From: TURTLE              
To: DRAGONFLY           
Subject: relig & logic??
Date & Time: 05/15/91 01:12:10
Message Number 16835

>I thought...you were saying that the difference between religious
>debates and other types of debates is that religious debates force a
>"leap of faith."
 
No, I was saying that religious debates contain or involve a leap of
faith that is manifestly different from the "faith" involved in a
statement like "If I drop a hammer it'll fall." My dictionary defines
"faith" as "Faith, n. Belief that is not based on proof." Semantic
quibbling, hairsplitting, and existentialist bullshit aside, I think
it's accurate to say the differnce between a logical argument and a
religious argument is that the latter will always involve some sort of
leap of faith that is inherently unprovable and therefore not subject to
rational analysis. Religious discussions can borrow the tools and
techniques of logic, but they are not logical.