axilmar, have you read every one of those 36 pages in full?
I doubt that too.
I thank Godless for the times he's recognized it, but I'm a bit mad that he said nothing in the defense those who are religious and intelligent.
Hey buddy! you don't need any defending. And any religious thinker such as yourelf wouldn't either. But you have to admit, ingnorance is found in both sides of these debates, I've met some real dumbass atheists in my time, I'm one included. Compared to your level of education, I should be a complete ingnoramous. I'm a highschool drop out, no college degree, academically I've been a failure, C's&F's average while I was in highschool, drug addict, drunk, and a gambler. Why else would I move to Las Vegas? LOL.. I am however self taught thanks to Barnes&Noble and this here computer. . My grammar is laughable, I mispelled almost every other word, but I do get an idea across. So my friend, anyone with your level of education, and a theist, compared to me, does not need me to defend his/her's own intelligence.
Particularly M*W, who says she was once Catholic, but clearly ignores the fact that Catholocism holds doctrines like "Fides et Ratio" (Faith and Reason), which upholds reason and logic as a foundation of thought.
Perhaps she thinks this is an oxymoron? who knows. I once defended her she got it from both sides of the debate, a bit radical, yes! she has fire in her loins, but once you get to really know her deep down she's a smart lady, that still got the desire to learn.
I abhore public Christian schools, but private ones are good. The one I attended taught both morality and ethics, ethics being the foundation of good action based on reason, not attached to any religion.
This is true, I attended a Catholic school when I was a child in South America, we didn't even pray at the start of school, but all the teachers wore robes. We also had our uniforms, this has been over 35 years ago so recollection is a tad difficult.
Already I can hear the minds of many scimembers who are reading this shouting "child molestation."
Hey! some of us know that there are bad apples anywhere you go. I'd be willing to bet some self proclaimed atheists may also be a child molester. Some of us know bette than to use "quilt by association" to judge all priests as child molesters. BTW you also commit a logical falacie here, by assuming that we would judge people whom we have never met, to be child molesters. A red herring I believe.
A great deal of us use our intelligence quite willingly and happily. Catholocism, and others, argue that reason is part of the beauty of the human being.
This is quite new though, because it is "reason" which had been the ultimate enemy of religious dogma, and one that theist sought to destroy in the early days of the authoritive churches. The stagnation of new scientific discoveries which contradicted "presumed" theistic generalizations. i.e. Geocentric vs Heliocentric theory for one, and many other exist. The authorative nature of early Catholicism stagnated scientific, philosophical doctrines that they presumed heretical and bias against their religious doctrine. Would you have called this reasonable?
It is "reason" that is still in the forefront of the debate wether the human mind can comprehend reality, and we are loosing the battle since our students today are being tought *that the contents of man's mind need bear no necessary relationship to the facts of reality* Nathaniel Branden**. And furthermore our debate is futile.
clickThe two positions "There is a God" and "There isn't a God" ought not be both differing positions and premises in the same debate. Because, unless there's just one mutual premise upon which both positions are based there can be no rational debate leading to a meaningful conclusion based on logical argument. Either position stated as a premise would eliminate all argument to it and render the debate moot. So, we have to look deeper for underlying premises of the two positions.
**The Stolen Concept
The above link is were i stole the quote from Nathaniel Branden, this is a good article of the defence of reason agaisnt neo-mystics.
Godless