Until Keith and Jim got up and reentered the fray this thread was an example of something extremely unusual a mudcat - a thread that went from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Excellent discussion of opinion/faith/evidence/theory/ and this one needs to be etched in stone:

Subject: RE: We cannot have an opinion
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Jul 15 - 06:36 AM

One reason arguments go round in circles here is sloppy use, both deliberate and accidental, of terms like belief.

It undermines the logic of people who are careful how they use terms. Deliberate misuse in a very specific way also devalues the arguments of people who are happy to use them informally.

How about about sticking with Faith as belief without evidence and Belief as a firmly held conviction.

That way people can believe in a deity and Steve can believe that dandelions do not grow on top of Mt Etna. I can choose to believe that dandelions do not grow on top of Mt Etna or can regard Steve's belief as an opinion that I won't waste time challenging unless either I have some more evidence or can point to a flaw in his evidence or logic.

In my humble opinion. Good job!