Jed and Ed I am in complete agreement No need to write more Regards JohnH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jed Rothwell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <vortex-L@eskimo.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 12:38 AM Subject: Re: Toward the Next Crusade
> RC Macaulay wrote: > > >An analogy can be drawn by the story of the Muslin truck driver. Should > >the truck break down just over the hill on a dark road, the Muslim would > >leave the truck in the middle of the road. Anyone killed by crashing into > >the truck would be the will of Allah. However, a Christian truck driver > >would think.. > > I do not think much of religion, but this kind of "story" is grotesque, > bigoted crap. No truck drivers anywhere in the world do such stupid things. > They would not survive! People everywhere know how to do their jobs. (On > rare occasions a crazy or drunk truck driver might do this sort of thing -- > but it can happen in any society.) > > Frankly, I think this kind of comment is unacceptable in a forum devoted to > objective, realistic, informed scientific discussions. I do not mind > off-topic comments, but bigotry -- and gross ignorance of other peoples' > cultures -- violates the scientific ethic. > > I should add that ancient Moslem society contributed enormously to the > preservation and expansion of science, especially during the European dark > ages. Moslem researchers made enormous contributions to mathematics, > chemistry, astronomy and many other fields. The "al" in "al Qaeda" came > into English many times in history under happier circumstances, in words > such as algebra, alcohol, alkali and alchemy (which later morphed into > "chemistry"). See also "zero" and our numbering system. > > It is one of histories greatest tragedies that over the last 600 years, > many Moslems have turned their backs on science. But based on their > previous history and contributions, there is absolutely no reason to think > that rationality and science are somehow incompatible with their culture. > On the contrary, looking at the big picture over the last 2000 years, and > the continuing rabid opposition to things like evolution by some Christian > sects, you might conclude that Christianity has a bigger problem. > > - Jed > > >
