Well, one of my spouses called out his name last night... :)

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According to many parallel universe guesses, I create one every time I flip a coin.  No charge, glad to do it.

He hasn't made an appearance or done anything around here for eons.

He's not gratuitous.  He likes to be asked.  When's the last time you asked him to do anything?

"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord, thy God."

That being said, maybe he already has.  I'm sure you're no stranger to quantum physics or to the idea of parallel universes. 

BLT, if we do have more of an open mind about Intelligent Design Creationism, will you at least consider "teaching the controversy" by including the flat-earth hypothesis alongside the dogmatic "world-as-a-ballism" religious viewpoint?  On an equal basis, of course.

Absolutely, random!  Those who think the earth is not flat obviously never grew up in Saskatchewan. 

http://www.cornergas.com/

Purveyors of Darwin religious dogma, you know who you are. Please stop being so doggone dogmatic and start being a little more open-minded.

There, fixed that for you, mattloch style.

I didn't say I was upset, TomW.  On the contrary I'm feeling very good right now, especially now that I noticed that the bait I put out for you (namely, calling my blog King of Blog n Roll), has worked.  Anything that smacks of self-aggrandizement draws you out of your cave and I won't lie.  It's fun to debate you.

So lemme get this straight, Doc: you're upset

Let's not put words in my mouth or emotions in my limbic system.  I'm not going to single anybody out and shame them either.  It seems like that's what you want me to do.  No, I won't do that to anybody. 

Purveyors of Darwin dogma, you know who you are.  Please stop being so doggone dogmatic and start being a little more open-minded. 

BLT, without Lysenko we wouldn't have science-as-we-know it.  And he was wrong about *EVERYTHING*.  (Well, except his presumed atheism.)

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Darwin got some specifics wrong.  His overall theory has never been toppled.  As for heresy, what TomW said.  Some of the best work is coming from such "heretics."  Got Punk Ek?

Nobody will come out and say it, TomW.  You must keep in mind that these are the very folks whose primary hue and cry is directed against authority as a path to truth.   To suggest that Darwin cannot be questioned would make them look rather ridiculous. 

But its implied by the words and actions of many purveyors of Darwin dogma.   It's every bit as apparent to us moderate conservatives as the dogmatic dribble of hard-core right-wingers is to liberals. 

I think it's the absolute in your title that has to be questioned,BLT. No science if not for these two? Seems to me somebody would have come up with the process if these two did not~ oh wait they did.

If you read beyond the title or "teaser" if you will, you'll notice that I qualified the statement by referring to "science as we know it."  I don't think the importance of these giants to the field can possibly be overstated.  If you've ever taken a class on the history of science, these cats will be the first ones to be introduced, and, rightfully so. 

Like I said in philosophy class honor away,along with the other thinkers of human history.

All though, in the ideal world, I don't believe in compartmentalizing education, given that education has already fallen into the compartmentalization trap, I wouldn't have a problem with the subject being introduced in the type of class you've proposed.  But neither should these dudes, or their beliefs concerning the orgins of the universe, be automatically excluded from discussions in other related courses. 

Well, BLT, *SOMEBODY* has to do it.  May as well be me.  Darwin has advantages as a prophet.  Chief among them is being right...mostly.

You too, random, have gone the qualification route, and, rightfully so.  I'm glad you qualified your statement with "mostly."  However, among the Darwin minions, some of the clergy will have you branded a heretic for that very qualifying term. 

Well, BLT, *SOMEBODY* has to do it.  May as well be me.  Darwin has advantages as a prophet.  Chief among them is being right...mostly.

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The Discovery Institute decided not to participate in the Kitzmiller movie.  Probably too painful for them to sit before the cameras, having had their *sses handed to them in court.

They are their own gods and Darwin is their prophet. 

November 13th at 8 p.m.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nov...

Speaking of BTO...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Free! If I can't find a song on youtube, I'll break down and pay the 88 cents for a download. Free is better....

Hey, you think you had it bad?  I had to smuggle in all forms of rock music into the house in the form of cassette tapes.  Then I began to break in my parents, beginning with John Denver.  Gradually I worked my way up, until finally, my dad was so numb that he was driving around town all day with a BTO 8-track in his car stereo, blasting the music, and not even realizing it was on.  That's when I knew I had "Takin' Care of Business." 

Well, finding Hendrix is the next best thing to finding Jesus.  You're one step closer on the path to enlightenment.  Better yet, I'd like you to meet...

"Freud Meets Hendrix"

http://www.newsreview.com/s...

