Steve Shaw says: Theology is the art of taking a completely false premise and constructing a whole ringfenced philosophy around it.

Well, since my college major was Theology, I might tend to disagree. If a theology is built upon a mythology that is taken to be historically and scientifically factual, then I might buy your argument. But you're defining a fundamentalist theology, not all theology. Most theologies are an exploration built upon a perception of a spiritual nature or meaning of what we observe and experience in life. Most theologies call that spiritual nature divine, in one way or another. So, the basic premise is that we are surrounded by a universe that has a spiritual essence that is worthy of exploration, partly through tools such as mythologies and rituals and traditions and sacred texts.

I would submit that one cannot prove or disprove that some or all aspects of our universe have a spiritual nature. That's a matter of perception - of faith, if you will. I find that perception to be rich and worthwhile. I have no quarrel with those who do not share my perception - they just see things differently. But when they say my perception is "false," then I have a quarrel with them. My perception is NOT false - it is simply different from theirs.

-Joe Offer-