Please don't go away mad. You have been right about many things. Your cause,
to affirm the stewardship of creation, is a noble one. Your plea, that we on
this list try to elevate our discussion to a higher plane is also welcome. If
I may offer an excuse for some of the recent harshness, it would be simply that
it has to do with the medium of email, which tends to be spontaneous and
unreflective. If you think this list is rough, you should take a look at
alt.talk.origins sometime.
Decades ago the great media prophet McLuhan said, "the medium is the message."
So I suggest that the kind of contemplative, reasoned, worshipful discussion you
seek will probably not be found in this medium. Read a good book. The ASA has
lots of recommendations about good books in its Journal and Bibliography. Books
that exemplify the noble aspirations that you describe. For myself, I will
testify that good books have changed my life; email never has. However, it has
its useful functions.
We should all try to be civil, of course. But the medium affects our
perceptions of each other. Don't take email too personally. Usually we don't
even know what state -- or country -- people are writing from.
Regards,
Paul Arveson, Research Physicist
Code 724, NSWC, Bethesda, MD 20084
73367.1236@compuserve.com arveson@oasys.dt.navy.mil
(301) 227-3831 (W) (301) 227-1914 (FAX) (301) 816-9459 (H)