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

[Chris Gehlker]

On Dec 5, 2007, at 4:09 AM, Mark Smith wrote:

>
> On 05.12.2007, at 09:24, Chris Gehlker wrote:
>
>> Clearly, some people can. They hold incompatible beliefs in different
>> compartments of their lives. This ability is not particularly rare. I
>> suspect we all do it to some extent.
>
> See my response to David's post. There's no point writing precisely
> the same thing twice.

You have "simplified" your response to the point where it is  
ridiculous. One can clearly have faith in their aesthetic judgment or  
their relationship with their spouse and be a scientist. One can also  
be  a fanatic Pentecostal and be a competent chemist. That Newton was  
very devout didn't keep him from working out the laws of gravity. I've  
already mentioned the Mormon geologist who slips easily from a faith  
based mode of belief to a rational scientific one. I don't know how he  
does it because what he believes as a Mormon is in direct conflict  
with what he believes as a geologist but he is clearly able to  
function well in both realms.

It's simply an empirical fact that such people exist. To be a  
scientist does not require taking a scientific approach to every  
aspect of your life. It only requires you to adopt a scientific  
approach while you are doing science.
--
Seven Deadly Sins? I thought it was a to-do list!