God and ignorance
The July 12, 2008 letter by Anne Britton falsely accuses Art Hobson of not having an open mind about creationism being taught in the public school classroom. Mr. Hobson is correct that creationism, intelligent design and any other religious beliefs are not science. Unlike the Christian religion, science is not authoritarian. The writings of an ancient book, as Mr. Hobson correctly pointed out in a previous column, or the beliefs of a former eminent scientist are irrelevant if subsequent information shows they are wrong. Science is self-correcting and subject to change with more accurate information. There would be no point to science inquiring into natural phenomena, if, when unable to answer a question, an explanation were given that the phenomena was all the result of the work of some supernatural deity. Science is not science when supernaturalism is added.
The reference to Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence is humorous and shows a lack of knowledge of Mr. Jefferson and the history of that period. The Christian clergy back then accused Mr. Jefferson of being an atheist. Most professional historians now agree that Jefferson's religious beliefs were similar to Unitarians at that time. Unitarians did not believe in the Christian Trinity. It is well documented that Mr. Jefferson did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. A modicum of research on the Internet or library would have easily yielded this information.
Refutations of the prior proofs for the existence of deities had barely begun by 1776. David Hume died in 1776 and Hegel was six years old. Immanuel Kant died in 1804, the year that Ludwig Feuerbach was born. The Founding Fathers were not privy to this later philosophical literature, so we do not know what their religious beliefs would be today.
A recently discovered hand-written note by Albert Einstein concerning his religious belief showed he was not a believer in the Christian or Jewish god. This note also is available for viewing on the Internet.
Furthermore, the religious beliefs of the Founding Fathers, the reference to deities in the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Paris, and the religious beliefs of past eminent scientists are completely irrelevant to the question of the existence of a supernatural world and the existence of deities.
Until a person has examined the enormous complexity of defining a supernatural deity, their opinion of the matter of existence or non-existence is irrelevant. Belief in the truth of a proposition that has no basis in reality or reason does not make it true. Belief based on ignorance is still ignorance. That might well account for the 93 percent of people polled who believe in a "God. "It would be interesting to see what percent of the populace would still believe in the existence of a supernatural deity if they were shown the complexity and impossibility of defining such a deity. Investigate this and try it. It is like trying to draw a square circle.
Glen R. Salter / Fayetteville
What a waste of money
Dennis Kucinich has introduced 35 articles of impeachment against George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors. Bush came to Little Rock recently to raise money. Folks paid $ 5, 000 to have their picture taken with him. Those pictures will come in handy as mug shots when vertebrate Democrats and other sentient patriots impeach Bush and indict these people for aiding and abetting the criminal enterprise of his administration.
Henry Griffith / West Fork
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