Re: On credulity and religion
Sisial@ix.netcom.com
Sun, 30 Jun 1996 21:51:39 -0700
First, I did not say there was conclusive proof to support life after death. I
argued against the statement claiming 'conclusive proof' against life after death.
It is a simple matter to shift the burden, but I am not the one making a claim
regarding life after death. The burden of proof is yours. This shouldn't be too
difficult. Your statements suggested you already had such proof.
Obviously the objective of my post escapes you. Let's try the direct approach.
Your statements are easily disproved by one single statement:
While my religion is based primarily on intuition, science also plays a major
role.
This is 'conclusive proof' that the absolutes you state about religion are false.
My religion is an exception, the absolute cannot stand.
One of the first steps in scientific method is gathering data. To make an absolute
statement, you have alot of gathering to do. Religion is not an entity. It is a
term which encompasses a wide range of religious thought. It is a simple matter to
draw upon this diversity to disprove many of the generalizations you make.
However, it only takes one exception to crash an absolute.
<sigh> I know this is off topic, but I cannot resist the challenge to prove the
existence of Santa Claus. I'll leave spooks, pixies, and others for another time.
Definitions (from The American Heritage Dictionary):
Santa Claus - the personification of the spirit of Christmas, usually represented
as a jolly, fat old man with a white beard and a red suit.
Personification - 4. A person or thing typifying a certain quality or idea that is
outstanding; an embodiment; exemplification.
Spirit - 11. The predominant mood of an occasion or period.
OK. Where I come from, the general concept behind Christmas is the concept of
giving. Basically, the argument goes that God gave to us his son. We honor this by
giving gifts. However, just giving is not enough. God and Christ did what they did
willingly. The true spirit of Christmas lies in freely giving to others. This is a
concept I try to live by. My nieces and nephews, the children I've work with, my
brothers and sisters, my neighbors, and even many absolute strangers can attest to
this. As a personification of the spirit of Christmas, I am Santa Claus.
(BTW...contrary to popular opinion, I do not inhabit the North Pole). The
facinating thing about being Santa Claus is that one does not encounter an
identity crisis when one encounters another Santa Claus. In fact, the more I see,
the better I feel. I'm willing to bet that most here have experienced being Santa
Claus at least once in their lives. If not, try it. It's a blast. And, one needn't
wait until Christmas.
Now I know the response will be: 'But, that's not what I'm talking about.' My
response is simply, this is what I and many others believe. Your beliefs do not
define our beliefs. Santa Claus is real. This is a fact. By limiting yourself to
one single point of view, you've missed this entirely. Would you still like a
discussion of the reality of spooks?
BTW, I must mention that on occassion I am not Santa Claus. And, in fact, I have
been called by many other names.
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