> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of The Fool
... > The Bible makes all kinds of verifiably false assertions. So why should > any one particular absurdity that he is putting forth merit any more > consideration that than any of the of the other absurdities? People > don't walk on water without really advanced technology. It's absurd. > And it fits in with other absurdities, like giants and satyrs. I think that the idea of talking dolphins is quite absurd, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate Brin's writings. Uplift may well be impossible, but that doesn't make the books worthless or dangerous, does it? Morality and ethics don't require literal truth to be communicated. Would it be irrational to choose to follow the ethics of environmentalism, privacy and freedom as expressed in "Earth," because it is fiction? Is it irrational to appreciate "1984" and "Animal Farm" as cautionary tales, since they are fiction (and the latter has absurd talking animals, darn it!). I don't spend much more time worrying about whether or not, or how, Jesus walked on water than I spend worrying about whether or not, or how, uplift is possible. Spending a lot of time and energy arguing about the literal truth of the Bible makes about as much sense to me as learning Klingon. It might be entertaining, a distraction or an intellectual exercise, but I don't believe it has anything to do with morality, ethics and other metaphysics. So, I'd certainly appreciate it if you'd recognize the lack of logic in your dismissal of all religion based on literalism. It most definitely is a straw man. I believe that the vast majority of religious people would agree with me because they are not the literalists you portray. It seems quite ironic to find such attitudes in a science fiction community! But perhaps the phrase "science fiction" is inherently ironic in the way that "religious truth" is. Nick Nick _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
