> From: Ronald Blankenship <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > From: Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > To me, a religion is any system of thought or ideaology in which, when > > you start asking questions, you soon reach the point where you have no > > choice but to passively accept what you are told: "take my word for it" > > or "just have faith". > > > By that definition, when I teach a subject like introductory astronomy or > freshman math or physics for non-majors, I am teaching religion, because I > frequently have to say, "You'll just have to take my word for this," > because, for example, to establish a particular result may require calculus > or abstract algebra or other advanced courses which not only do we not > expect the students at that level to have taken, but most of them will never > take any time in their lives. That's not the point. They could in fact get to those proofs, even if they do not do so, those proofs do exist. With religion, those proofs do not exist. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
