In a message dated 1/14/2004 1:50:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> >There have been scientists among the Christian monks, who have taken >science to great heights. > Confused people can become great scientists. Newton was famously confused and wrong about absolute motion and absolute rest, and Einstein was the same about quantum mechanics. > >They have not been confused neither in science nor in their Christian >faith. > I don't know what is meant by being confused in faith. But if you tell me the names of these monks, I will tell you how they were confused in Science. > >There is no conflict between science and Christian faith. > What is the difference between humans and animals according to the Christian faith? What is the Christian view on exorcism in the treatment of mental illness? What is homosexuality according to the Christian faith? Can a wooden statue start miraculously crying tears of blood according to the Christian faith? Does Christian faith not necessitate the violation of the laws of thermodynamics from time to time? I submit to you that in each of these cases Science is in direct conflict with the Christian faith. > > Do we have hard evidence in all realms of human existence? > In Science we do. Hard evidence is the foundation of modern science. > >Faith is one of the sources of knowledge. > Not knowledge about the natural world! Faith can tell us nothing about the origin, structure and operation of the universe, and the living organisms that inhabit it. It cannot tell us with any degree of certainty whether the earth is flat or spheroidal, whether it moves round the sun or is fixed, whether man suddenly appeared on it fully formed or evolved from unicellular organisms, whether lightning is electrical discharge or the wrath of God, whether small pox is caused by a virus or because of the curse of a Goddess, whether an eclipse is an engulfment of a heavenly creature by a giant or a planetary occlusion,and so on. > >To say that faith should not have a place in our life is an >epistemological blunder. > Faith has a role to play in the private lives of individuals. It is also of use in the psychological counseling of people who depend on it. It does not have any epistemological role in understanding the natural world. > >What is faith for you? > For me it is a part of my culture, history and tradition. > >To say that there is no soul, no God, no creation also belong to the >realm of faith... > Not if these things are shown to be ontologically unnecessary. It is an ontological blunder to say otherwise. And an ontological blunder is far worse than an epistemological one. People have lost their lives from commiting an ontological blunder. If every single natural phenomenon can be explained without invoking any of these entities or processes, reason demands that we leave them out of the description of the natural world. Thus spoke a Christian monk, although he did not say it exactly in this context. His name was William of Occam. The Pope excommunicated him because he said something else that was in conflict with the Christian faith. Occam's razor is a handy tool of Science. Cheers, Santosh ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
