Starboy

OK Vanderzyden, at your suggestion I have started a new thread. Could you explain to me what you hope to accomplish?

Starboy

[ September 05, 2002: Message edited by: Starboy ]</p>

Starboy

**ping**

Stephen T-B

I enjoy delving into the pompous Mr V’s motives because he resents it so.
His early posts, in which he referred to scientists in the most disparaging of terms, betrayed a real contempt for their community which he clearly believed / believes is involved in a conspiracy to undermine his Scriptural doctrines.
He undoubtedly thinks they are dangerous and must be opposed, and is attempting to do so on their own ground, hoping, perhaps, to acquire material which can be used to “prove” their dishonesty, the flaws in their methodology and the mistakes in their conclusions when next he addresses the Faithful.
He may also hope that Fundamentalist lurkers will take heart from the battle he is waging here on God’s behalf against the infidel scientists, be impressed by his apparent intellectual superiority and ability to dress things up in obscurantist language, and so go away with the idea that he is hammering the hordes of Satan into pulp.
He is not here to learn anything. That’s for sure.
(But I think he may have done.)

Starboy

Vanderzyden, wherefore art thou?

Bubba

Starboy, I think that he's giving up because he knows he's going to have to come up with

1.Evidence

and

2, rational arguements

if he's going to continue the discussion.

Bubba

Happy Wonderer

I think that I have figured it out. Ol' Van isn't the ignorant cretinist that he appears to be. Instead, my hypothesis is that he is an undergraduate facing a tough genetics course this term. The toughest part is the research paper they have to complete by the end of the term.

They are allowed to chose their topic. Mr. Van looks here at secweb and sees SciGirl's challenge on telomere fusion. That is a good start for a paper, but not nearly enough. So what does he do? "Rebuts" the challenge by saying that we can't prove fusion happens. Note how he insisted on getting the details of this conceptually simple process. He gets several brilliant discussions that even a layman such as myself can follow. So far so good.

However, he needs not only explanations but he also needs references. They have been provided for him. He picks the references closest to his topic and "rebuts" them using inflammatory language that is guarenteed to generate several responses. Strip off the language and you will see a lot of "I don't understand this, explain it to me." We are happy to. Great, now he has references that are explained for him.

Now he needs case studies, so he starts 'delving' into the case studies. Good plan, he gets world-class researchers to write his report for him!

Whadda think of this as a hypotheses? Seems like it is going to happen sometime...

HW

wade-w

That's an interesting hypothesis, HW. However, he is behaving in a very similar manner over in EOG. i.e., making unsupported assertions, then claiming that any objections to his position are "unsubstantiated claims", and ignoring requests to furnish his own references.. He is also follwing the same pattern of not answering the more challenging points against him.

My bet is he's never going to answer this thread.

[ September 07, 2002: Message edited by: wadew ]</p>

Starboy

Oh well, it only supports my claim that most Christians are deceptive. Either they lie to themselves or they lie to others or both. Vanderzeyden lies about his quest for "truth" and he lies about his open mind. I don’t think he was trying to deceive us so he must be deceiving himself.

Vanderzeyden, any comments?

Starboy

pz

Yeah, and I'll bet someone will start yet another thread calling him to the carpet and demanding that he try to respond reasonably.

He won't.

I had him pegged as just another close-minded christian ignoramus who substitutes verbosity for thinking from his very first post. Unfortunately, his performance so far has proven me right -- and if anything, I was being generous in my estimation.

Vanderzyden

Oh, I see you have started another thread. But then, I find yet more accusations of lying.

So, which is it?

-- You are intent on showing me to be a liar, in order that you may discredit me.

-- You are genuinely interested in my motive.

-- Something else

Whatever your answer, I'd like you to convince me that further response to the topic of this thread is a good investment of time.

Vanderzyden

[ September 07, 2002: Message edited by: Vanderzyden ]</p>