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FeloniousMonk's avatar

I agree that Dok is overreaching here, but agree with him that scientism is a word that should make you check that your bullshit detector has a fresh battery. I lurk at Jerry Coyne and P.Z.'s sites, and sightings of "sophisticated theologians" inveighing against scientism are common. "Different ways of knowing" will usually be mentioned. Also "spiritual", a word which is useful in referring to a certain musical genre, but is usually, in my opinion , meaningless.

Vienna Woods's avatar

She should have plunged into the sun with Anders.

π”…π”’π”’π”©π”·π”’π”Ÿπ”²π”Ÿπ”Ÿπ”ž's avatar

Or maybe Teilhard de Chardin.

Flaky, sure, but at least it's more optimistic than "You are born already fucked up, and if you don't believe what we tell you you will burn for eternity."

π”…π”’π”’π”©π”·π”’π”Ÿπ”²π”Ÿπ”Ÿπ”ž's avatar

Mmmm ... she did have <a href="http:\/\/renatofelix.files.wordpress...\/2008\/11\/cantando-na-chuva-06.jpg" target="_blank">competition.</a> Legs stopped evolving, right there.

π”…π”’π”’π”©π”·π”’π”Ÿπ”²π”Ÿπ”Ÿπ”ž's avatar

The existence of these ignoramuses (ignorami?) is, ironically, incontovertible proof that the species still has a ways to go.

π”…π”’π”’π”©π”·π”’π”Ÿπ”²π”Ÿπ”Ÿπ”ž's avatar

My legitimate religion <a href="http:\/\/storeimages.impulsedriven.com\/product_gfx\/crusaders3.jpg" target="_blank">has a way of shutting your religion down. </a>

π”…π”’π”’π”©π”·π”’π”Ÿπ”²π”Ÿπ”Ÿπ”ž's avatar

I never <i>make</i> anybody do anything . . . and I never will need to.

FeloniousMonk's avatar

This is way too late, but I can't resist. That "pi = 3", referring to either 2 Chronicles or 1 Kings, comes up frequently in the "Sundays with the Christianists" series. As Wookies points out, believers have expended a lot of energy trying to make the Bible consistent with fact. The explanation linked to goes back to Rabbi Nehemiah in around 150 AD. Its great failing is that you have to measure the *inside* diameter of a bowl. Think about that for a while. What beats me is that there's an easy out: "3 is close enough for government work". Wikipedia claims that this is (essentially) what Maimonides said. The upshot of this absurdly long post is that I went looking for evidence of this and found <a href="http:\/\/www.rationalistjudaism.com\/2010\/03\/happy-pi-day.html" target="_blank">these</a> <a href="http:\/\/www.abarim-publications.com\/Bible_Commentary\/Pi_In_The_Bible.html#.UXSs5tfNGZA" target="_blank">two</a> scholarly discussions. What? Are they by Jews or Christians? Yes!

π”…π”’π”’π”©π”·π”’π”Ÿπ”²π”Ÿπ”Ÿπ”ž's avatar

"this type of fundamentalism just seems exhausting."

Only if you think about it.

π”…π”’π”’π”©π”·π”’π”Ÿπ”²π”Ÿπ”Ÿπ”ž's avatar

Has the Texas Board of Eduation approved this book for the teaching of science? Because I can see a Federal case in their future if they do.

Vienna Woods's avatar

Obviously you're not a Battlestar Galactica-er. (that's #6)

Vienna Woods's avatar

Ooops- got some Eskimo blood on Taaad's side. The Nuremberg Laws would clearly disqualify him.

chascates's avatar

I would extend that to anyone who wears a hat backwards or has a weird (to my ears) name.

chascates's avatar

In the film version God will be portrayed by Kelsey Grammer and Jesus by Kirk Cameron.