we say, an inquisitorial ring to it! In the U.S. News article, Morris claims to be a member of the Church of
England.
But as you know, the idea that genuinely brilliant people can't be theists is beyond ludicrous. And the
cliche that atheism is only for the supersmart is also junk, as the barely literate schoolboy skeptics who
lounge in student centers mouthing weary anti-religion slogans prove.
The idea that "the unlikelihood that humans should exist ... makes human life all that much more
precious!" and that it's "a rare treat to be able to be part of this drama" are hard for me wrap my mind-or
my psyche (in the Greek sense)-around. I understand what you mean, but I'm unable to muster the kind of
faith you have that time + chance + randomness + an indifferent universe = "a foundation for morality."
You seem to want to keep the "ethics" of Sermon on the Mount while chucking the person who delivered
it.
You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your en- emy."But I tell you: Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you.... If you love those who love you, what reward will you
get?
Jesus, Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:43-46
That's a bit like saying, "I like Graffin's lyrics but I have no use at all for him as a person." The lyrics
and the person are inextricable.
If I saw the world the way naturalists do, I would agree more with some lyrics of yours: "It's our duty
to be adversarial and free; our evolution didn't hinge on passivity." I think that I would conclude that
Nietzsche was a prophet worth heeding.
Are you feeling better?Peace,PrestonWhat is good? All that heightens the feeling of power in man, the will to power, power itself. What
is bad? All that is born of weakness. What is happiness? The feeling that power is growing, that
resistance is overcome.Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher and writer (1895)Dear Preston,
I am not feeling better yet. I am in the third day of what the doctor said would be three days of hell.I must confess that you probably have thought much more about this word "morality" than I have. That is
likely due to the fact that a theological education places a huge emphasis on that word and the sacredness
associated with it.
Evolutionary biology spends very little time talking about morality. But from the work I did in my
dissertation interviews, and from some of E. 0. Wilson's writing, it is clear that morality can be