I had prepared myself to experience the world's best game. Judging by other people's reviews, Grand Theft Auto 4 was crafted in a special gaming studio in heaven, authored by Jesus Christ himself, and it descended upon us from the heavens on a golden chariot made out of chocolate covered in fairy dust. Imagine my surprise when I experienced the world's biggest turd in gaming since Davilex' A2 Racer (Dutch people will understand).
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Member since:2005-07-24
It would be irrational to believe that any current theory or model is the be all and end all. No scientific theory is ever beyond question. General and Special Relativity have proven themselves time and time again, their predictions agreeing with experimental results. But if they were found not to agree with some new experimental data, they would have to be modified in some way.
That said, once enough experimental data has agreed with a theory's predictions over time, it is rational to have some confidence that new data will also agree.
It would, however, be very irrational to believe in a completely different theory, or in religious "teachings", without a body of supporting evidence which religions never seem to have. Just a bunch of unsupported claims, and some convenient excuses for why no hard evidence exists, and, of course, the occasional bit of anecdotal "proof" which often amounts to nothing more than an interesting coincidence experienced earlier in life.
Edit: I forgot to include the depressingly common "How dare you call my mother a liar!"
Edited 2009-03-30 18:33 UTC
Member since:2005-11-14
"It would, however, be very irrational to believe in a completely different theory, or in religious "teachings", without a body of supporting evidence which religions never seem to have. Just a bunch of unsupported claims, and some convenient excuses for why no hard evidence exists, and, of course, the occasional bit of anecdotal "proof" which often amounts to nothing more than an interesting coincidence experienced earlier in life.
Edit: I forgot to include the depressingly common "How dare you call my mother a liar!""
While many say that those of faith have the "convenient" excuse of explaining the unexplained as "God did it!", and such, being someone of faith isn't very convenient, and can be rather difficult at times - such as defending my views and beliefs on here. 
As a Christian, I have no problem saying that Evolution could very well be real. It doesn't threaten my faith. But what I find most interesting (and at times, hypocritical) is those that have a "tunnel vision" and believe that only their beliefs could possibly be...well, possible. Take someone who is firmly in the camp of Evolution, and mention Intelligent Design to them. No, there is absolutely no proof that ID exists. But then, how much is there "really" of transitional fossils, abiogenesis, etc.. When it comes to the fossil record, how much fraud was presented as "proof" and by scientists? It's a very long list - Piltdown Man, Java Man, Lucy, Yale DNA, etc.. - yet, many will defend it, and even defended the cases of fraud until the "scientists" came out and admit the fraud. At times, and for some people, this segment of science called Evolution is almost a religion to them. And it's not going out on a limb to say that those that accept it 100% as it's described to them (including abiogenesis) require faith to believe in it. Yes, these theories are tested, and adjusted based on those results, but some of the things will never be proven most likely (abiogenesis) but are accepted as "fact" anyways.
Okay, you've got me. I have no idea where - "How dare you call my mother a liar!" - came from.
Member since:
2005-11-14
Once society has said that it's OK to believe irrational things... no evidence required, then there is no limit to the severity of the ensuing abuse. That is the ultimate problem with the insanity that is religion. And that is why it ends up doing so much more harm than good in the world. And that is why its best to discourage it, in favor of rational thought. "
Using your argument and viewpoint - is it insane to believe all of life occurred naturally (abiogensis)? Abiogensis has not been proven, yet, you may have "faith" in science that it must be how it occurred without irrefutable evidence.