Now that's a real trip!

Ah.  *TWO* mirrors.  No, it's fun to fantasize about the long room of infinite repetitions, but grown-ups realize pretty quick what's going on.

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That's the attraction of religion, BLT.  It provides the *ILLUSION* of non-randomness.  This is technically called the Aneristic Illusion.  Most people don't handle chaos very well, unlike us Discordians.

Better yet, I double dog dare you!

I think it's a real stretch that just our solar system, nevermind the universe, got to where it is by anything besides chance.

That goes for you too robbwillis.  There's nothing about experiencing the love of God in all of its fullness, that resembles chance in any way.  Ask to receive the love of God in your heart, and you will know what its like to experience God.  God will not deny himself to you if you open your heart and honestly reach out to God.  It's not your mind that needs to find evidence.  It's your heart that needs to be humbled (my heart as well, on a daily basis).  It's your soul that needs to be quenched.  My soul as well. 

When you look in the mirror and see the reflection of a person standing behind you, don't you assume that there is such a person doing just that, standing right behind you?

When you're in the barbershop and there's a mirror in front of you and another behind you, do you assume there is a long skinny room behind you with hundreds of pairs of barbers and BLTs, all slightly smaller than the previous pair?

I think it's a real stretch that just our solar system, nevermind the universe, got to where it is by anything besides chance. The star that gave birth to this solar system died in a super nova explosion. Our moon was another planet that crashed into Earth at just the right angle and speed to tilt the Earth, reform and give us tides and seasons. There's no plan.  

BLT, in the mirror example, there is *SOMETHING* projecting that image.   Have you ever had the experience of seeing someone standing behind you in a mirror reflection, turning around, and *NO ONE* is there?*  That's religion.

If your heart is open to receiving God, your heart will "see" or experience God, in all of his fullness, grace, and divine mercy.  If you call out to God, God will hear you, and you will feel God's presence.  I dare you to try it. 

Who created the creator then? By applying your logic, if everything in the universe was created, then certainly God (the creator of the universe) must have been created by someone? Who might that be?

I'll defer that question to someone more knowledgable than you or I, namely, Aristotle.  He spoke of that which is moved, and then he spoke of the unmoved mover.  That which is unmoved doesn't need a mover.  The unmoved mover sets that which is moveable into motion and then sits back to watch it move and to marvel at its movement. 

There are other cultures (ex. Native American and Hinduism) that believe the creator is someone/something other than God of the Bible, Pete.

Personally, I believe there could be "intelligent evolution."  I don't believe that creationism and evolution have to be mutually exclusive.  I know the hard core believers in each camp will not be open minded enough to consider it, but that's okay.

BLT, in the mirror example, there is *SOMETHING* projecting that image.   Have you ever had the experience of seeing someone standing behind you in a mirror reflection, turning around, and *NO ONE* is there?*  That's religion.

Now move on to optical illusions--it's a common experience to see a mirage or optical illusion that turns out not to be there but gives that impression to the mind.  God is a non-optical delusion.

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Hey, we're up to the "argument from design" fallacy.  Making progress.

*(Except while chanting "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary."  Or drinking too many of them)

My biggest problem with ID is that it's kind of an intellectual cop out. They say the universe is so complex we can't possibly understand it, so it must have been created by a supreme being.

When you look in the mirror and see the reflection of a person standing behind you, don't you assume that there is such a person doing just that, standing right behind you? 

I don't think it's such a stretch to look at the universe, and to assume that there must be a creator behind it.  Do you?

If you got an iPhone for Christmas (I'm sorry, for the holidays), and you noticed who compex it was, wouldn't you assume that someone intelligent designed it?  I think it would be a much bigger stretch to assume that it put itself together all by itself.

You've ushered in an interesting perspective thecolornine and you've raised some challenging and interesting questions. 

Wow, BLT I think that was your most persuasive argument to date.

Ah.....sarcasm!  The last refuge of the intellectually cornered soul, trapped in the maze of his own fallacious lines of reasoning. 

I do not claim to be an expert on any of these theories, but I've always understood ID to be slightly different from creationism; the difference being that the former attributes the beginning of life and all things to God in the Bible, and the latter is not so specific as to the source of the *supreme creator.* 

Why is there no "intelligent evolution?"  Or how did the *substance* that became the "big bang" come about?  Is that to say that we all got here by accident?  That the intricacies of activity on a cellular level all the way up to the immenseness of the universe and what may lie beyond are simply chaos?  (I can think of some people whose descriptions would fit nicely with *accidental* and *chaotic.*)