RE: virus: Re: Social Metaphysics

Tadeusz Niwinski (tad@teta.ai)
Thu, 02 Oct 1997 15:57:12 -0700


Tim wrote:
>It seems very important to you, David, to not have faith. But you make the
>same mistake as Christians who look for archaeological evidence to back up
>the stories in the Bible. All the evidence in the world for the David and
>Goliath story being true does not imply Gods hand at work in guiding to
>pebble.

Stop beating a dead straw man. Goliath is dead!

>And all the evidence you have for your *faith* does not make it
>any less of a faith.

David's "faith" can build computers and none of the other "faiths" can.
There may be some subtle differences, don't you think?

"The film /Apollo 13/, based on his book /Lost Moon/, was about to be
released. In a quietly understated way, Lovell told of the explosion of an
oxygen tank that turned the mission into a race for survival against one
potential catastrophe after the another -- from a rapidly diminishing supply
of breathable air to a battery strength insufficient for a return to earth
-- in a deteriorating spacecraft hurtling through the cosmos to almost
certain destruction. What was thrilling about the interview was the sense
one got of the magnificent teamwork between the men on board the spacecraft
and the support crew on earth interacting at a height of disciplined
intelligence and passionate competence -- which resulted in the craft and
its inhabitants being brought safely home. [...]

"I do not know how rational any of those people were in the rest of their
lives, but in this situation, reality was an absolute (no one imagined the
problem would go away if they simply didn't think of it), reason was an
absolute (no one phoned his astrologer for suggestions) and the relationship
between rationality and survival was understood by all.

"If one wanted to see the spirituality of reason in action, I thought, this
was it."

From: "The Art of Living Consciously, the Power of Awareness to Transform
Everyday Life" by Nathaniel Branden.

I think it is a good example of David's "faith".

>And just because your faith can adapt over time does not make it any less
>of a faith. You obviously have never spent years around any devote
>/anything/ if you think their faith doesn't adapt to fit the physical
>reality of the times. Look at the history of the church, David. It
>changes course as often as science does (although admittedly about 50-75
>behind science these days).
>
>Do *you* need a new, more palatable word for "faith based on evidence"?
>(I know some Christians who could use the word too, once you coin it!)

Excellent piece of MS Flip, Tim. Thank you.

Regards, Tadeusz (Tad) Niwinski from planet TeTa
tad@teta.ai http://www.teta.ai (604) 985-4159