Steve Shaw

Unfortunately, Snail, you see science as something rather mechanical, something that only a Mr Spock could ever possibly deal with.

A slightly more subtle insult than your usual lavatorial level.

There's no religion in science, and we scientists [Get him!] , especially those of us at the hairy-arse end of things [Ah yes, hacking your way through the jungles of Cornwall to find the elusive fumitory.] , have to struggle with ideas [Phew!] whilst at the same time fending off the nutters, like all those stupid creationists, who want to downgrade science to the putrid level of religion, just so they can accuse us of having some kind of alternative religion to theirs. Drag us into their stinking mud.

Well I'm brave enough [My Hero!] to actually rejoice in what science has revealed, ["rejoice" "revealed". Why does that sound familiar?] not by witness, hearsay or dodgy ancient texts, but by hard-won evidence (which makes it as far removed from religion as anything could possibly be), and if some moron wants to tell me that I'm degrading science into some form of evangelism then that's their tough bloody luck, to be honest.

So what I think is that science has done a hell of a lot more than show us how to do technology and how things work. It has stretched our minds and our imaginations (very important, that last bit), [You certainly come up with some very imaginitive abuse.] and has shown us the real beauty of the universe, and, on our own patch, the true beauty and elegance of life on Earth. Not that abject, half-arsed version of things that joyless religion purports to give us, but the real deal. And it manages to do that with an idea that, in its own elegance and truth, is fully up to that task. Darwin came up with one of the most elegant and lyrical ideas ever, glorious in its utter simplicity to such a level that even Pete would get it if he bothered to investigate it for a minute. Natural selection tells us everything about life on Earth, and it is as true a description thereof as anything could ever be.

That whole paragraph reeks of religious fervour. You said earlier "I was indoctrinated by Catholic teachers and priests". It shows. You seem to be desperately trying to replace God with Science.

If you don't agree, well two things. One, show me the evidence that undermines it.

For crying out loud, Steve, do you actually read what I say? I'll just have to copy and paste what I said last time -

"I have repeatedly told you that I have no problem with the theory of evolution. I have no reason to undermine it. My problem is with your assertion that "Evolution is true.". To say "Evolution is not true." would be just as meaningless."

Two, if it isn't true, tell me what is true. Come on, you start answering some bloody questions for a change. Tell me something that is true.

The acceleration due to gravity at sea level on Earth is 9.80665 m/s2 (To five places of decimals.)

I've got an itch on my right knee.

Truer than natural selection. You can't. There isn't anything!

That is a declaration of faith, not a scientific statement.

Either that or tell me that the word "true" should be struck from the dictionary.

No, it should be used where appropriate, not when talking about a scientific theory.

Science is the greatest fruit of the human mind,

I think art, literature and music may be up there alongside it.

and it's for celebrating and enjoying, not gnawing away worriedly at just in case we say the wrong word. Which I'm not, not this time.

No, it is for both celebrating and enjoying and gnawing away at. That is how science works. Every theory has to be poked, prodded and put to the test. If it is not testable, it is not a scientific theory. By saying it is true, you are saying it is not testable.
"Thou shalt not test the Lord thy Science."

For anyone who would like to see Steve in action, here is Steve Saving Truth from Falsehood and Envy

If any of the creationist lobby want to take comfort from this, don't. I think your religion is a load of superstitious nonsense with its origins in the stone age which should have died out centuries ago.