At 09:14 PM 11/29/2002 -0500, James and Mary Burbidge wrote: >Steven Brust wrote: > > > > > > Well, sure. And then I stop disagreeing with them. Remember, I'm not > > denying the existence of god; I'm denying that there is a god outside of > > the realm of ideas. I'm denying a world in which the laws of nature do not > > operate, or can be suspended. If you want to take some aspect or aspects > > of the material world and label them "God" then I might wonder why you > > bother, but I certainly won't dispute it. > > > >It has been argued -- with a good deal of historical support -- that it >was the Christian model of a God who was both creator and good which >allowed the development of a view of the world as operating according to >stable laws, which was a critical prerequisite for the development of >experimental science. I've heard that argument. I am not convinced it is wrong. But remember, it is DDB, not I, who seems to be claiming that all religion not only is bad, but always has been. To me, this attitude is ahistoric and unscientific. In other words, I'm not certain how your remark relates to mine, except perhaps as a general agreement.