RE: MD On Faith

From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Sat Oct 09 2004 - 16:14:46 BST

  • Next message: Mark Steven Heyman: "RE: MD On Faith"

    On 9 Oct 2004 at 8:59, Platt Holden wrote:
    msh:
    But, as we all know, religion requires much more than a belief in
    unprovable truth; it requires a belief in God.

    As we all know? Tell that to the folks at Merriam-Webster who define
    religion as:

    " 4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and
    faith"

    msh says:
    Yes, I guess if you get a big enough dictionary, and read far enough
    down the list of less and less common uses of the word, you'll find a
    definition far enough out of phase with popular usage to match your
    obfuscatory needs.

    Even this definition won't quite work for you, however, since good
    scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers accept their first
    principle(s) not out of ardor or faith, but utility. You are bending
    over backward to blur what is a very clear distinction between
    religious faith and scientific assumption.

    Best,
    Mark
    --
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    "Thought is only a flash between two long nights, but this flash is
    everything." -- Henri Poincare'

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