[Vision2020] News Article, Mental Illness, Fixation of Belief Discussion

Doug Jones credenda@moscow.com
Thu, 22 May 2003 08:56:05 -0400


This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0023_01C3203F.FB1CC120
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Wayne Fox again:
=20
The statements in religious creeds are knowledge claims and subject to
the same tests and criticisms that other knowledge claims are.  Internal
logical consistency is the most basic of those tests.
=20
I=92m more than willing to let this thread die (and I have answered
Wayne=92s =93dilemma=94 in at least five different ways), but I still =
find it
humorous that Wayne is so quick to see all others as rabidly religious
and fantasizing, but refuses to give us a reason for believing that
Reason is the supreme authority, even when his own relativism about
logic undermines it. I have never seen anyone as rabid in refusing even
to consider challenges to his god. Certainly none of the religious
people of any faith that I know act that narrowly and rabidly. Wayne=92s
continuing appeal to Reason as a neutral arbiter is like a Muslim
insisting that the Koran =93is the most basic test=94 of truth of all =
other
faiths. When you ask Wayne why, he just cites his Koran again. Not very
enlightening or profound. Just rabid. And yet he=92s the expert on =
mental
illness. Very odd and unreflective, this secular fundamentalism. =20
=20
No one ever asked him to believe contradictions, just to provide an
argument for why his particular god should unquestioningly rule the
others.  Wayne just keeps pounding the table that his god is god.
Question authority, I say. All of them.=20
=20
Doug Jones
=20
=20
=20
=20

------=_NextPart_000_0023_01C3203F.FB1CC120
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" =
xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" =
xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" =
xmlns:st1=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =
xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">


<meta name=3DProgId content=3DWord.Document>
<meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10">
<meta name=3DOriginator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10">
<link rel=3DFile-List href=3D"cid:filelist.xml@01C3203F.FA31C4E0">
<o:SmartTagType =
namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
 name=3D"City"/>
<o:SmartTagType =
namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
 name=3D"place"/>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
  <o:DoNotRelyOnCSS/>
 </o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <w:WordDocument>
  <w:SpellingState>Clean</w:SpellingState>
  <w:DocumentKind>DocumentEmail</w:DocumentKind>
  <w:EnvelopeVis/>
  <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
 </w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
 /* Font Definitions */
 @font-face
	{font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
	panose-1:2 2 6 2 5 3 6 2 4 3;
	mso-font-charset:0;
	mso-generic-font-family:roman;
	mso-font-pitch:variable;
	mso-font-signature:7 0 0 0 17 0;}
@font-face
	{font-family:"Arial Narrow";
	panose-1:2 11 5 6 2 2 2 3 2 4;
	mso-font-charset:0;
	mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
	mso-font-pitch:variable;
	mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;}
 /* Style Definitions */
 p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
	{mso-style-parent:"";
	margin:0in;
	margin-bottom:.0001pt;
	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
	font-size:12.0pt;
	font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
	{color:blue;
	text-decoration:underline;
	text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
	{color:blue;
	text-decoration:underline;
	text-underline:single;}
p
	{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
	margin-right:0in;
	mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
	margin-left:0in;
	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
	font-size:12.0pt;
	font-family:"Times New Roman";
	mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.EmailStyle18
	{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
	mso-style-noshow:yes;
	mso-ansi-font-size:12.0pt;
	mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
	font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
	mso-ascii-font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
	mso-hansi-font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";
	color:black;
	font-weight:normal;
	font-style:normal;
	text-decoration:none;
	text-underline:none;
	text-decoration:none;
	text-line-through:none;}
span.SpellE
	{mso-style-name:"";
	mso-spl-e:yes;}
@page Section1
	{size:8.5in 11.0in;
	margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
	mso-header-margin:.5in;
	mso-footer-margin:.5in;
	mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
	{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
 /* Style Definitions */=20
 table.MsoNormalTable
	{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
	mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
	mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
	mso-style-noshow:yes;
	mso-style-parent:"";
	mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
	mso-para-margin:0in;
	mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
	mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
	font-size:10.0pt;
	font-family:"Times New Roman";}
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <o:shapedefaults v:ext=3D"edit" spidmax=3D"1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <o:shapelayout v:ext=3D"edit">
  <o:idmap v:ext=3D"edit" data=3D"1" />
 </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>

<body bgcolor=3Dwhite lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dblue =
style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'>

<div class=3DSection1>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"OrigGarmnd =
BT"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"OrigGarmnd BT";color:black'>Wayne =
Fox
again:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"OrigGarmnd =
BT"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"OrigGarmnd =
BT";color:black'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<div style=3D'border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in =
0in 4.0pt'>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3D"Arial Narrow"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>The statements in religious creeds =
are
knowledge claims and subject to the same tests and criticisms that other
knowledge claims are.&nbsp; Internal logical consistency is&nbsp;the =
most
basic&nbsp;of those tests<font color=3Dblack><span =
style=3D'color:black'>.</span></font></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>

</div>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'>&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

</div>

<blockquote style=3D'border:none;border-left:solid black =
1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt;
margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'=
>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>I&#8217;m more than willing to =
let this
thread die (and I have answered Wayne&#8217;s &#8220;dilemma&#8221; in =
at least
five different ways), but I still find it humorous that Wayne is so =
quick to see
all others as rabidly religious and fantasizing, but refuses to give us =
a
reason for believing that Reason is the supreme authority, even when his =
own relativism
about logic undermines it. I have never seen anyone as rabid in refusing =
even to
consider challenges to his god. Certainly none of the religious people =
of any
faith that I know act that narrowly and rabidly. =
</span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font
  color=3Dblack><span =
style=3D'color:black'>Wayne</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
color=3Dblack><span style=3D'color:black'>&#8217;s continuing appeal to =
Reason as a
neutral arbiter is like a Muslim insisting that the Koran &#8220;is the =
most
basic test&#8221; of truth of all other faiths. When you ask =
</span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font
  color=3Dblack><span =
style=3D'color:black'>Wayne</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
color=3Dblack><span style=3D'color:black'> why, he just cites his Koran =
again. Not
very enlightening or profound. Just rabid. And yet he&#8217;s the expert =
on
mental illness. Very odd and unreflective, this secular fundamentalism. =
<span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>=A0</span><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p=
>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>No one ever asked him to believe
contradictions, just to provide an argument for why his particular god =
should
unquestioningly rule the others. <span =
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>=A0</span></span></font><st1:City><st1:place><=
font
  color=3Dblack><span =
style=3D'color:black'>Wayne</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
color=3Dblack><span style=3D'color:black'> just keeps pounding the table =
that his
god is god. <span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>=A0</span>Question =
authority, I say. All
of them. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p=
>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Doug =
Jones<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"OrigGarmnd =
BT"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"OrigGarmnd =
BT";color:black'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"OrigGarmnd =
BT"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"OrigGarmnd =
BT";color:black'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"OrigGarmnd =
BT"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"OrigGarmnd =
BT";color:black'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3D"OrigGarmnd =
BT"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"OrigGarmnd =
BT";color:black'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

</blockquote>

</div>

</div>

</body>

</html>

------=_NextPart_000_0023_01C3203F.FB1CC120--