> Her reply was "Well, even though I know it makes no sense logically, I have to believe in SOMETHING."

That frustrates me. I hold to Christianity because I truly believe in it, not because it's something to cling to. Even when I see others cling to their concept of God not out of belief or devotion to Him but out of a necessity for something -- anything, and that happened to be most convenient due to family or whatever -- it saddens me.

> Maybe a large part of this problem is the quality of education today. Many people manage to pass high school without having any idea how to think logically, or what science is. I have multiple friends that think all of science is a bunch of voodoo. They managed to get A's in chemistry and physics, without having any idea where any of the concepts that they memorized from rote came from.

Depending on the quality of your schools, it could be either side's fault. Either the school isn't giving the proper instructions, leaving students to research on their own how, exactly, enzymes have anything to do with anything, or the students don't care, and not much can convince them to. That's youth, pretty much.

> I once explained evolution to a very devout person who had passed biology. Since biology teachers are not allowed to teach evolution (evolution being no more valid than creation as a scientific theory), this person went "Huh. And here I was thinking that scientists thought we changed from monkeys by magic." Grrrrr.

Wow. Our school district is required to teach evolution both in sixth grade and in sophomore/junior year biology. Then again, we're allowed to teach the specific beliefs and histories behind any religion but Christianity. (Is it my school or yours that's weird?)

> I don't think that the idea of stars as fusion engines is any less beautiful than a superstitious idea of stars. I think the universe gets cooler every time I learn more about it.

I don't care how much I know about it. I just know that after the rain, when the bad air clears up for a bit and I can actually see the mountains on the horizon, it's beautiful. Then again, understanding the intricacy of life as a whole does help make it even more beautiful.

Ri "Can't believe in one and ignore the other" a