BobbyMike
Member
Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049 |
"Science doesn't claim to be true for all time (unlike some things...), but admits it's wrong when the evidence shows otherwise (unless some institution <cough>Gallelio<cough> prevents it)."
Science as what kind of entity? You can certainly use Gallelio (a committed Christian) as a person persecuted by an institution (the Catholic Church) in the name of 'faith', but there are as many instances of scientific institutions doing the same. Not all scientists believe contradicting evidence, just as not all religious people believe evidence that contradicts their beliefs. People have been debating Christianity since Jesus' time. They will continue to do so forever.
"Come now, don't go down "the majority thinks so" track, you'll get flayed..."
I wasn't. Merely pointing out that millions of people believe in scientific theories simply because someone they hold in authority told them it was true. They have faith in things that they don't actually comprehend, and couldn't explain if you held a gun to their heads.
"So you're saying that Every single instance of tragedy (putting aside my belief that, as a Xn, you don't really believe in tragedy) is caused by human sin.
No, merely that tragedy is a preventable happening.
Really? Every instance? With the tiger, at least the doe is taking part in the chain of life, with the lava, it's just needlessly dying, and suffering while it does.
Just because the doe doesn't end up directly in another beings stomach doesn't mean it's not part of the chain. In that instance it gets burnt and hydrocarbons get released into the atmosphere.
That's not an instance of tragedy? Do you think that animals are beings with moral worth? You say "tragedy is a preventable thing," but if you believe in god, then all non-human caused tragedy is preventable.
'Beings with moral worth'? Do you mean beings worth something morally, or beings that can make moral choices?
I believe that hunting for sport is a waste, but that hunting for food is not. I believe that dogs and other creatures can display loyalty. I don't believe in masking animals with human morality / personalities though. That leads to trying pigs for murder (has happened). As a Christian I believe that we have a charge to care for the creatures we share this planet with. The 'dominion over' quote we are familiar in the Bible was actually about having a responsibility over other creatures, not about being able to do whatever we want to do to them. The loss of the does life was a waste, but not a tragedy- semantics?
Main Entry: trag�e�dy
Pronunciation: 'tra-j&-dE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -dies
Etymology: Middle English tragedie, from Middle French, from Latin tragoedia, from Greek tragOidia, from tragos goat (akin to Greek trOgein to gnaw) + aeidein to sing -- more at TROGLODYTE, ODE
Date: 14th century
1 a : a medieval narrative poem or tale typically describing the downfall of a great man b : a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror c : the literary genre of tragic dramas
2 a : a disastrous event : CALAMITY b : MISFORTUNE
3 : tragic quality or element
"The idea that life could be worth living without having the possibility of loss is foreign to me."
"That's a pity. Perhaps it's foreign to me too, could be, probably is."
Why a pity? I simply believe you/me/anybody treasures things more when there is the possibility of loss. Taking things for granted dulls appreciation. It's a perception thing, a comment about our present situation, not a comment on 'all possible worlds".
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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."
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07-27-2001 12:28 AM
, I'll have to agree that there's a certain abritrariness to our most "rational" systems. We take for granted that we can trust repeatable, commonly observes events, but it's just as possible that "there is no spoon." However, our common acceptance of certain axioms is, I think, pretty much hard-wired into our brains, which doesn't make it any truer, but does make it much harder to disprove... I'm losing my train of thought here...
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