John, stop with the martyr stuff already. I'd like to smack you upside the head* sometimes, but 'destroy' you!?

Dave Polshaw, repeat posts are the right way to fix your mistakes. We admin helpers see and delete the old version.

For the record, I don't think science is an alternate belief system to religion. Science is physical world and religion is metaphysical, and religious, or spiritual, beliefs are how people explain the physical world when science doesn't have reasonable answers.

I may respect someone else's beliefs or I may think they're a load of crap. If someone's belief was that "God created some men superior to others to be their masters," I'd think that was a load of crap, and move way past lack of respect into disrespect.

If someone told me they believed God had spoken to them personally and told them to give up smoking and drinking and go work for the poor, I still don't think I'd respect their beliefs, because they just don't seem logical. The results are good, but the reasons don't make sense to me, and I'll remain neutral regarding respect. They don't make sense to me because I'm not wearing their brain. Fundamentally, every single person's beliefs are different, even those of one particular group.

We don't have to respect beliefs. I think some make more sense than others, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. People are different and the creative, intuitive pare to people makes them different. Beliefs are things, the product of experience, teaching and contemplation. Beliefs don't care if you respect them.

So what I try to do is try to understand the heart of the person who holds the beliefs, and if the person seems good, I can respect the person.

I took an astronomy class from a brilliant teacher who had a friend ('B') that believed she (and her husband) had been abducted by aliens. Her husband had since died, and 'B' would invite my teacher to go up in the hills and watch for space ships. My teacher, who believed that life probably existed on other worlds far away, but did not visit Earth, went with her. She said said something like, "I'm sure she never was abducted and there are not aliens, but I'm also sure SHE believes there are." What she was saying was that 'B' had a true heart although her beliefs were illogical. She respect the person, if not the beliefs.

I don't mind people telling me flat-out they think I'm wrong. I can respect differences. When they start telling me what I should believe, the lose some of that respect. It seems weak to me to want everyone to believe the same as you. I don't believe that any of us CHOOSE what we believe, and none of us can change beliefs because someone else thinks it's a good idea.

Respect ideas and beliefs or don't, but give people you don't know some basic level of respect to start with.


*I've never actually smacked anybody upside the head. I just think about it.

P.S Mozilla Firefox (I have v. 2.0.0.6) comes with a spellchekkur... not that I ever need it.