I'm reopening this thread by request. I closed it because of lack of activity, but I would have left it open anyway had it not been that discussion seems to have become stuck, with all parties having already aired their views, and with what is happening now a mere rehash of previously stalemated points, and with the last parts of the discussion having little to do with the original topic.
If there is anything original left to be said on this topic then post it here, but the last part of the discussion about the influence of religious beliefs on scientific interpretation probably belongs in a thread in the
Faith and Belief forum.
Lastly, I shouldn't be moderating my own threads, but hopefully this is fairly neutral.
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--EvC Forum Administrator