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Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg or e who wrote (39287)	5/9/2006 4:14:24 PM
From: Jim S	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 39621

Greg, I'm not advocating any particular belief system here. There are a lot of things that all of us believe and take at face value, whether it is the history we learn in school or the system of values we learn from our parents and community. I will object to your comment, "...the "belief" that only empirically verified facts can be considered valid truths..." A person doesn't need to "believe" that "empirically verified facts" are facts; what needs belief is things that can't be "empirically verified." I don't have a problem with anybody's belief system insofar as it doesn't hurt anyone. But it seems to me that it is a worthwhile exercise for folks to recognize the difference between what they KNOW and what they BELIEVE. The more forceful and adamant a person is in discussing opinions with others, the more that person needs to examine the basic beliefs and knowledge he uses in that discussion. Such introspection would have stopped a lot of wars. When it comes to theories like The Big Bang or evolution, they are labeled as theories, and subject to all sorts of interpretation and educated challenges. Conversely, true belief systems (religions, if you will) are walled in and defended aggressively, brooking no challenge. Often, it is not even possible to discuss those beliefs in a rational manner.