Native Hawaiians Want To Halt A Massive Telescope Project. Here's Why [View all]

[edhopper]

Last edited Sun Jul 28, 2019, 06:32 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-native-hawaiians-protest-tmt-telescope_n_5d2f9120e4b004b6adaa8b0f

This is a difficult question. While I think this telescope is an important scientific advancement and should be built. I also understand the need to not run roughshod over Native people.

But that is not why I am posting here. It is this quote:

Mauna Kea is one of the most sacred sites in Native Hawaiian spirituality. As the tallest mountain in the state, it’s seen as the origin point and the birthplace of the Hawaiian islands. Tradition has it that Wakea, the sky god, and Papa Hanau Moku, mother earth, came together there and birthed the islands.

The Big Island is the youngest of the Hawaiian chain. It cannot be the origin point of the Hawaiian Islands. They were formed by a magma hotspot that is moving East. So what do we do with religious arguments that are provably wrong?


Edit:
I want to add to clarify, I realize there are other considerations for the Native People beyond this religious question. The controversy here is much more complex. I posted this one aspect here because it would generate a conversation about religion and science.