in response to Will you say:
> I don't see how "a big hunk of moldy green
> cheese" fulfills those requirements.
>
I honestly can't see how an unphatomable, unknowable, very likely
non-existent god would do better than a hunk of cheese (the latter could
at least be edible... ;-)
> I also don't see how a godless
> universe meets those human needs.
>
Aha! That IS the point. What you have is a human need. That need is not
for the supernatural or for god, but for an explanation. That truly is a
human universal. But there is only one correct explanation, and I don't
bet on yours...
> The Christian faith provides profound
> direction and guidance for my life, and places my experience in a
> meaningful context.
>
*You* place your experience in a meaningful context, even by being a
christian, since that is *your* choice (why not a muslim, or a
buddist?). I truly don't understand what's so bad about admitting that
we are responsible for giving meaning to our lives, not some inscrutable
thing out there, which is much more likely the result of our
imagination.
Why don't accept that daddy (and mommy) bring the gifts under the tree,
and that there ain't no sanity clause??
cheers,
Massimo
--******************************************************************Massimo Pigliucci, Assistant Professor of Ecology and EvolutionSociety for the Study of Evolution "Dobzhansky" AwardeeDept. of Botany, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1100phone 423-974-6221 fax 0978Lab page http://fp.bio.utk.edu/pglScience & Society http://fp.bio.utk.edu/sandsDarwin Day http://fp.bio.utk.edu/darwinRationalists of East Tennessee http://www.korrnet.org/reality
"I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in mybody. Then I realized who was telling me this." -- Emo Phillips******************************************************************