quote:
Originally posted by techristian:
Yes I can see that we have much in common with RATS! Rats are the used the most in labs these days. Yes I can see that mankind has done very deep analysis of RAT/human similarities and came up with rats as a likely choice for developing medicine and antibiotics. NOT !
Actually you were pretty much right until the last word. We do share some important metabolic and physiological traits with rats thanks to our common ancestry and these similarities are the basis of many experiments.
It is naturally important for the differences as well as the similarities to be borne in mind, which is one of the reasons I oppose a lot of animal testing, especially of items such as cosmetics and household solvents. Nevertheless, rats do have great similarities which can be used very effectively. For example, gene therapy has proven highly effective in treating rats with parkinson's disease. The rats have been treated with genes which code for enzymes necessary for the production of L-Dopa. The results have been very exciting improvements in the rats' motility. Now here is the important point - Parkinson's related motility problems in humans are also due to lack fo L-dopa, the same genes in humans and rats encode for the production of L-dopa, and the same vectors can be used to deliver the payload of genes. Sadly, these results probably won't lead to effective therapy in time to help my own father, but I am very grateful for our genetic relationship to rats and the hope it will bring to others.
[b] [QUOTE]Israel was enslaved by the Egyptians true, but the "slavery" from most of the bible as you quoted was different.[/b][/QUOTE]
Oh don't try to wriggle out of it. Joe said slavery was rife in the Bible, you said show us a verse, I did, and now you are playing the old fundamentalist "special meanings" game. Deeply unconvincing. What kind of slavery was to be imposed on those women and children captured in warfare? (Deuteronomy 20) Or on those who could be bought from surrounding tribes (Leviticus 25) - and remember these latter could not redeem themselves from bondage because they were not bound by debt. Try again, te.[b] [QUOTE]I only mentioned that without a faith in God we could try to get away with anything. (As long as no one was watching such as authorities, our wives etc.)[/b][/QUOTE]
Firstly you didn't
only mention that without faith anything goes - you specifically claimed that "a belief in evolution has led some individuals to live like animals." This is not a passive statement that lack of faith can lead to wrongdoing, but a postive and totally unsubstantiated statement that a specific belief has led to a particular form of behaviour. Again, don't try and wriggle out of it with weasel phrases words like "I only said ..."
BTW, I note you have done nothing to address the multitude of horrors committed by those driven by a belief in God or Christ. Whadya make of them - do they undermine the validity of christianity?
You are right in one sense. The late, flamboyant, homosexual Quentin Crisp, memorably said that people were so much more tolerant during the war, because they feared God might be watching them. But, belief in God or Gods is by no means necessary to a moral life and there are so many counterexamples of those who clearly believed in God, but did not behave morally, that the value of belief as a moral instrument, even as a rhetorical stance, seems very little.
[b] [QUOTE]Speaking of laws, where do you think our current legal system comes from?[/b][/QUOTE]
Well a helluva lot of it comes from ancient Roman and Greek models which were not conspicuously Christian. Why else do you think our law courts look so much like Roman or Greek temples, and not like churches?
[This message has been edited by Mister Pamboli, 04-29-2002]
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