http://www.oliverwillis.com/2005/12/21/judge-jones-gift/ Like Kryptonite To Stupid Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:42:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 http://www.oliverwillis.com/2005/12/21/judge-jones-gift/#comment-16662 lexalexander Fri, 23 Dec 2005 16:12:35 +0000 http://improveman.com/ow2008/?p=1129#comment-16662 At bottom, this is a problem caused by people who don't understand, or refuse to recognize, the difference between knowledge (objective fact) and belief. In most cases, there's nothing wrong with using religious belief as the functional equivalent of fact; a lot of good in our history has come from people who have done so. But allowing beliefs which cannot be proven or disproven to supersede objective, verifiable fact, particularly in the public-policy arena, is a recipe for disaster. At bottom, this is a problem caused by people who don’t understand, or refuse to recognize, the difference between knowledge (objective fact) and belief. In most cases, there’s nothing wrong with using religious belief as the functional equivalent of fact; a lot of good in our history has come from people who have done so. But allowing beliefs which cannot be proven or disproven to supersede objective, verifiable fact, particularly in the public-policy arena, is a recipe for disaster.

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