Listen to this and you'll understand why I claim that early Christians and those modern day crazy fundamentalist Islamic folks aren't so different. More importantly--you can get an idea of what is at risk when we let fundamentalists of any flavor control the governments around the world...including ours.
This is an excerpt from Carl Sagan's Cosmos series. If you've never seen the series, watch at least a part of it sometime. It's all very moving, like this piece (but not as dour as this one), and does a great job of conveying the wonder of science.
Very interesting video, and I agree that any religious extremist that approves of violence is wrong. The Crusades were wrong. I won't debate you on that, nor anything I saw in this video.
The big problem these days is how do we know which science to believe, and which to discard? Normal people cannot understand highly technical things. The press is probably our biggest enemy too, as they promote what they like, and discredit what they don't like.
GJ said about 10 hours later
Not really looking for a debate--well, ok, here's one: it's not just violence I disdain about fundies--I also think their view that "We are right, and if you're not with us you're the enemy" is incompatible with human compassion and what religion should be about.
We discard science that doesn't hold up to the evidence. It's worked pretty good so far. We do not need people to understand quantum physics--we need to teach people critical thinking skills--give them a baloney detection kit of sorts (that's a Saganism--read The Demon-Haunted World for details. If they can do that, they can make better, more sound judgments--and identify more often when they're being fed a line of BS.
The press is our enemy, eh? Sounds like a Republican. ;) The press is what it is. If you can learn to dissect the news with a critical eye, and get your news from MORE THAN ONE SOURCE, it can be of use. Get all your news from Fox, or CNN, you can be sure you're getting a slanted view. Same goes with any single source of news. But you probably know that already.
But enough about this. Just go watch Cosmos episodes (they're all over YouTube). It's a mesmerizing video series, and it's fun hearing Sagan say "billions and billions." :)
Geoff and Michelle had their baby tonight, named Ashlyn Christine, weighing in at 6lb 12oz, measuring out to 19in. Everyone is doing fine, and we expect to see Ashlyn posting on the blog later tonight. Congrats to the happy couple!!
You betcha...I got some great camera footage! I will try and post tomorrow sometime as I think there is wireless Internet at the hospital. I had to run home to let the dogs out! In other news, Michelle has also been seeing a therapist and will soon be getting on medication (finally) for anxiety and possibly depression. We need to see another specialist for that diagnosis. Anyway, she is doing well and the baby, according to the doctor, was the happiest baby she's seen all day. Apparently her vital signs indicated she was break dancing in the womb...she must have acquired a few of my genes I guess!
Keep you all posted!
GJ said about 11 hours later
That's terrific news. We're looking forward to the pics!
