(October 19, 2013 at 11:49 am)Sword of Christ Wrote:Yes, that seems logical. But it shows that they're just really bullies. I think it's a bad idea to back down from a bully, because the only source of their courage is your fear. In that sense, the OP has a point-- those who don't directly challenge the radical elements within their faith are unwittingly strengthening them.(October 19, 2013 at 9:55 am)Tonus Wrote: This is too vague. In what way would it encourage them?I think a lot of it is reactionary against a perceived challenge or threat to their faith. Fundamentalist will tend to have a very insecure and weak faith.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
-Stephen Jay Gould