Quote: Animalman said: According to the ARIS study circa 2001, 76.5% of Americans(not included Alaskans or Hawaiins) identified themselves as Christians.
identified as isn't necessarily the same as being Christian. Large majorities of those self-proclaimed Christians are either lapsed, apathetic, or denominated in their beliefs of what makes Christianity--Which is generally more often diverse from the more legitimate beliefs in Christianity (the ones we're referring to anyway).
Quote: I don't know about "more alluded". Generally, the idea of God is still a spiritual one, even if it has found its way into certain colloquialisms.
In Elementary school, all the way up to high school, when I said the pledge, the name/word "God" was never said with spiritual vigor by either me or anyone else around me. Spiritual origin? Maybe. But the spiritual strength behind the name/word has long since died down.
"God" has effectively been rounded down to an ideal image of man rather than an uncorruptable spiritual entity.
Quote: Wednesday said: What's your point here? Well, if 10,000 scientific studies said the world is round, and only Magellan said the world is flat, we should reject Magellan's work.
No.
Quote: You're comparing psychological opinions to scientifically certifiable facts. If you could give scientific proof that homosexuality is a compulsion, unlike heterosexuality, then the comparison would have a leg to stand on.
I think Dave's point was that you're putting undue confidence into one opinion over another for seemingly no reason. i.e. The most of the evidentiary support you have is only stated as being greater because a majority of people believe it is. Until 1973, society wasn't as open to homosexuality. The 70s was the borderline where it started bending over backwards for homosexuals. See where this is heading?
Quote: Wednesday said: I may say that I was treated poorly as a member of the United States military based on my race. The fact that I was a sailor doesn't, in itself, give my assertion credibility.
I don't get this example. I'd think the fact that you were a sailor does give your assertion some degree of credibility--Not counting any other extraneous factors that would take that credibility away.
Quote: Wednesday said: What are you talking about? I never said someone who said he's stopped being gay is full of shit. I really don't know where you got that. All I said is this: the assumption that a former homosexual is compassionate toward the homosexual experience is incorrect. They might be the nicest people in the world, we don't know one way or the other, but to assume they're compassionate to practicing homosexuals is groundless.
Urm.....Run that by me again. What do you mean by "compassionate"?
