Is Science getting closer to God and the Bible?

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DOC said:
If you haven't heard, books will be able to be purchased through the internet and read on your computer screen. There will always be best seller lists. More than likely there will be E-books best seller lists, and hardcover best sellers.
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It's already the most boosted/nicked/swiped/stolen book on the planet.

Makes you think, that.
 
DOC said:
If you haven't heard, books will be able to be purchased through the internet and read on your computer screen. There will always be best seller lists. More than likely there will be E-books best seller lists, and hardcover best sellers.
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DOC, since you apparently haven't heard, e-Books have been around since the late nineties, and for a number of reasons they have completely floundered.

I'd be happy to discuss this in a different thread, but it is my opinion as an experienced Internet developer that within 15 years the current publishing/recording economic model will be completely revamped. Within 50, it will bear little resemblance to what we see today.
 
DOC said:
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The bible will be a best seller long after we're all dead unless this world ends before then.
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[nitpick] From my understanding of the woo, bibles aren't sold or bought. The book is so holey holy that what you pay is an "offering" and the asking price is a "suggested contribution". Is that not still the case? [/nitpick]

Not that I care. It's the worst-written book I've ever picked up.
 
It is still bought and sold.

The King James Version, and several other translations, have been public domain for quite some time, though, and are available for free from many websites.
 
bokonon said:
It is still bought and sold.

The King James Version, and several other translations, have been public domain for quite some time, though, and are available for free from many websites.
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Very true. People still like having books in solid form.

What I find interesting is what the advent of the search function can do for quote mining in the bible. It used to be that fundementalists would simply recite random passages from the bible to support thier arguments and typically the victor would be the person who had a more readily accessible memory for bible passages.

Nowadays, we can search rapidly and determine if
1.) the quote is even relevant contextually
2.) have counter arguments easily (the bible is very good at self-contradiction)
3.) compare multiple versions to show variations in translation/interpretation.
 
Originally Posted by DOC
Actually, he (Isaac Newton) did believe Christ was the "divine" Son of God. He just didn't believe Christ was equal to God.

The inventor of Calculus, and the gravitational laws that so heavily influenced Einstein, also believed in angels, demons, Noah's arc, and the universal flood.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-18668828.html


wollery said:
So what?

You have still failed to answer that vitally important question DOC.
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Probably the greatest scientist who ever lived professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible and you say "so what". It totally destroys any skeptics belief that Christians are not intelligent or rational people. "Inventing Calculus" and "irrationality" don't mix.
 
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DOC said:
Probably the greatest scientist who ever lived professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible and you say "so what".
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Yes, so what? Some scientists believe in god, some don't. More did in the past when humanity didn't know as much. It's still an argument from authority. It means absolutely nothing. Hence "so what?"

It totally destroys any skeptics belief that Christians are not intelligent or rational people. ".
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Who says there are no intelligent christians? Most christians I know are very intelligent. They are also rational about most things. Like pretty much everyone I know, they are irrational about some things. This is a strawman, DOC. No one is claiming this.

"Inventing Calculus" and "irrationality" don't mix.
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Nobody claims that being brilliant and rational in one area precudes being irrational in another area, except maybe you. It is clearly false, and is just another argument from authority.

You really should learn a little about logical fallacies.
 
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DOC said:
Probably the greatest scientist who ever lived professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible and you say "so what".
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Yes. That's what I ask.

It totally destroys any skeptics belief that Christians are not intelligent or rational people.
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Show me where anyone said that all Christians are stupid or irrational in all areas.

Besides, Newton was a Christian at a time when everyone was religious.

"Inventing Calculus" and "irrationality" don't mix.
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Apart from the fact that he didn't invent calculus, and certainly not the calculus that we use today (I provided you with at least three accounts of the argument between Newton and Leibniz when you first brought this subject up) the above statement is a logical fallacy.
 
wollery said:
Apart from the fact that he didn't invent calculus, and certainly not the calculus that we use today (I provided you with at least three accounts of the argument between Newton and Leibniz when you first brought this subject up) the above statement is a logical fallacy.
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Do you think that a little thing like facts and the truth will stop the good DOC from making such arguments?
 
