Bob Hartwig wrote:
> >Yeah but in a way we any philosophy is just anouther religion and none
> >can be really said to be better than another.
>
> Sorry, but this is bullshit. The mainstream religions that I'm familiar
> with require their adherents to accept bizarre claims on blind faith. This
> is an insult to thinking people. At the risk of reopening the whole
> pointlessly metaphysical thread of conversation on "truth", mainstream
> religions are only appropriate for those who don't hold truth to be
> particularly important.
>
> >We need to be open minded
> >towards all religions and try to work out what's really "Going On" as
> >someone said on this list a while ago then we will all benefit.
>
> Ah, the old "Argument from Ignorance" falacy. "You must be open minded to
> my claims because you can't prove that they're not true." The burden of
> proof is on the one making a positive assertion. If someone says “there
> are jackalopes living in Texas”, or “I have created cold fusion”, or “God
> exists”, it's their responsibility to back up the assertion with proof,
> it's not my responsibility to take them seriously. The only truly
> open-minded approach is to accept that their complete lack of proof is
> convincing evidence that their claim is false.