Benjamin

"I keep such information in folders - to be used as evidence against multiculturalism in my PhD".

I certainly hope that you have an open mind and have not decided to condemn multiculturalism before you have even researched it.

Stephany,

Thanks. I had look at those interesting URLs.

The cosmological issue in Galileo's time was one of instrumentalism and hypothetical constructs. In the West, discoveries made by astronomers could not be held to be fact if in conflict with natural realm / supernatural realm doctrine of the Vatican. This came out Galileo's trial. The philosophical implications are discussed in Karl Popper's, "Conjectures and Refutations".

My source for the Chinese not being caught-uo with the epi-cycles thing is Joseph Needham's account of Matteo Ricci, wherein, Ricci notes, "foolish ideas are entertained by the Chinese, among which they do not believe in the solid crystaline spheres" [Needham 1981]. Needham adds -though- that Europe soon "gave up the idea themselves". Sinologists, like Needham, note the Chinese of the period were more into arthemetic an geometry. Chinese society has long ofbeing wary of theory. Usually, this was not good, but, by a strange twist of fate or deliberate choice, steered the Chinese away from Eudoxus and Ptolemy.

What you say about "zero" is true. Positional notation and zero together are very powerful indeed [e.g., 10,203].

The Great Divergence [c.1760] was when the West learned how to learn by applying theory to practice. The Greek foundation is Attic Greek, the Court Greek of Alexander. This educated Greek is more apt at handling the esoteric than Kione Greek used by Romans and today's theological colleges. In this way, Churches are feigning scholarship when these bodies use vulgar Latin and Koine Greek in discourse on say Mind and Body or Aristotle.

[Because the mass of the Earth is not a vacuum the speed of light is different depending on what ultra-fast particle is passing through the planet. The speed of light for a particle with mass will be less than for an massless exotic particle.]

goodthief,

Thank you for your reply and perspect on things.

I find terms like Father, Son and Lord, patrimonial and in context with the Hebrew tribalism of the period. Also, the theocrasia is not well distinguished from other [false] religions of the period and region.

How could a New Guinea Highlander living two thousand years ago be aware of the Atonement? Is her/she let of the hook, but one from the Tribe of Israel, not?

Why do these anti Muslim diatribes always end up in counting Nobel prizes? What is it that you guys have with Nobel prizes?

So the Jews have the most, considering their small numbers.The Christian nations made sure to keep the numbers of Jews down. Is that what made them so clever? Only the cleverest survived. Should we perhaps ask the Melbourne Jewish Lobby to govern us? Or are the Sydney Jews even smarter?

By the sounds of it Islam should just bypass Christianity and go straight to those of Jewish faith for discourse on spirituality, religion and obtaining Nobel prizes.

Did the Catholics get many Nobel prizes? Or did the Lutherans get more? Perhaps Pell should keep quiet because the Catholics didn't do too well in the Nobel prize stakes?

But then, the Catholic Church is the Christian church that is the oldest with the richest cache of philosphers compared to other Christian churches. So the Catholic Church wins in the Christian stakes. It is after all the one true church.

Besides, anybody who has spent a single sermon in a dour Protestant Church or a ridiculous American show happy clappers performance would run straight back to the beautiful Catholic services full of reverence.

Irfan, keep on stirring and pushing those buttons. It's funny to watch so many leap as if stung. Of course you make a valid point.

Fellow Human, please keep on with your posting. I admire your courtesy.

Irfan, just reread your original post up there. Seems to be mischief making- Don't know how you missed the bucketing Pell got in Sydney. In parliament and virtually all he media he was condemned and often ridiculed.
You actually produced one piece of evidence only to construct your rabble-rousing argument, the Oz editorial. Then you presume that others' silence equates with agreement.
Not one of your better efforts mate.
I'm curious about your assertion that in Islam church and state are separate. Can you tell us then why in nations from The Philippines to Africa, Moslems seem to think differently. There are separatist movements, revolutionary movements and church leaders throughout the Islamic world who seem to have it all wrong, and who state that they want Islamic states, usually with Sharia law.
Please enlighten me.

I find Cardinal Pell's remarks more frightening than those of Sheik Halali in that he is seeking to influence the decisions of our elected government by threat to their personal lives. In my view this amounts to blackmail. I would like to assume that any elected member of parliament is able to make decisions in the best interest of their electorate which will of course include many with differing religious views than themselves. Congratulations to those MP's who stood up to Cardinal Pell. I suspect a lot of people will be taking far more care in choosing who to vote for based on religious affiliations from now on. I know will be.