DOC said:
So has global warming, air pollution, nuclear proliferation etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_proliferation
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Oh noes, how about
Crusades
inquisition
Northern Ireland
Aztecs
...


Can we also consider the number of people saved by science vs. prayer?

let's look at something as simple as the Plauge. Think of how many people christianity could have saved but didn't? Now, antibiotics are so common as to be a trivial event, yet it continues to save millions. Even with the advent of resistant strains, science is working arround the clock to counteract the diseases.

How many has praying to Jesus saved in comparision? Are these numbers any better than prayers to Allah, Prayers to JuJu?

NOw I do not question what christianity can bring to people. It does enrich some peoples lives and makes them happy. But to insinuate that science is somehow has brought more harm than good (in an obvious comparison to religion) is just patent nonsense.
 
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DOC said:
Probably the greatest scientist who ever lived professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible and you say "so what". It totally destroys any skeptics belief that Christians are not intelligent or rational people. "Inventing Calculus" and "irrationality" don't mix.
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Stephen Hawking professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible?
Cliff Stoll professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible?
or to go back a few generations
Wilhelm Gauss professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible?
Gottfried Leibniz professes an extremely strong belief in the Bible?

I'm willing to concede that the last two probably did believe in a deity, they were men of their times. Hawking I have head is an atheist, and I don't know about Stoll, but I'd be willing to bet that he's an atheist/agnostic.


There's a lot more to science than Newton. He was a Giant, but he wasn't THE Giant. And when it comes to classical mechanics, Newton is the first I turn to. HE was a genius in that arena. He was also a complete and utter nutter. Someone who, by all accounts I've read, I would never, ever in a million years, ever want to meet face-to-face. He was irracable, implacable, bigoted, arrogant, and generally not a fun person to be around. His own mother disowned him, and he was lucky to get into Trinity (as are we).
 
DOC said:
Probably the greatest scientist who ever lived professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible and you say "so what". It totally destroys any skeptics belief that Christians are not intelligent or rational people. "Inventing Calculus" and "irrationality" don't mix.
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The point that most Christians completely miss when making appeals to authority such as this is that Newton viewed his pursuit of science and his pursuit of God as one in the same. In his worldview, they did not have to be and never were in conflict with one another. If Newton were around today, he would be a scientist, not a theologian, and it's likely that he would never reject evolution or the Big Bang solely on a religious basis.

I would also like to point out that the second best-selling book is Quotations from Chairman Mao and the third is the Qu'ran. :D
 
arthwollipot said:
Newton is my first source whenever I need to know something about alchemy too.
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Maybe for you. St. Germain is my preferred choice. Newton totally copied St. Germain. Besides, I can still talk with the good Count, and Newton for all his talent is decomposed.
 
DOC said:
Probably the greatest scientist who ever lived professed an extremely strong belief in the Bible and you say "so what". It totally destroys any skeptics belief that Christians are not intelligent or rational people. "Inventing Calculus" and "irrationality" don't mix.
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His "strong belief" in the Bible was quite similar to a modern-day Muslim's belief in the Bible -- he thought it had been corrupted by those entrusted with its safekeeping between the time it was written and the time he was able to read it.

The fact that he was able to discern certain scientific truths didn't make him immune to irrationality. Perhaps his inquiries into alchemy could be charitably characterized as more mistaken than irrational (little was known at the time about elements, atoms, compounds, chemistry), but certainly his puzzling over Daniel and Revelation was irrational. Unlike his scientific predictions, this supreme waste of time led him to predict the end of the world, just like thousands of other deluded prophets, convinced by their own fantasy until reality overtakes them.
 
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