(5)     Sat 18 Oct 97 19:57
By: Caroline Evans
To: Richard Smith
Re: Brainwash Victim.
St:
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@EID:f581 23529f20
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@PID: ViaMAIL! v1.30  97-0512
Richard,

Richard Quoting Clarence/Al:

RS>
RS>You stated, explicitly, Al:
RS>
RS>> Is there anything that intelligent human beings have made
RS>> that has the ability to repair itself on it's own and if
RS>> so, to what degree are they able to repair themselves?
RS>


    It would seem that the error correcting protocols involved in this
form of communication qualify as inventions created by humans
repairing themselves. Our receipt of his message belies his own
premise. He's typing on a refutation-of-his-hypothesis.

        Remember the old saw about a dog biting the hand that feeds
it? Is that dog considered good or wise? No, it is seen as foolish,
ungrateful and disloyal. Thus it is with the religiously deluded.
Science offers them the best tool available for understanding reality.
They run to it when they need help. But when they get the chance they
bite science by denying its validity in favor of quaint
self-congratulatory tales of invisible-magic-beings who
live-someplace-else and who magically-rule-the-world from there.

    The religiously deluded run to scientists when they are injured or
ill seeking cures that are usually forthcoming. And when cured, they
selfishly take credit for themselves... "I must be praying to the
right God, that's why I got cured." When the Pope was shot they rushed
him to a science-infested hospital rather than a church. So much for
any real belief in god... when a real emergency arose, they ran to the
scientists for help. Thus the Pope and his handlers tacitly
acknowledged that their true belief is that science can save you and
god can't.

    When the religiously deluded decide to build a church, they ask an
engineer to design it so that it won't cave in on the parishioners.
All the bible study in the world won't result in a safe structure.
Only science can do that.

    The religiously deluded use machines-invented-by-scientists to
spread their own misunderstanding and then try to claim that science
doesn't work. Witness televangelists' use of TV and computers, such as
Pat Robertson's use of television to ask his followers to pray a
hurricane into changing course. It didn't, of course, but complete and
utter failure isn't recognized as meaningful... its too disturbing to
the delusional so they ignore it.

    The religiously deluded try to use science to prove their
superstitions, thus tacitly admitting that science is the superior
discipline, but the deluded suddenly decide that science doesn't work
when they don't like the result. Witness the Shroud of Turin project,
the Shroud of Turin turned out to be a medieval fake but the deluded
still cling to elaborate confabulations trying to claim otherwise.

    Its hard to imagine that these poor, sad, delusional people
actually think that they have a patent on truth when its so apparent
that they barely understand the things that lay within arms-reach let
alone understand the nature of the entire universe.

    Lack of knowledge is not entirely the problem... its the arrogant
assertion that delusion is wisdom. It is not. Wisdom is knowing what
you know and knowing what you don't know and not mixing up the two.

     I've known so-called "retards" whose wisdom surpasses that of
many "normal" folks in that the alleged "retards" knew that they had
limitations and tried not to exceed them. So-called "normal-people"
claiming that the bible is literally true when it is so obviously not,
possess far less wisdom than my friends the "retards". They have
allowed their assertions to overreach their intellect. The bible is
poetry not a tech manual.

     We can see in this echo a number of religiously deluded folks of
approximately average intelligence (judging by vocabulary and writing
skills) claiming knowledge beyond anything they either do possess or
ever could. They are mired in foolish delusions... the exact opposite
of wisdom. And yet they woo us down to their primitive level...
assuring us that "tripping out" on fantasy is a good idea. It may feel
good to exit reality but it is not laudable. Nor is it wise.



    Sincerely,
    Caroline
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