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ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster

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ORIGINAL: slaveboyforyou

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And herein is yet another reason why some people scare me. They truly cannot distinguish between superstition and analytical thinking.

Hippie, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone more skeptical than I am.  However superstitious folks don't scare me.  If anything, they amuse me.  One thing that bothers me in your OP is your insistence on turning your fear/bewilderment/whatever into a political argument. 

It's funny but I hear liberals attack Christian fundamentalists for clinging to superstition, but I never hear them do the same with self-described neo-pagans, wiccans, buddhists, etc.  Apparently for liberals, the "cool" religions get a free pass when it comes to superstition. 

I just finished the Dalai Lama's "The Universe in a Grain of Sand: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality" An amazing read. The Dalai Lama is personal friends with the world's leading Physicists. Buddhist philosphy dovetails uncannily with physics (and my own "spirituality" or Cosmology, whatever term you prefer).
So I except Buddhism from the rest of the goofy whackjob cults like Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Islam, Catholicism, and the rest. (I'm undecided about Hinduism for reasons too complex to go into here)
The difference is that none of the other non-Christian cults have any sort of political power in the US, except perhaps for Judaism. And only the Protestant cults, like Assembly of God etc., are trying to dictate how I live. That's why you never hear Progressives opposing any but the Fundie Theocrats. (Dobson, Haggard, and the other headcases like them)

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ORIGINAL: UPSG

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ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster

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ORIGINAL: slaveboyforyou

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And herein is yet another reason why some people scare me. They truly cannot distinguish between superstition and analytical thinking.

Hippie, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone more skeptical than I am.  However superstitious folks don't scare me.  If anything, they amuse me.  One thing that bothers me in your OP is your insistence on turning your fear/bewilderment/whatever into a political argument. 

It's funny but I hear liberals attack Christian fundamentalists for clinging to superstition, but I never hear them do the same with self-described neo-pagans, wiccans, buddhists, etc.  Apparently for liberals, the "cool" religions get a free pass when it comes to superstition. 

I just finished the Dalai Lama's "The Universe in a Grain of Sand: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality" An amazing read. The Dalai Lama is personal friends with the world's leading Physicists. Buddhist philosphy dovetails uncannily with physics (and my own "spirituality" or Cosmology, whatever term you prefer).
So I except Buddhism from the rest of the goofy whackjob cults like Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Islam, Catholicism, and the rest. (I'm undecided about Hinduism for reasons too complex to go into here)
The difference is that none of the other non-Christian cults have any sort of political power in the US, except perhaps for Judaism. And only the Protestant cults, like Assembly of God etc., are trying to dictate how I live. That's why you never hear Progressives opposing any but the Fundie Theocrats. (Dobson, Haggard, and the other headcases like them)

Hip,

John Paul II spoke something like 13 languages was internationally recognized as an intellectual and frequently held audience with scientists. Are you aware the Vatican sponsors an organization of scientists and to some lesser or greater degree always has for centuries?

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The Pontifical Academy of Sciences was founded by the Roman Catholic Church in 1936 under its current name by Pope Pius XI and is placed under the protection of the reigning Supreme Pontiff (the current Pope). Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical and natural sciences and the study of related epistemological problems. The Academy has its origins in the Accademia dei Lincei ("Academy of Lynxes") established in Rome in 1603, under Pope Clement VIII by the learned Roman Prince, Federico Cesi (1585-1630) who was a young botanist and naturalist, and which claimed Galileo Galilei as its president. The current president is the physicist Nicola Cabibbo. The Academy is headquartered in the Casina Pio IV at the heart of the Vatican Gardens. The academy holds a membership roster of the most respected names in 20th century science, many of them nobel laureates including Stephen Hawking and Charles Hard Townes.

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ORIGINAL: UPSG

Are you aware the Vatican sponsors an organization of scientists and to some lesser or greater degree always has for centuries?