Reply To: Plan B for Focus Fusion

[Henning]

asymmertic_implosion wrote: I have an on-going argument about the relationship of Science to Religion. He is starting to convince me they are similar. You seem to state the same thing. You cannot know; you can only believe. I will pass it along to my friend.

The difference between science and religion is that science is refined if a new insight is found. Religion is set into stone, it doesn’t change. It only splits to new sects, but mostly not because of new insights. They are results of strong words of a leader, and are not backed by reasonable evidence.

Religion may have started out from trying to understand the world, in a somewhat scientific way. But it always has been a tool of power. If you prove a religious belief is wrong, you’re proving those in power are wrong. Best example is Louis XIV who is set into position by an “omnipotent god”, which is the base of absolutism. If you chalenge a belief set in and interpreted by the church and aristicracy, you chalenge those in power and they will crush you.

Still nowadays the pope is set in position by a god (or is his representative, same thing mostly), and here’s the problem: he cannot change his position even if he would know he’s wrong, otherwise he would loose some of his power.