“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” — Thomas Aquinas
(Ah. Words of wisdom . . . from the Dark Ages! 300 years later guys like Leonardo da Vinci and Copernicus, Galileo and Isaac Newton, and Francis Bacon, etc. brought us the scientific revolution. And, eventually, more and more explanations became possible . . . and plausible. Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
Unclerave's Wordy Weblog 
A candid remark, yet strange coming from the man who spent his whole life writing tomes (still not fully published!) trying to convince Muslims, Jews and skeptics to convert to the True (Catholic) Faith.
hal,
I was going to try to come up with a clever quip, with words that rhyme with “true”, but I don’t think I can do it justice. — YUR
With regard to the Thomas Aquinas quote, you obviously fall into the latter
category. Faith is a choice. Arrogance is a choice. Science and religious belief are not mutually exclusive. I have long enjoyed your discussions on my two favorite puzzles but spare us your secular progressive drivel.
I didn’t say that they were mutually exclusive, Mark. I dare say that most of the men of science that I noted DID follow a religion. Most people like to think that they “believe” that faith is a matter of choice, and in some cases it is, but in reality “faith” is MORE a matter of tradition and indoctrination. Religious “beliefs” are handed down from generation to generation, and they are drummed into us at a very early age. Some people even sing religious songs, and say religious sayings, to the fetus while it’s still growing in the pregnant mother’s belly. Showering these kind – any kind, for that matter – of messages on a developing human brain is going to make a lasting impression. And, assuming that the child is raised in a “normal” and loving family environment, there would be no – or very little – need to question these messages. The people that usually end up changing/choosing their “beliefs” either suffered some traumatic experience, or they were raised in an abusive or otherwise unloving environment, or they were never indoctrinated in the first place.
You are welcome to your non-secular regressive drivellish ideas, as I am to my secular progressive ones. Especially since this is my blog. But, if you are terribly offended by my insights I do believe there is someone else out there who posts spoilers to these puzzles. It’s a woman on Long Island, I believe. I stumbled upon her site during some kind of Google look-up a number of months ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t save the site, and haven’t been able to find it more recently, but there’s a good chance she’s still posting. So, best of luck to you, if you decide to go. THAT is definitely something that you can “choose” to do.
Regards,
YUR
YUR,
Let me restate my complaint. We are all entitled to believe or not to believe.
But it seems to me that whenever you comment on a quote that expresses a belief in God, your mocking replies belie your avowed ” war on….intolerance”….. I rarely respond to any blog, but enough is enough. Please consider some tolerance in the form of respect for those views with which you disagree.
I am sorry for using the word “drivel” It was not appropriate,
You’re correct. it IS your blog. Say whatever you want. Isn’t America great !
Let me just leave you with a G.K. Chesterton quote: ( It’s real G.K. Chesterton-y)
“If there were no God, there would be no atheists.” – Where All Roads Lead, 1922
Stay well and do good – and be a good secular progressive and get into that “sensitivity” thing.
Regards,
Mark
Mark,
I’m sure my views might be frustrating to you, and to others. But, you don’t really think I’m going to stop, do you? I have to be provocative, brother. I’m not intolerant of people of faith, I just like to challenge people to think outside of the box. I want people to look beyond tradition and indoctrination, and open up to the wonders and possibilities of the universe. I’m married to a devout Catholic. She understands she believes what she believes because of how she was raised to believe. She accepts that . . . but she still believes. She also believes in evolution, and the possibility of life in other solar systems, and thinks that the church is out of step on a number of issues, but fundamentally she still believes. What I reject are the emotional absolutes. They are much too constricting.
The Chesterton quote is cute, but very presumptuous. There’s the old chicken and egg thing when it comes to God. There are some who argue you have to tolerate the intolerant, to be truly tolerant. Embrace the haters, so to speak. There might be *some* truth to that, but you also have to draw the line somewhere. So, to that extent, I guess I’m not 100% tolerant. But, who truly is?
I like the way you write, Mark. If I occasionally offend you I apologize. But, I’m not about to change. Don’t be afraid of the “sensitivity” thing, though. It won’t bite you!
Regards,
YUR
Hey YUR,
WARNING- You’re in grave danger of making me even stronger
in my faith. I too am Catholic – “indoctrinated” since I was a pup. I
think that I would share many of your wife’s views with regard to the
Church, including some disagreements of my own. For example, I do stand firmly with the Church’s teaching that all humans have the right to be born. They should, however, condone birth control which does not destroy a fertilized ovum. I’m hoping that Francis,1 will wake up to the plight of the
overpopulated areas of the third world and it’s disease ridden folks and do the right thing.
Despite my “indoctrination” and tradition I AM in awe of the universe and
all the possibilities within its vastness. It just increases my respect and love
for the Creator. It is readily apparent that you are a very well educated and curious fellow. You may already know then, that Einstein collaborated with
a Catholic priest/cosmologist/mathematician in formulating some of his theses. ( If I knew how to pause during this reply, I would find and enclose a link that lists his name and the specific nature of their professional relationship). My 67 Y.O. brain is becoming a sieve with regard to recalling detail. Fascinating stuff though.
Have a good and safe 4th.
I’ll be keeping an eye on you, so behave yourself ;<)
Regards,
Mark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre
Mark,
Thanks for the link to this remarkable man. I was not aware of Msgr. Lemaître’s contributions to astronomy and physics. Very cool. I hope many others will peruse the link.
You remind me of an older colleague and mentor of mine, from my days in banking. He’d have to be in his mid to late 70s by now, but he too was a highly educated gentleman who liked to have conversations with me on faith and world politics and such. He was also Catholic, and I believe he had previously taught theology.
Please, stop by and comment as you please. Even if it is to dispute something that I have said. We can all – the entire world can – benefit from civil discourse.
Happy and safe 4th to you as well!
Regards,
YUR