tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post1056094989043221361..comments2023-11-03T11:32:01.540+00:00Comments on Thought Experiments : The Blog: Science and Religion Again. Sorry.Bryan Appleyardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-79899454794205212362007-04-28T22:10:00.000+00:002007-04-28T22:10:00.000+00:00It is obvious to almost anybody that there is a st...It is obvious to almost anybody that there is a staggeringly grand and enormous degree of order in the universe. It appears, moreover, that this must always have been so. <BR/>I am often asked by my students the following questions; (1) is there a God? and (2) Do scientists believe in God?<BR/>They get told by me that <BR/><BR/>(1) I believe that There Is, but that He supports Darwin and Dawkins,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-64460652218945996572007-04-26T18:48:00.000+00:002007-04-26T18:48:00.000+00:00FOR EMINENT PHYSICISTS God must be glad to see the...FOR EMINENT PHYSICISTS<BR/><BR/> God must be glad to see them play<BR/> Like kittens in the sun<BR/> Delighted with the wisps of hay<BR/> Blown from His haggard on a breezy day...<BR/> Time's kittens have your fun.<BR/><BR/> Patrick Kavanagh (1905-1967)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-20291858222117465492007-04-26T18:07:00.000+00:002007-04-26T18:07:00.000+00:00Yes, I agree with all that you've written, rupe, b...Yes, I agree with all that you've written, rupe, but if one is truly religious, then THAT is the most important thing that one can teach one's children, for what could be more important than one's relationship with God? (Assuming, again, that one is highly religious).<BR/><BR/>So I pity those who get nurtured badly and dysfunctionally, but the solution is to change the minds and attitudes of <I>Oroboroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250012500728430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-52529741002810504432007-04-26T12:18:00.000+00:002007-04-26T12:18:00.000+00:00"Duck, yup i'm being ironic. Although i do see cha..."Duck, yup i'm being ironic. Although i do see chavs as symptoms of a land without any meaning beyond the next buck."<BR/><BR/>I see them as symptoms of a land without universal conscription.Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08852569465893563139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-29642510622627806712007-04-26T12:02:00.000+00:002007-04-26T12:02:00.000+00:00Ah, Oro, you are showing your age. You seem to su...Ah, Oro, you are showing your age. You seem to suffer from the old-fashioned and oppressive notion that children are born undisciplined, selfish blobs that need molding through love, education and discipline. Haven't you heard they are born innocent, perfect and creative and are destined to write a bestseller or win an Olympic gold medal if parents don't warp their fragile psyches by telling Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-28574664244429559792007-04-26T11:28:00.000+00:002007-04-26T11:28:00.000+00:00"Force feeding kids with ideology" is also known a..."Force feeding kids with ideology" is also known as socialization, and it's one of the main points of parenting.<BR/><BR/>But of course it's a horror when someone else's ideological teachings clash with our own.<BR/><BR/>But nobody is without ideology.Oroboroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01710250012500728430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-63063294863924848402007-04-26T09:51:00.000+00:002007-04-26T09:51:00.000+00:00rupe:Do you and the others here who hold that view...rupe:<BR/><BR/>Do you and the others here who hold that view really mean it or are you just having rhetorical fun? Would you be happy if the child protection authorities removed children from their parents for sending them to Sunday School or a yeshiva?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-87839443541665110032007-04-26T09:42:00.000+00:002007-04-26T09:42:00.000+00:00I dipped into that blog, Susan. It's great. Very d...I dipped into that blog, Susan. It's great. Very droll. For example : You can call it "original sin," but maybe it was just lax parenting. I like that. <BR/><BR/>What is Jewish humour? Is that an example? I love that old joke about the two Jewish women in the restaurant. One says to the other: The food in here is terrible. And the other replies: Yes, and the portions are so small. Is that Jewish Neil Forsythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240393170374161007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-48726435450212214992007-04-26T07:53:00.000+00:002007-04-26T07:53:00.000+00:00"It is so sad that we have faiths.... embedding in..."It is so sad that we have faiths.... embedding into our children all the partisan ignorance, fear & nonsense of the past."<BR/><BR/>Again, there's a difference between faith and religion. But i agree, the force feeding of our kids with ideology before they have the ability to make up their own minds is tantamount to abuse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-16984481386219573602007-04-25T22:43:00.000+00:002007-04-25T22:43:00.000+00:00Neil, check this out:http://www.slate.com/id/21410...Neil, check this out:<BR/><BR/>http://www.slate.com/id/2141050/<BR/><BR/>Hilarious blog about the Bible. David Plotz, Jewish guy & witty writer, is reading through it and interpreting each chapter (and a lot of the verses). Great way to refresh your memory. And if you study Irish writers or Southern ones, you'd darn sure better know your Bible!