Re: preposterous

From: John W Burgeson (burgytwo@juno.com)
Date: Tue Apr 03 2001 - 14:19:24 EDT

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    Tim wrote: "Well, as we know I'm not a Christian, and if I were one to
    overgeneralize, that comment would might lead me to suspect
    that being Christian can be a serious impediment to one's
    ability to appreciate science. But as Ernst Mayr notes, this
    is a chauvinism not uncommonly found in physicists (religious
    and otherwise), so one's religion can't necessarily be blamed."

    At the NTSE conference in Austin, Stephen Schafersman made that very
    claim, both in his paper (which was still available at Rob Koon's web
    site last time I looked) and in private conversation. He even said he
    would not engage a Christian plumber if another option were available
    because, he said, the Christian plumber would necessarily have to
    consider the supernatural as a possible cause of the toilet backing up
    and that, alone, would make him less efficient a worker and an inferior
    plumber.

    Stephen and I had two or three very gentlemanly conversations on this
    during the conference and I subsequently mentioned the topic in my NTSE
    review for the ARN journal a year later. Copy on my web site somewhere.

    Burgy (John Burgeson)

    www.burgy.50megs.com



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