What pontificating nonsense. Religion IS hostile to Science and, indeed, anything which brings its myths into question;
1) The inquisition was in direct opposition to Galileo. They banned any of his books which referred to the Copernican theory, sentenced him to life imprisonment - later changed to house arrest after he recanted. The church in 2008, once again, having done so previously, recanted and "forgave" Galileo.
2) They prefer the tenets of a 2000yr old man made book to the applied logic of Science. One only has to look at religions ludicrous position on creationism, fossils, the big bang etc. Get into a discussion about these things (pointless) and all they can offer is; "the bible says so."
3) Finally, and importantly, If their god is omniscient one might of expected a better book than the bible, which even biblical scholars find ambiguous, contradictory, and obtuse. His report card would surely have said; "could do better."

>> ^shinyblurry:
lennox babbling


Religion and science are not in conflict because of how Galileo was treated ot because Huxley debated a bishop, they are in conflict, and will forever be in conflict because of the way they work:

Science is the systematic way of removing faith from the equation, and to systematically question and test every assumption to prevent us from fooling ourselves.
Religion is precisely the opposite: Its a systematic way of perserving faith in the face of doubt and uncertainty. Its a systematic way of avoiding the hard questions and keep fooling oneself.

Which is why its defenders often attack those who question and destroy previous assumptions about the world (Darwin or Galileo). The two examples Lennox gives are symptoms of the conflict, not the conflict itself.

As Jerry Coyne puts it in "Why evolution is true": "Not all religious people are creationists, but all creationists are religious" So when we ask ourselves why more than 40% of the US deny the factual existance of the fundamental process that created and drives all living things on earth, the answer isnt just ignorance or stupidity. It is organized ignorance, stupidity and dogma, or religion as some call it.

What pontificating nonsense. Religion IS hostile to Science and, indeed, anything which brings its myths into question;
1) The inquisition was in direct opposition to Galileo. They banned any of his books which referred to the Copernican theory, sentenced him to life imprisonment - later changed to house arrest after he recanted. The church in 2008, once again, having done so previously, recanted and "forgave" Galileo.

You seem to be relying on a few myths yourself there, A10anis

http://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2007/11/26/debunking_the_galileo_myth/page/full/


2) They prefer the tenets of a 2000yr old man made book to the applied logic of Science. One only has to look at religions ludicrous position on creationism, fossils, the big bang etc. Get into a discussion about these things (pointless) and all they can offer is; "the bible says so."

This is entirely a straw man argument. The bible is not in conflict with science, but there are certainly many out there with a poor understanding of both science and scripture who make it seem that way, both for or against. I wouldn't accept "the bible says so" as an argument if I didn't believe the bible was true, either. No one who has done the research would make that argument.

3) Finally, and importantly, If their god is omniscient one might of expected a better book than the bible, which even biblical scholars find ambiguous, contradictory, and obtuse. His report card would surely have said; "could do better."

The bible is a spiritual book, and atheists (such as biblical scholars) cannot understand it.

>> ^A10anis:

What pontificating nonsense. Religion IS hostile to Science and, indeed, anything which brings its myths into question;
1) The inquisition was in direct opposition to Galileo. They banned any of his books which referred to the Copernican theory, sentenced him to life imprisonment - later changed to house arrest after he recanted. The church in 2008, once again, having done so previously, recanted and "forgave" Galileo.
2) They prefer the tenets of a 2000yr old man made book to the applied logic of Science. One only has to look at religions ludicrous position on creationism, fossils, the big bang etc. Get into a discussion about these things (pointless) and all they can offer is; "the bible says so."
3) Finally, and importantly, If their god is omniscient one might of expected a better book than the bible, which even biblical scholars find ambiguous, contradictory, and obtuse. His report card would surely have said; "could do better."

Do you realize how dogmatic your position actually is? I mean, do you actually find your analysis here intellectually satisfying?

Are you willing to challenge your beliefs? I recommend two books for you:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0890510628/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1595553223/ref=sr_1_1_up_1_main_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342692277&sr=1-1&condition=used

>> ^BicycleRepairMan:

>> ^shinyblurry:
lennox babbling

Religion and science are not in conflict because of how Galileo was treated ot because Huxley debated a bishop, they are in conflict, and will forever be in conflict because of the way they work:
Science is the systematic way of removing faith from the equation, and to systematically question and test every assumption to prevent us from fooling ourselves.
Religion is precisely the opposite: Its a systematic way of perserving faith in the face of doubt and uncertainty. Its a systematic way of avoiding the hard questions and keep fooling oneself.
Which is why its defenders often attack those who question and destroy previous assumptions about the world (Darwin or Galileo). The two examples Lennox gives are symptoms of the conflict, not the conflict itself.
As Jerry Coyne puts it in "Why evolution is true": "Not all religious people are creationists, but all creationists are religious" So when we ask ourselves why more than 40% of the US deny the factual existance of the fundamental process that created and drives all living things on earth, the answer isnt just ignorance or stupidity. It is organized ignorance, stupidity and dogma, or religion as some call it.

I like Chick Fil A's chicken and it's employees. They're nice people.

Edit: Screw it, I don't want to be part of this discussion. Sorry.

>> ^BicycleRepairMan:

>> ^shinyblurry:
lennox babbling

Religion and science are not in conflict because of how Galileo was treated ot because Huxley debated a bishop, they are in conflict, and will forever be in conflict because of the way they work:
Science is the systematic way of removing faith from the equation, and to systematically question and test every assumption to prevent us from fooling ourselves.
Religion is precisely the opposite: Its a systematic way of perserving faith in the face of doubt and uncertainty. Its a systematic way of avoiding the hard questions and keep fooling oneself.
Which is why its defenders often attack those who question and destroy previous assumptions about the world (Darwin or Galileo). The two examples Lennox gives are symptoms of the conflict, not the conflict itself.
As Jerry Coyne puts it in "Why evolution is true": "Not all religious people are creationists, but all creationists are religious" So when we ask ourselves why more than 40% of the US deny the factual existance of the fundamental process that created and drives all living things on earth, the answer isnt just ignorance or stupidity. It is organized ignorance, stupidity and dogma, or religion as some call it.


Very eloquent, i'd only recommend getting rid of the "hard questions, foolish" bit because it sounds insulting. Otherwise it's a really well constructed explanation that even a theologist would find hard to deny.

my gawd is better than your invisible sky king @shinyblurry

>> ^lurgee:

my gawd is better than your invisible sky king @shinyblurry


You and I were created by the same God; a God who loves you and wants you to know Him. He has a plan for your life. Seek Him out and He will show you that He is very real.

lol, that made me laugh. >> ^shinyblurry:

>> ^lurgee:
my gawd is better than your invisible sky king @shinyblurry

You and I were created by the same God; a God who loves you and wants you to know Him. He has a plan for your life. Seek Him out and He will show you that He is very real.