<BR/><BR/>Plotz' analyses, even if you don't agree Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-58890182711291521082007-04-25T22:31:00.000+00:002007-04-25T22:31:00.000+00:00Right enough, I don't remember them rolling in the...Right enough, I don't remember them rolling in the aisles the last I visited a church. And while I think I have a fairly good sense of humour myself, I didn't find much of it funny. A lot of old material, which was a bit disappointing. However, the one about turning the other cheek had me in stitches. I like that kind of risque stuff.Neil Forsythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240393170374161007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-65853420368811862462007-04-25T21:36:00.000+00:002007-04-25T21:36:00.000+00:00Neil, it's only not funny when you believe it.Neil, it's only not funny when you believe it.Gonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17979621132151870323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-48942673684151068642007-04-25T21:34:00.000+00:002007-04-25T21:34:00.000+00:00Twelve hours later but having re-read now I have f...Twelve hours later but having re-read now I have finally woken up I have some questions. Surely Dawkins places himself in the opinion marketplace not science as you assert. Is Dawkins not simply painting pictures on the backgound phenomenon in the same way others with religous beliefs are doing?<BR/>Are you suggesting that we end debate on the subject when you suggest we should "rely on the Gonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17979621132151870323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-72057560408130426342007-04-25T21:29:00.001+00:002007-04-25T21:29:00.001+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Neil Forsythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240393170374161007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-54190090227857175772007-04-25T21:29:00.000+00:002007-04-25T21:29:00.000+00:00Congratulations, Bryan. I reckon this blog of your...Congratulations, Bryan. I reckon this blog of yours is taking off. Now, I hope you will not be tempted to sneak in a science/religion angle too often just to get the hits - that would be a cynical ploy. You'll go straight to hell.<BR/><BR/>Susan, if that kid of yours is as smart as you say and he has a sense of humour too, he's bound to reject all religions. Apart from none of them making any Neil Forsythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240393170374161007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-57230084907519297622007-04-25T19:29:00.000+00:002007-04-25T19:29:00.000+00:00Duck, yup i'm being ironic. Although i do see chav...Duck, yup i'm being ironic. Although i do see chavs as symptoms of a land without any meaning beyond the next buck.<BR/><BR/>Susan, your house sounds truly civilized!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-54031002362658070942007-04-25T18:10:00.000+00:002007-04-25T18:10:00.000+00:00Nah, it's because reality is driven into contradic...Nah, it's because reality is driven into contradiction by the force of the dialectic. But fear not, there is light on the horizon, we shall reach the point where these opposites are unified at a higher level of thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-38533861624117384992007-04-25T17:56:00.000+00:002007-04-25T17:56:00.000+00:00"In our house, the motto is live and let live. Why..."In our house, the motto is live and let live. Why can't it be so in the world?"<BR/><BR/>Because control freaks on both sides want an arguement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-11639927790270964682007-04-25T17:47:00.000+00:002007-04-25T17:47:00.000+00:00Oh, all those poor, proselytized children! Mine ar...Oh, all those poor, proselytized children! <BR/><BR/>Mine aren't, c'est sur. My husband is a scientist and does not believe in a higher power. He's fine with the fact that I do. We have given our kids rules for living: Do unto others; be kind whenever you can; use the table manners we taught you (endlessly); be a good listener and when you talk, add something; love your friends and family becauseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-73404799742791900152007-04-25T16:59:00.000+00:002007-04-25T16:59:00.000+00:00IanI couldn't agree more. Whether taking it up or ...Ian<BR/><BR/>I couldn't agree more. Whether taking it up or on, people are interested.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-31625681199701958142007-04-25T16:55:00.000+00:002007-04-25T16:55:00.000+00:00recusant, there is a world of difference between u...recusant, there is a world of difference between uninterested in taking it up and uninterested in taking it on.Ian russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106519805045337505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-54839514059578419992007-04-25T16:54:00.000+00:002007-04-25T16:54:00.000+00:00"I suspect that religious belief will eventually c..."I suspect that religious belief will eventually come to be regarded as some form of mental derangement"<BR/> <BR/>I seriously doubt this. Most secularists believe religion is something that can be removed from us. They never bother to ask themselves where it comes from. If religion is an irrational belief it's because human beings themselves are fundamentally irrational.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-25888093629217365652007-04-25T16:52:00.000+00:002007-04-25T16:52:00.000+00:00Yes recursant there are many B & W issues.But this...Yes recursant there are many B & W issues.<BR/><BR/>But this is the ultimate manifestation. Truth Vs Mumbo-Jumbo. Control Vs Freedom. Progression Vs Regression.<BR/><BR/>It is so sad that we have faiths.... embedding into our children all the partisan ignorance, fear & nonsense of the past.Simian Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09475742601740258825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-6081329927263981552007-04-25T16:34:00.000+00:002007-04-25T16:34:00.000+00:00But Simian Sam the world is littered with Black an...But Simian Sam the world is littered with Black and White issues that attract no interest at all. Or vituperative comment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-78089735178961688112007-04-25T16:32:00.000+00:002007-04-25T16:32:00.000+00:00Recusant.It is that way because it is a black and ...Recusant.<BR/><BR/>It is that way because it is a black and white issue.<BR/><BR/>Ignorance Vs Striving for truth.<BR/><BR/>No floppy mysticism. no Pantheism.<BR/><BR/>Just smug god botherers who >know best< in blind faith, rather than inquisition and proof.Simian Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09475742601740258825noreply@blogger.com