Creation vs. Evolution

[The Chairman]

Religious fundamentalism,

Most who are considered "fundamentalists" are anything BUT. The word "Fundamental" means holding to the core, which we have established as being LOVE. The real descriptor for these people is "Extremists". They have taken their misunderstanding of the scriptures to an EXTREME level, and have forgotten that LOVE is at the fundamental core. Unfortunately, it is entirely too easy for many to judge all of Christendom by these vocal extremists. This is nothing but bigotry cloaked in pseudo intellectualism.

As for being "moderate" in your faith, there is nothing more radical than LOVE. The last man who loved completely from the heart was crucified. They just couldn't handle his love.

 

[Hank49]

Ah, the WWJB syndrome. The big difference here is that God STOPPED Abaraham from killing his son. God would NEVER ask us to kill others. How do I justify the OT wars that SEEM to come from God? I don't. The Scriptures are an account of how MAN sees God. Just like today, many use God to justify a war. God does not wage a physical war. We can blame him all we want but we are only fooling ourselves.

V

What is the WWJB sydrome? Anyway, it's my understanding of the Bible that God DID order Abraham to kill his son to demonstrate his faith in God. I guess he could have been joking but Abraham apparently didn't believe so. God did stop him but Abraham was going to carry out the order. My comparison to the suicide bombers came from the fact that Abraham was going to do it because he believed that whatever the outcome, even after killing his son, it was God's will and it would be OK. Much like the bombers believe that they're carrying out God's will and will go straight to Heaven. The fact that God hasn't stopped them doesn't matter. It's that they believe that they're carrying out God's will and murder in God's name.
Now I'm getting in over my head. I should have stuck to my original statement in this thread. We're too dumb as a species with brains not equipped for understanding eternity and infinite and where we came from. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Most who are considered "fundamentalists" are anything BUT.

Indeed... most of the folks who are labeled "fundamentalists" have long abandonded fundamentals for minutia. What most folks mean when they say "fundamantalist" is "literalist cherry-picker of the Bible." Folks who do that are rarely if ever effective in executing John 15:12...
Rick

 

[The Chairman]

What is the WWJB sydrome?

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

 

[abitton]

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

And all along I thought it was a typo...

 

[Rick Murchison]

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

There's a hint in Matthew 18:6 I think... "whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea"
Rick

 

[Thalassamania]

So, let me get this right. If my son comes home from aikido class spouting pronouncements of Buddha, then I should take his sensei out for a "winter diving lesson" with a very heavy weightbelt? Or, keeping in mind Deuteronomy 13:7-11 should I get a posse together and lead them in stoning my son to death? Or Both? Give it to me straight now, please don't cherry pick.<G>

While the stoning of children for heresy has fallen out of fashion in our country, you will not hear a moderate Christian or Jew arguing for a &#8220;symbolic" reading of passages of that sort (Deuteronomy 13:7-11). In fact, one seems to be explicitly blocked from looking for symbolism by God himself in Deuteronomy 13:1 - "Whatever I am now commanding you, you must keep and observe, adding nothing to it, taking nothing away."

Clearly, Deuteronomy 13:7-11 is as canonical as any in the Bible, and clearly it is only by ignoring such barbarisms that the Good Book can be reconciled with life in the modern world. This is the problem for "moderation" that I was pointing to earlier: there is nothing underwriting moderation other than the unacknowledged neglect of the letter of Devine Law.

 

[lamont]

For a dissenting opinion on string theory, it looks like Lee Smolin has a new book out:

http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Physics-String-Theory-Science/dp/0618551050

And his previous book I found to be really good:

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Roads-Quantum-Gravity-Smolin/dp/0465078362

And this book looks interesting and has "Intelligent Design" in the title (its about the Anthropic principal, though, not Creationism):

http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Landscape-String-Illusion-Intelligent/dp/0316155799

 

[Rick Murchison]

Nah, way off base... The original "WWJB" question had nothing to do with you. My allusion was to a verse that might help answer *that* question. As Jesus didn't address the issue directly we can only infer from the record.
Rick

So, let me get this right. If my son comes home from aikido class spouting pronouncements of Buddha, then I should take his sensei out for a "winter diving lesson" with a very heavy weightbelt? Or, keeping in mind Deuteronomy 13:7-11 should I get a posse together and lead them in stoning my son to death? Or Both? Give it to me straight now, please don't cherry pick.<G>

While the stoning of children for heresy has fallen out of fashion in our country, you will not hear a moderate Christian or Jew arguing for a &#8220;symbolic" reading of passages of that sort (Deuteronomy 13:7-11). In fact, one seems to be explicitly blocked from looking for symbolism by God himself in Deuteronomy 13:1 - "Whatever I am now commanding you, you must keep and observe, adding nothing to it, taking nothing away."

Clearly, Deuteronomy 13:7-11 is as canonical as any in the Bible, and clearly it is only by ignoring such barbarisms that the Good Book can be reconciled with life in the modern world. This is the problem for "moderation" that I was pointing to earlier: there is nothing underwriting moderation other than the unacknowledged neglect of the letter of Devine Law.

 

[Thalassamania]

Nah, way off base... The original "WWJB" question had nothing to do with you. My allusion was to a verse that might help answer *that* question. As Jesus didn't address the issue directly we can only infer from the record.
Rick

Regardless, my point stands and I'm interested in how the religious moderates on the board respond to Sam Harris' view. I, for one, am begining to be persuaded, but I've only read his first book and I just ordered his second.