such as this Index.hr attempt to vilify and destabilise represents. Secular governance does not exclude personal religious beliefs and should not require it and the sooner the Croatian government acts in discrediting these social and scientific dilettantes from Index.hr the better. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)
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This is getting a bit much. Obviously Milanovic’s turd-sniffers have no intention of remaining as opposition in parliament and are full-squirrel undermining each and every aspect of the government ministers’ profiles to achieve that. Pathetic. Glasnovic is right – lustration of the media is a must. And by lustration, I mean (and so does he probably) that those journalists that are profiting on-the-side by way of made-to-order articles commissioned by the yugo-khmers, need to be identified and prosecuted, and their accreditation taken away. There’s nothing wrong with a journalist posting a biased editorial with a particular slant under the “Opinion” section of a publication, but for the good of the country and to establish reasonable dialogue, it wouldn’t hurt to get rid of the lynch-for-hire vermin.
Incidentally, it would have served Ms. Sljivar well to have researched the very origin of the Big Bang theory in a little more detail. She would have found that it was originally proposed by Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian priest and astronomer, who served as a professor of physics at the Catholic University of Leuven. So much for religion and science not being compatible…
Yes I decided not to go too much into the idiocy Ms Sljivar put out in the article regarding the role of creationism/religion in the way we are the way Church see it, Brankec – I thought all too plain for all to see the intent of her article. The issues whether Big Bang or Creation are responsible alone or jointly for what and who we are today is something not a single mortal can say with certainty – we can on;y deduce and/believe and all are right because even the highest proof of what may have been still is not 100% conclusive, I think – Ms Sljivar is indeed a clear example of why lustration is needed in Croatia in the media – NOW. One may not be able to get rid of her or those like her in today’s technology but one can certainly “brand” her as “sus” and let the “markets” cull her out
Most folks have been denied the results of what modern science is telling us including Dr. Sustar and most religious leaders including the Popes. For even to suggest that there is a grand designer of the universe will bring the wrath of atheists from all over the political spectrum down upon your head as Dr. Sustar is now suffering through. My thanks goes out to him – may his kind flourish. I too and my associates have so suffered with censorship and ridicule as we try and bring out the truth in science and education as a result of our field and lab research. But times are changing as are the views of many scientists But why not investigate the discoveries of modern science for yourself? Simply read this technical article from 2009 as found in a book published by the National Research Council of ITALY and found under PUBLICATIONS on our web site http://www.dinosaurc14ages.com and other web sites that support our research like http://originality-of-species.net
http://www.kolbecenter.org
http://www.irc.org
http://www.sedimentology.fr/ What does this do to the theory of evolution from a common ancestor? The IMPLICATIONS will give you some idea. Please pass this on to Dr. Sustar, who as head of education ministry could help bring truth to Science research and education.
High I believe most of those that try and deny any possibility of creationism have an ulterior motive behind their actions and those motives are usually unpalatable to a reasonable mind. I admire minister Sustar – he is proving one “tough cookie” intellectually and knowledge-wise against those that ridicule or accuse, something they did not expect perhaps
I’d be delighted if my countrymen would eliminate the inclusion of primitive, superstitious references on our currencies, but too many of us insist that the sun revolves around our flat, flat earth.
There ya go, Chuck – and the earth revolves, nevertheless 🙂
It is possible to believe in both evolution and the Catholic church’s teaching on creation, Pope Francis has said – after all he is made of blood, bones and muscle…just as we all are. So, as long as one looks after that earth of ours all beliefs of its origins are equal and valid.
Personal contentment makes the world go around, indeed, Manning
If it wasn’t was the lack luster debate and defense of the people being lynched by the leftists, ex communists I would welcome these ‘lynching’ as an opportunity to vigorously debate the facts and provide evidence to shine light on the truth. Like the saying goes, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade. What a great opportunity to start the process of de-communization by presenting alternative points of view, facts and evidence to reveal the truth, and have people start to question the propaganda and lies they have been exposed to all these years. This also means bringing in experts not only from Croatia but from around the world who can provide third party validation. Of course this won’t sway the most ardent communist, but it will sway many people to least question and search for the truth, rather than accept the lies and deceit they’ve been forced fed all these years. Plus smoking out your adversary is never a bad thing. Let’s get on the offensive for once.
