Nancy,
Lightning bolts notwithstanding, how can anyone question God (or any other supreme being)? Ha ha... OK... so I used "notwithstanding" incorrectly... I just like the sound of that phrase. Yes... I realize I've just said something equivalent to, "In spite of jail, I cannot break the law." It makes no sense... but, somehow, I think you understand. :-)
Ahem... let's start again:
How can anyone question God (or any other supreme being)? We only have men (and women... at the risk of being politically incorrect, I will use the word "men" to represent women, also) to question. I do not question God. I question men who claim that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. I question men who force upon others a literal interpretation of the Bible. I question men who moralize against victimless "crimes". I question men who think their religion is superior.
Realize, however, that I question... I do not condemn in any harsh way. I will proclaim disagreement with a belief system, but I have never proclaimed anyone's belief system to be wrong in the absolute (except with hyperbole). I may attack some people's logic... but that is technical not spiritual. Search my posts... do you see me insulting or mocking anyone? OK... maybe some gentle chiding... or a few shame-on-you's.
Oh... by the way... how many mathematicians to you know? The most truly Christian (IMHO - he strives to live a good life according to the ideal embodied by Jesus) person I know is a mathematician. Of course, I'm probably being unfair... I was a potential mathematician... once... in what seems, now, like another life.
And please don't try to BS me with odds. I will get around to the book The Bible Code one of these days, so I can't say much (if anything) without revealing my ignorance. So unless you can shed some real mathematical light on the subject, allow me to gently chide you about keeping your mouth shut about the actual mathematics lest you remove all doubt about yours. ;-) Of course, please feel free to make statements even if you are unsure of the validity of the sources; however, please say that you are doing so. I always try to do this, too. It's pretty good preventative medicine for hoof-in-mouth disease. I admit it doesn't always work... <gack>
Greg |
