RT>  
 RT>  FM>    I agree with Mortimer Adler that "benevolence" is not a 
 RT> necessary 
 RT>  FM> attribute of that which we symbolize as "God," however, if you 
 RT> deny it 
 RT>  FM> omnipotence then the symbol no longer makes any sense to ANYBODY
 RT> if they 
 RT>  FM> engage in any thought about it.  This is not to argue that the 
 RT>  FM> anthromoporphic beings can be assured of knowing even the 
 RT> complete reality of what it might be to be "omnipotent."   
 RT>  
 RT> I'm not going to argue word definitions. Sorry. That's not philosophy. 
I don't see Frank arguing definitions; in my experience, he has a 
very thorough grasp of the terminology as used in philosophy, and 
that usage is not always the same as it is with say, fundamental, 
or other religionists.  Being aware of that, he tries including a 
hint of definition, since so many who try to argue philosophy, do 
so while trying to prosetylize a religion, using definitions that 
come from that perspective.  
 
 RT>  
 RT>  FM>    I continue to find it odd that the opponents of Fundamentalism 
 RT> allow 
 RT>  FM> themselves to be trapped into the using the categories of 
 RT>  FM> Fundamentalism. 
 RT>  
 RT> Why? 
Well for one, to argue is to try to use reason, while fundamental 
religionists, who depend on faith, do not use reason well.  Which 
is a lot like trying to teach calculus to an orangutan.  The post 
to Nick was- a well reasoned, thoughtful, and thorough discussion 
on Creationism- but, I'm sure that Nick lacks the clear reasoning 
to profit by it; he will, if he rebuts, pick one or two points to 
dispute, but misses the point that it is the whole system that is 
the problem.  As in the above escatology, only when all pieces of 
the arguement are held in the mind does it make any sense. 
 
If I understand correctly, Socrates' great genius was in throwing 
out a vast collection of commonly held, but wrong ideas, from his 
mind- so he made room for a few correct ones.  Fundamentalism has 
such a wide array of wrong ideas to fill the mind with, there has 
been too little room left for clear thinking. 
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