From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Mon Nov 08 1999 - 09:21:42 MST
In a message dated 11/08/1999 7:32:39 AM Eastern Standard Time,
rob@hbinternet.co.uk writes:
> Basically, it turns out that humans are lizard GTI, and that virtually
> nobody has any interest whatsoever in matters beside those directly
> applicable to the animal. I have become what they claimed to be - and now I
> find myself alone. From this perspective, try and imagine how grating the
> zealous rant of the religious really is, when they have the potential for
so
> much more.
Well stated. Your point regarding about (I'm paraphrasing) rekigious/social
leaders using religion as a means of societal control are historically
accurate. My contention is that not every inter-action between religion and
science is not a re-do of the Scopes trial or even poor Galileo. At every
AAAS conference there is a lecture given to science and religion, focusing on
dialogue. Although religion (Christianity) of the 19th and the
Fundamentalists of the 20th century have played the zero-sum game; there's no
causal reason why this must ever be so.
Don't be surprised with every scientific discovery achieved, that it gets
utilized by the religious, I mean, why not? Religion as practiced by the
non-fundamentalist is a form of social inter-action, and also an "opiate" to
quote Marx. When life is painful, painkillers are frequently the treatment
of choice, while the underlying cause of the pain is tackled.
Interestingly enough, if one reads magazines such as Skeptic and Skeptical
Inquirer; they only thing the readers of that magazine have in common with
most of this list's members is Atheism or Agnosticism. They generally have
dumped on such demonstrated concepts as nanotechnology; join Scientific
American (1997) magazine in terming it a "Cargo Cult" up there with cold
fusion and zero point energy devices.
Not everyone who dares to hope, even for a God, is a book-burner; a disuader
of searching for answers, or a hypocrite. Such people may be mis-guided in
that hope, but its their right. Just as it is your right to say 'its all
bullshit, <God> gets in my way, I don't wanna hear any lies'. Fair enough.
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