Posted on 07/19/2006 12:39:07 PM PDT by 2nsdammit
You were doing fine until you decided to exhibit your prejudices against religion. Religion is a universal phenomenon among human beings and the literal basis of almost all its cultures.
These definitions are from the web, and reflect the terms as they are more likely to be used by scientists.
Pretty worthless, Emile Durkheim, who was no believer--quite the contrary--regarded this definition as basically negative, as something outside the province of science and hence irrational.
This is no volcano. This is two plates separating.
1. Confidence or trust in a person or thing.
2. belief which is not based on proof.
3. belief in the doctrines or teachings of religion.
I don't think my original definition was too far off.
Most of what most people "know" of science is a matter of trust.
Gotta wonder why someone would use "fiction" as an example. I believe that in reality they know it is true. Admitting it is hard for them.
That's one place where a Christian and an atheist part ways. A Christian doesn't subscribe to "coincidence" since everything is in God's control.
A "hold muh beer" moment of biblical proportion.. lol
"Admitting it is hard for them."
Why do you think so? Plenty of scientists are religious folk.
That's true. Some unusual events have potentially natural explanations which could just as easily be examples of divine intervention.
This is true, and they have a good basis for that trust. Almost all technology, used by people all over the world every day, was developed using what science has learned.
Most scientists and engineers understand how huge amounts of knowledge fit together in a comprehensive framework, the general validity of which is demonstrated, every day, by the whole of mankind's technology.
"Most people" simply know that their stuff works, and generally accept scientific findings (to the extent that they are aware of them), but feel free to disbelieve in things that make them uncomfortable.
Of course, some things are written (or said) about science's conclusions that are not really established as part of the tapestry. A prime example is the current frenzy about "global warming".
There are other things, which many people believe to be debatable, but are, in fact, a well understood part of the big picture. A prime example of this is the argument about evolution.
It also produced a century of the most horrific brutality. Scientists of all stripes benefit from the technological wonders of "modern" science (which dates back to the European middle ages, which created more machines than the whole of the classical world, and laid the technical basis for the "world economy." Scientists, however, can serve the purposes of almosy any ideology and are as wliining as an lackey to do the bidding of those in power,
Futhermore, they are always pretending to know more than they do, because this brings them the attention to those who have the power to dispense wealth and prestige, more or less as the astrologers of old.
Thank you for the Hezbollah view of Exodus.
But they don't get quoted in science magazines.
So you pretty much hate ALL scientists, and the work they have done? Well, I suggest that you start by throwing away that evil computer you are typing on....
Sure they do:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1497635/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1662962/posts
Science didn't produce that "brutality", brutal people (empowered by the venal and ignorant) did. Science had made human life far more pleasant (on the average) today than it has ever been before. The fact that we have some 7th century barbarians misusing technology to try to buck the trend, is an aberration.
Your reasoning would lead you to conclude that guns should be blamed for murders, rather than the murderers.
Now that was quite a stretch. Was there any kind of rational process that got you there, from what I said?
Peach, we can even go to East Africa and watch the rift spread.
*sigh*
How romantical....
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