I agree with the posters above. EvC has been an educational tool to learn more about religion and science.
I believe that the human brain can absorb more knowledge through active interaction than by just reading a book or words on a website. By actively engaging, reading, commenting, and teaching back this knowledge you will more deeply engrain it into your working knowledge. Isn't this why we have universities, debate societies, forums, etc in the first place? Reading a book only gets you so far.
My point is that if you can't teach it to someone else than you really don't know and understand it. EvC is a very good tool for teach back. Of course it is dependent on the recipient to verify what they are learning is actually true, which itself opens up the avenue for more learning through fact checking and validation.
Thus the verbal sparring on EvC does fit a very important and vital educational role even if you think it does not.
I am sure many, many of us can attest to how much we have learned here about religion, science, politics, and many other subjects on EvC. I know I sure have.
Just because some of us like to post on here does not mean EvC is the end-all/be-all of our lives. I know it isn't for me. EvC is just a nice hobby to keep me cognitively astute and active and like Cavediver expressed earlier, EvC has been a great tool for self discovery and religious deprogramming.
Edited by DevilsAdvocate, : No reason given.
Edited by DevilsAdvocate, : Correct spelling and grammer
Edited by DevilsAdvocate, : No reason given.
One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to ourselves -- that we've been so credulous. - Carl Sagan, The Fine Art of Baloney Detection
"You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe." - Carl Sagan
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World
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