I too call for more vuigorous replies to those like Index.hr in this case, Sunman – offensive sounds good but in terms of liberating oneself of the red smucks and twisted losers
BTW, there is a reason it’s called a THEORY of Evolution and not a LAW of Evolution…
😀 😀 😀 too right!
From Facebook comments: I compliment you for your choice of the words “social and scientific dilettantes,” because that indeed is exactly what these pseudo “scientists” are. Science concerns it self with the observable and those things which are repeatable under controlled circumstances whilst philosophy and religion concern themselves with the unobservable and there is very little legitimate intertwinement of the two realms. Another way of saying this is that “science” concerns itself with noticing that frogs hop while philosophy and religion concern themselves with speculations concerning why frogs hop. “Evolution,” being neither observable nor repeatable is finally in the realm of the Church and not of the “scientists” so called unless of course they seek to establish a “religion” of their own in which case they are anathema as the underlying sense of Council of Trent, Canon 9 would seem to describe them. Since, in Croatia, the state does not direct the church (any of them) nor does the church direct the state, neither does this new religion which this rabble seeks to “create” have any jurisdiction over the state. The question is outside the Minister Sustar’s public realm altogether and what he personally believes is no concern to anyone but himself the same as his personal taste in music might be. This rabble of antiquated red-neck dilettantes should go soak their heads in the Jadro until they run out of air or see the light.
Much appreciated David B
This is getting more an more like a Zombie Dawn all the time. The Communists are Dead but refusing to lie down.It really shows you that he will of the people doesn’t matter in their world and that they’ll use any method to get back in except the democratic ballot box.
xxx Huge Hugs Ina xxx
Your perception 100% David – there may be, just may be more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak – hoping so with lots of effort
this article is brilliant, please read, and comment…it is the start to waking people up…
http://kamenjar.com/zlatko-hasanbegovic-je-dodirnuo-sredisnju-tajnu-hrvatske-antifasisticke-prijevare/
Thank you, Sunman – will look into that for sure
Excellent article, Sunman, demonstrating well the current intentions of communist attacks against minister Hasanbegovic and others as part of intolerance towards independent Croatia and as part of resisting lustration and condemnation of communist crimes and criminals as well as those who worked for or with UDBA Yugoslav secret police that murdered more innocent people that Russian KGB…and I totally agree with the analysis of the Constitution in relation to antifascism – while communists keep telling us that the Constitution says the modern state of Croatia is founded on antifascism upon reading the Conmtitution closely in the same paragraph it is obvious that such is not in face written in the Constitution but combines antifascism with other more important thousand year old efforts towards independence etc. And yes, I have always held that WWII victory for Croatia did not deliver the independent Croatia dream and outcomes of efforts – communists in Croatia fought for a Yugoslavia not Croatia and regardless of the push from politicians in government as well as president that Croatia needs to get away from ideology and historical political divide and work on the future one this is for sure unless the past and ideological divide is not put to rest properly – i.e. lustration implemented and communist crimes condemned in detail the future for Croatia is bleak. It rings true what one has often heard :To create a future one must understand and deal with the past” and even if most Croats understand the past most have not dealt with all of it properly – especially communist crimes.
If Croatian “journalists” had two brain cells to rub together, a five minute search on Google might have lead them to discovering Geroges Lemaitre, a Catholic priest and an astronomer who proposed the Big Bang theory, as the origins of our universe. Our journalists might have also been shocked to discover that there have been other men of faith who actually partook in science and contributed to discoveries which today are simply part of life and our knowledge of humanity, such as genetics. Science might give us the answers of how, but it does not answer man’s eternal question of why and for that, we will always seek answers in religion, in one way or another. I am certain there are plenty of people in Croatia and around the world, who can accept scientific laws and theories, yet still retain their belief in something greater, something which which is beyond our human understanding. I fail to see why and how, this is unacceptable in the case of Mr. Sustar.
The separation of church and state or the idea of freedom of religion does not mean “freedom from religion” – it means people from all walks of life are allowed to practice their faith without fear of persecution. Leftist harpies in Croatia, and similar ones around the world who seek to remove God from everything, (but replace him with faith in big government) would do well to remember this. But if their lack of belief is so frail that being exposed to the very idea of God is unbearable, then they might need to seek a psychologist and maybe question exactly why they are so afraid of different views?
Nice one, Kat – cheers
I think God doesn’t mind being off the dollar bill. He wants our love and respect. I would rather have no man or god on money. Thanks for this great post, Ina. Hugs, Robin ♡
Cheers, Robin