Ah, Steve, you are such a contrarian reprobate! ;-) But I do enjoy talking to you.

I don't regard Dawkins as a threat at all. I think he regards religion as some kind of threat, but I don't regard him as a threat. I regard him as an annoying man with a very limited and paranoid viewpoint of divinity, but certainly no threat to anyone of faith.

Now, let's see...what else were you talking about? Hmm.

"We're pussycats really." Yes, you are. I regard you as quite harmless, Dawkins included.

"You say there is a God. He says there probably isn't."

Well, I think there probably is, but I can't state it with absolute certainty, because I haven't met God in an undeniable way that I can totally confirm through direct experience. I just think God is very probable.

Therefore, I am not the extremist you would have me be, because the only thing I base absolute certainty on is my own direct experience.

"The charlatan Dylan only ever wrote one good song, and your quoted one ain't it. (Have I covered everything?)"

No, Steve, you haven't covered everything. I predict we'll be talking yet for a long time, and uncover lots more. Now...I have long known that it's hopeless to convince people who don't relate to Dylan's material of its great worth, so why would I try to convince you? I think he's the finest songwriter of the 20th century. You don't. Nothing further that we can say is going to change that.

"There's probably no God."

Well, certainly there's probably no nasty little vengeful patriarch like the one you imagine when you hear the word "God", Steve. ;-) But there is either a reason for our existence or there is not, and we either live in a meaningful Universe imbued with purpose...or we don't...in which case it's all just a meaningless series of events on a very large scale. I think that is probably not so, that there is probably a governing meaning and principle involved in everything, and one word I refer to it by is the word "God".

"Now stop worrying and enjoy your life!"

I am. I talk here not because I'm worrying, but because I find the subject of this thread fascinating.

"(I'd rather believe a London bus than a load of dodgy old desert scrolls any day!)."

A london bus is useful if you want to go somewhere, no doubt about that. ;-) As for the desert scrolls...well...I'm interested in any ancient records and ideas from any culture, whether they are Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Islamic, Hindu, Mayan, African, Celtic, Roman, Greek, whatever...and they all had ideas about the Divine, and those ideas all form part of the great picture of Life itself, and Life interests me, because I'm part of it, and it's sacred. It's not that it worries me, Steve, it's that it fascinates me.


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Regarding my statement that the female and the male are equal to me, Steve, don't be disingenuous in responding that they're not because they're different! Good heavens, man, EVERYONE knows perfectly well that they're different, so it should be bloody obvious that my statement of equality did not mean "the same in their specific nature and definition". What I meant was that they are of equal value, of equal importance, should have equal rights and respect, and that they are equally valuable partners in the drama of life. The fact that they are different from one another is quite handy, and it's why they make such good partners.

As you well know.