Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
People can believe in God and yet not be bible thumping caricatures. Shocking as it may be, we believing conservatives don't actually hate women, poor people, or blacks.
I am not an atheist but I don't believe in a state religion or forcing others to live by my religion's rules.
I would like to point out however that science went the furthest in Europe, under the auspices of Christian religion and that many scientists of the past were believers, including Darwin himself and thousand of others. And that Christians church in Europe established universities that were the beacons of science for centuries and educated many prominent scientists of the time.
Lastly, I'd like to point out that the relationship between science and religion is much more complicated that both sides of this argument think. As a matter of fact, science coexisted with religion since the beginning of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecstatic Magnet
I'm as atheist as they come, and even I was shocked that an educational primetime show on network tv actually acknowledged that the Church killed people to slow progress (and keep people stupid).
Of course, the religious right is in uproar, but they can be mad at the truth for as long as it takes.
Last edited by Rasputin2014; 03-16-2014 at 10:56 AM..
This is old news. Of course. There is no conflict between science and religion. Unless you're a far right or far left nut. But of course in America, where many Christians believe that the Pope is the Antichrist himself, this misguided argument between science and religion will go for ever....
People who rightly question evolution aren't "rejecting science", they are criticizing the promotion of something that has more holes than a chunk of Swiss cheese.
Gravity isn't completely understood either, but the fact remains that every time you let go of your bible, assuming you're not in space, it will fall to the floor.
People can believe in God and yet not be bible thumping caricatures. Shocking as it may be, we believing conservatives don't actually hate women, poor people, or blacks.
All one has to do is believe that the private sector can solve problems more efficiently than the public sector, and one instantly becomes a racist, greedy, misogynistic, warmonger.
And the people doing this stereotyping are the people who consider themselves the tolerant and intelligent ones.
It's absurd.
Take DeGrasse's advice and don't argue with these arseholes.
This is old news. Of course. There is no conflict between science and religion. Unless you're a far right or far left nut. But of course in America, where many Christians believe that the Pope is the Antichrist himself, this misguided argument between science and religion will go for ever....
True, in fact religion and science have co-existed for thousands of years.
I'm as atheist as they come, and even I was shocked that an educational primetime show on network tv actually acknowledged that the Church killed people to slow progress (and keep people stupid).
Of course, the religious right is in uproar, but they can be mad at the truth for as long as it takes.
It's too bad some scientists tend to play fast and loose with history in order to push an anti-religion agenda-
Even "Cosmos" points out that Bruno had no scientific basis for his theories. "His vision of the cosmos was a lucky guess," says Tyson. So why is the long-dead philosopher important enough to rate hero status? That would be because "Cosmos" takes his case as one of "martyrdom."
What "Cosmos" does not point out to its audiences that the Catholic Church didn't really care about Bruno's views on the Earth moving around the Sun. His crimes -- the ones for which he was executed -- were theological. Several actual scientists in this period happily investigated the ideas of Copernicus' theories without running into trouble. Even Galileo only got in trouble when he published books that directly mocked the Church's adherence to the Earth being at the center.
Why does this matter?
So what if Giordano Bruno wasn't a scientist and wasn't executed for science? There are three big reasons why this does, in fact, matter and why it hurts "Cosmos" to get it wrong.
1. To borrow one of Tyson's famous quotes, the good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. The same goes for history. Getting the history of science wrong hurts science itself. Why believe the science if other parts of the show are inaccurate?
2. Making Bruno into a martyr for science basically makes 100 years of historical research useless. The idea of Giordano Bruno as a scientific hero only originated in the 19th century, when he was championed by several historians. Since then, most have classified him as a philosopher sharing dangerous ideas in a dangerous time.
3. It's an unstated goal of "Cosmos" to champion science and scientific reasoning over superstition and religious dogmatism. But you're not going to win over anyone by vilifying religion in the face of science. Add in Bruno flying into space in an overtly crucifixion stance almost seems like giving religion the finger. You don't win arguments that way, "Cosmos."
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidkaos2
People can believe in God and yet not be bible thumping caricatures. Shocking as it may be, we believing conservatives don't actually hate women, poor people, or blacks.
All one has to do is believe that the private sector can solve problems more efficiently than the public sector, and one instantly becomes a racist, greedy, misogynistic, warmonger.
And the people doing this stereotyping are the people who consider themselves the tolerant and intelligent ones.
Dr Tyson understands that his time is too important debating those who are willfully ignorant, his time is much better spent learning things about the world and helping others who want to learn as well.
People can believe in God and yet not be bible thumping caricatures. Shocking as it may be, we believing conservatives don't actually hate women, poor people, or blacks.
All one has to do is believe that the private sector can solve problems more efficiently than the public sector, and one instantly becomes a racist, greedy, misogynistic, warmonger.
And the people doing this stereotyping are the people who consider themselves the tolerant and intelligent ones.
It's absurd.
Quote:
Originally Posted by katygirl68
Why is this continuously put in the Politics and Other Controversies section? It's a tv show about science. Maybe it should be in one of those catagories. Personally, I thought the show was really good. I have some skepticism of the AGW theory, but I could care less if they talk about it in the show. It's still a great show designed to bring big ideas to a large audience. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a good host, obviously with some connection to Carl Sagan. Sagan's widow even has writing credit on this show. My kids loved it. I got to watch the original with my mom when I was a teenager (Sunday evening the TV was always on PBS). Now my kids get to watch with me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rasputin2014
I am not an atheist but I don't believe in a state religion or forcing others to live by my religion's rules.
I would like to point out however that science went the furthest in Europe, under the auspices of Christian religion and that many scientists of the past were believers, including Darwin himself and thousand of others. And that Christians church in Europe established universities that were the beacons of science for centuries and educated many prominent scientists of the time.
Lastly, I'd like to point out that the relationship between science and religion is much more complicated that both sides of this argument think. As a matter of fact, science coexisted with religion since the beginning of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rasputin2014
This is old news. Of course. There is no conflict between science and religion. Unless you're a far right or far left nut. But of course in America, where many Christians believe that the Pope is the Antichrist himself, this misguided argument between science and religion will go for ever....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Joshua
True, in fact religion and science have co-existed for thousands of years.
as i have said many times, there is no reason that science and religion cannot peacefully coexist. they have for millennia, and will continue to do so, except in the minds of those that are hardcore believers or hardcore nonbelievers. fortunately those extremes are not the norm.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
