I didn't know this before but apparently the Book of Genesis contains two stories of the creation which have been combined by some editor(s). The same thing...
16652
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 1, 2007 1:50 pm
... I don't think that's a heretical view; I think most scientists (at least those who have a decent grounding in the philosophy of science) would agree with...
16654
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 1, 2007 2:49 pm
Robin wrote: "I don't think that's a heretical view; I think most scientists (at least those who have a decent grounding in the philosophy of science) would...
16655
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 1, 2007 3:59 pm
... The Dalai Lama does indeed practice a from of Tantra - there are 57 varieties. Since I don't know the details of Trungpa's misbehaviour, I can't really say...
16657
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 1, 2007 4:08 pm
... [snip] ... Fine, but has any research been done on the correlation between religion and immoral behaviour? Robin -- Robin Turner IDMYO Bilkent...
16658
Amos
vivepablo
Sep 1, 2007 4:27 pm
Peter: Perhaps the answer is that while all descriptions are metaphoric, some metaphors function better than others. To use the old saying, a map is...
16659
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 1, 2007 5:12 pm
For a pompous ass of a Professor at Kings College London suffering from ennui that's a damn good review! Peter...
16660
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 1, 2007 6:43 pm
Amos wrote: "Perhaps the answer is that while all descriptions are metaphoric, some metaphors function better than others. To use the old saying, a map is not...
16661
jan.garrett
chrys1943
Sep 1, 2007 11:20 pm
Actually, I meant "Scientific Progress" not "Programs"; in my previous subject line, but I guess nobody noticed. No big deal. What is perhaps equally...
16662
jan.garrett
chrys1943
Sep 2, 2007 1:55 am
I don't see how one could research the correlation of religion and good behavior without simultaneously asking whether there is a correlation between religion...
16663
Steve
marquis95960
Sep 2, 2007 5:23 am
Jan writes: _______________ Some of the most vigorous advocates of taking a good, hard, scientific and empirical look at religion are atheists. _______________...
16664
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 10:47 am
... [snip] (1) With regard to "Epictetus's own brand (of stoicism)", what is the ... I'm not sure what he's trying to say here. Eppictetus certainly had his...
16665
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 2, 2007 11:04 am
Well, that's a predictable response. It's the old, old, story, you tell them you're an anarchist, you tell them you believe in non-violence, and they come out...
16666
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 11:15 am
... Sorry, but I didn't see any lampooning here, nor do I see the connection with the deranged nutter. Can you explain? Robin -- Robin Turner IDMYO Bilkent...
16667
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 2, 2007 12:02 pm
Yes, I read Jan's reply as a piece of sarcasm. I interpreted his message as 'Why bite the hand that feeds you? It's all very well to deny progress but in the...
16668
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 12:14 pm
... I certainly didn't see it as a bit of sarcasm, but rather as a qualification to what Jan said earlier about the tendency of science to progress. In his ...
16669
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 2, 2007 2:24 pm
Yes, but where are the results of this 'betterment of the world' to be found? There are still wars, plagues continue, disasters go on, tyranny abounds. . . if...
16671
Amos
vivepablo
Sep 2, 2007 2:55 pm
Steve: I think that you're right that such studies are not likely to be objective. First of all, good character means something different in Tehran than...
16672
Steve
marquis95960
Sep 2, 2007 2:59 pm
Peter writes: _______________ Yes, but where are the results of this 'betterment of the world' to be found? There are still wars, plagues continue, disasters...
16673
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 3:00 pm
... When people talk about a belief in progress, they can mean one of several things, e.g. 1. a belief that human beings, under some circumstances, can improve...
16674
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 3:05 pm
... And I would guess that most if not all of the studies have been conducted in secular countries, where people have a fair amount of choice as to which...
16676
nsarwark
Sep 2, 2007 3:34 pm
... Atlantic and disrupting the Gulf Stream, and the result is plunging Europe (and several of the folks in this email group) into another ice age, while...
16677
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 4:31 pm
... If I remember rightly, we discussed this issue before without managing to reach a conclusion. I would say it depends on who we class as "we" and which of...
16678
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 2, 2007 4:56 pm
Robin, I grew up against the backcloth of the cold war and the possibility--the virtual inevitability according to some--of all out nuclear war and with it the...
16679
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 2, 2007 5:13 pm
Well, Steve, thanks for the thoughts. But as I said to Robin progress is for me alone in the here and now of my life: I have to do something about me. As for...
16680
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 2, 2007 5:16 pm
I just must say it occurs to me that faith in progress verges on religion. It is a plea of those in depair: "Oh please god let there be progress otherwise...
16681
Sophia Shapira
sophia_shapira
Sep 2, 2007 5:17 pm
... The reason for that is as a test to see if people would stick by their principle in the most extreme cases. Of course -- is this an appropriate question?...
16682
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 5:21 pm
... That is precisely the straw man argument I was referring to below. A few people may well treat progress as a quasi-religious belief, but I do not think...
16683
peter
phrygianslave
Sep 2, 2007 6:47 pm
If, Robin, what you say is true, namely that large numbers of people believe everything is getting worse, and one often hears people complaining and bewailing...
16684
Robin Turner
selgusni
Sep 2, 2007 7:13 pm
... No, to say that some people think things are getting better while others think that they are getting worse does not mean that things are actually getting...
