Originally Posted by
Kiwi Techster
I admit my last post probably went overboard but after getting that warning that I was about to get banned my immediate reaction was to just LOL and go out with a little flair. It looks like I'm still around so I guess whoever wrote that thought twice and reconsidered. I'd still like to know exactly what forum rule I broke because afaic that warning was way out of line.
I also admit those other two pics I posted were a little lame and a subsitution for what could have been a much more elaborate post that I was just too lazy to write. But I do stand behind their basic message. Basically none of us here - yes, even those that teach high school physics - have anywhere close to the credentials to authoritatively talk about the origins of the cosmos. There are some pretty exciting developments recently that I've seen (e.g. A Universe From Nothing, Lawrence Krauss) which offer plausible explanations that don't involve any sort of need for a supernatural deity. But the important point I want to invoke is that it's perfectly fine to admit you don't know the answer to something, even if it involves the deep philosophical questions we yearn to understand. To me, "God did it" is not only a lazy answer, it's *boring*. It's pretty much equivalent to saying it was done by magic.
The historical path of organized religion has just been a one way street of constantly giving way to the hammer blows of science and secular morality. The people that wrote the bible had nowhere near the understanding of how the universe works that we have today. For those that claim to interpret the bible literally (as did one poster earlier in the thread), I say to you that you just don't know your bible. Either that or you truly believe that a woman who is not a virgin should be stoned on her wedding night. The bible is crystal clear about this. Does anyone who is not insane believe that little gem of morality to be true today? Of course not, and don't make me rattle off several more similar examples of which I'm sure you are well aware. The issue of homosexuality will have the same destiny once people realize it's a similar "offence" that hurts no one and that it makes for a happier society to just accept and embrace.
I will stop for now as this is probably approaching the tl;dr limit. I also hate forums as a medium for complex topics like this, it's just too clumsy. There's actually a decent chance we may make it into Ruston for Jelena's graduation (not even sure when that will be) so if that happens I invite anyone who feels like talking face-to-face to come say hi and I will buy the first round. If there's a whole gang of you, let's find the nearest nice restaurant. I'm a big fan of open conversation about important issues like this.