/begin rant

If there's one thing that REALLY annoys me is other people forcing their
beliefs on me, telling me that I'm stupid for believing in anything different to
theirs. If people want to believe in "life after death", fine. If others want to
believe in reincarnation, that's also fine. If I want to believe that I'm immortal,
that's my problem. If you want to believe in a god, that's your choice. If I don't
want to believe in a god, that's my choice.

The main thing is that it MUST not adversely impact anyone's freedom. You
people that tell me that I must believe in God and that I'm doomed to eternal
damnation if I don't are denying me my freedom to choose.

Tom Hula made an excellent point about how science & religion can co-
exist. This whole debate between the blinkered extremists (on both sides) of
science versus religion is essentially meaningless - science can be used to
explain the explicable, and religion can explain the bigger questions that
cannot otherwise be explained.

Just stop forcing your religious beliefs on me!

/end rant

Sorry, but I did take a few deep breaths first!


Date sent:              Thu, 2 Dec 1999 17:04:43 -0500
Send reply to:          "James Clark,Florida" <[log in to unmask]>
From:                   "James Clark,Florida" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:                Re: OT: Back to Mars
To:                     [log in to unmask]

> I would somewhat disagree. Conflict occurs when you describe one in terms
> of the other. For instance, man says world is billions of years old and
> that it took millions of years to make a change. God says He did it in 7
> days not too long ago. If you want to believe man, fine. If you want to
> believe God so much the better. But now comes the rub. Let's stretch
> (modify) what God said to more agree with man says, make 1 day = 1 million
> years. Here lies the conflict. Believe God and you may have eternal life,
> believe man and you will have death. Which one has a better average of
> being right? I let you decide.
>
> James
>
<snip>
>
> I am looking forward to hearing more on the Mars lander.  I hope that
> people are not offended.  Religion helps us ponder questions that science
> can never answer (Where did life come from originally and who started up
> this great big universe and why am I here?) . . . whereas science answers
> questions that religion isn't really concerned with (How do things work
> around us and what are the apparent rules that govern the universe and how
> can I make a better mouse trap?). Conflicts occur when people decide that
> scientific questions can be answered through religion or that religious
> questions can be answered through science. Both disciplines are helpful
> and really do work together.
>



----------------------------------------------------------
Greg Chaplin
UniSuper
Level 28, 367 Collins St,
Melbourne  VIC  3000,
Australia.
Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone: +61 3 9648 4145
Fax:   +61 3 9648 4141