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Old 02-21-2007, 07:53 PM   #121 (permalink)
asaris
Mad Philosopher
 
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Location: Washington, DC
Will -- I never said that the world was perfectly designed, only that it exhibited signs of design. And order doesn't imply lack of ruthlessness. As for never saying that theism causes injustice, what about the following:

Quote:
The problem is when little things slip through and start effecting everyone. When my best friend cannot get married to his boyfriend because the law prevents their union being recognized the same as a heterosexual marriage, theism has effected everyone. When children are taught in public schools a 'scientific theory' that is based solely in religious texts, theism has effected everyone. When war is declared and one of it's justifications is that "God told me to do it", theism has effected everyone. When a man straps explosive to himself and gets on a bus in order to explode himself, theism has effected everyone.
You also make the claim that non-fundamentalist Christians just pick and choose what to believe. This is simply false. Consider the claim that God created the world in seven days. This is actually the more recent belief -- Christians at least as far back as Augustine believed that passage of Genesis to be metaphorical. An interpretation of scripture that says some passages are metaphorical isn't the same as simply picking and choosing what you believe.

roachboy -- in a nutshell, the fine-tuning argument argues that, given the extreme unlikelihood of the fundamental constants being suitable for the development of matter (not to mention life), it's more reasonable to believe in a God than to not believe in a God. The argument is, of course, a lot more sophisticated than this.
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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

Last edited by asaris; 02-21-2007 at 07:59 PM..
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