wolven7 | Do Not Fuck With Me: I'm A Philosophy/Religious Studies Professional

This has all, by the way, been in response to this: http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2008/01/atheism-is-the.html#comments

'[Someone's] missing the point and not addressing the argument.

'1) Supposedly "Rationalist" scientists and writers are clinging to a mode simply because it's the mode that allows them to dissect the other modes. A vicious circle that would be derided in any other usage, but science and logic get a pass, it seems.

'2) Those people cling to that mode to the Exclusion of all others, not taking the time to truly understand the position of those who believe otherwise.

'3) Therefore, behaving in an exclusionary way, sometimes going so far as to call for the eradication of all systems and beliefs that aren't theirs, they are to be labeled "Zealot"

'Yes, science and rationality allow us to view the world and make predictions. This is not a view that excludes All Conceptions Of Divinity, which you would know if you'd stop creating straw man arguments against a god you dislike, and actually do some research.

'Science is a SYSTEM by which Human Beings seek to parse the World. That is where i conflate it with religious belief. It says nothing to the content of either, except that they are both full of Concepts that we use to Parse the World.

'Each is imperfect. Each is flawed. Each has clear views about it's own contents and those of systems outside of itself, as well as Not-So-Clear views.

'Science happens to be the collective world-parsing software that caught on, precisely because it talks about the things we can see and touch, and that's fine.

'But don't forget what you are, and don't begrudge someone else their right to believe, if they're not begrudging you. To do otherwise makes you a zealot.'

This is why I got into this game. The debate, and the anger? It's wonderful, really.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I've got a presentation, this afternoon, and a thesis meeting, shortly after that.

Let's get started.