[Osx-nutters] The separation of church and state.

[Mark Smith]

On 04.12.2007, at 23:31, Matt Johnston wrote:

>
> On 4 Dec 2007, at 22:28, Chris Gehlker wrote:
>
>>
>> On Dec 4, 2007, at 10:29 AM, Mark Smith wrote:
>>
>>> They can coexist in a community, but not in an individual if that
>>> individual is really a disciplined scientist. That individual can
>>> (and
>>> should) recognise that the religious hocus-pocus cannot be  
>>> completely
>>> and definitively disproven. That individual can even participate in
>>> the religion, but as soon as that individual really believes in it,
>>> that individual has ceased to be a scientist (at least according to
>>> my
>>> definition (: ).
>>
>> Silly me! I thought Newton and Einstein were scientists. Thanks for
>> setting me straight.
>
> No, they were just human.
>
> Something both sides of this discussion should remember. Absolutes
> seldom exist.

Indeed. I don't think anyone is the perfect scientist all, maybe even  
not most of the time, but the important thing is to be able to re- 
examine and recognize where you have departed from being robust and to  
go back and do it right.

Religion forbids this.

So whilst one can say that the participants on both sides are never  
perfect. One side is intrinsically both robust and dynamic and the  
other is intrinsically flimsy and dogmatic.