The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, May 18, 1984 Page: 3 of 12
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THRESHING IT OUT
Other Mitchell calls
for deprogramming
To the editor:
A common companion to the
Thresher in the Friday afternoon
RMC stacks is the Forerunner, a
publication of an organized
religion. These are provided, I'm
told, by the Maranatha group for
Rice students. After reading the
last issue (which entreated me to
fear God, no less, ana suggested
some social programs), I did some
careful thinking, and the Thresher
seemed a more accessible and open
forum for my proposal than the
other publication.
The deadline for income taxes is
past now, and everyone has his
own ideas about how the revenue
money should be spent. Social
programs are under increasing
pressure to justify their worth, and
little attention can be spared for
"new" problems. Help for the
spiritually desperate individuals of
society has never been a
government concern, and does not
appear likely to become one. The
result has been a proliferation of
these people and a large profit-
potential to be made by exploiting
them, exposing evermore money-
hungry others ready to take
advantage of the situation.
..A number of self-made
millionaires are hard-core
hypnotists: L. Ron Hubbard, Jerry
Falwell, Jim Jones, Oral Roberts,
Reverend Moon, Jerry Falwell...
but a large percentage of the
spiritually parasitic are more
subtle. "
Faith, belief, is the most
powerful force on earth, but
without a focus it can retreat
behind walls of apathy, or reach
out desperately for the nearest
foothold. Applied properly, faith
can metamorphose losers into
winners, caterpillars into
butterflies. If a psyche feels lost,
and painfully incomplete, though,
it can fall prey to those who use the
faith of others for their own ends.
It's not a matter for blame.
"God is a concept by which we
measure our pain." John Lennon.
I have a specific proposal to deal
with. this problem. The self-
deprogramming kit would include:
1) a mirror, 2) simple instructions
to basic meditation, 3) directions
to a quiet spot in the forest, 4)
optional mild psychedelic
assistance, S) an "I believe in me"
button, and 6) an "Enlightenment
is where you find it" t-shirt. These
should be provided free, tax-
supported, by the Department of
Human Resources or the National
Institute for Mental Health to any
and all interested people.
Spiritual searching and
wondering is a natural, universal
act, and perhaps a strong
candidate for Why We're Here.
But there are some tests to help
those who may stick in the mire of-
a stagnant, faith-draining belief
system.
Test instructions: If you answer
"yes" to any of these questions,
examine what you feel the
implications of the statement are,
and its alternatives. A few minutes
of thought about what you truly
feel are your key to yourself.
•Am I part of a large group of
people who all accept the personal
statements of one other person as
the only absolute truth?
•Do I feel compelled by my
belief system to avoid or back
away from sensual or physical
pleasures?
• Does my belief system
encourage me to feel guilty of any
thoughts or feelings I have?
•Do I believe that others need to
be taught by missionaries or
threatened with suffering to
convert them to the "true way?"
•Is the focus of my faith
compared to me in a way that
denigrates my nature, or refers to
innate (impossible to remedy) evils
in me?
•Do I feel my spirituality makes
it less easy to communicate with
my friends and others?
•Do I feel uncomfortable when I
try free, creative thought about my
beliefs in privacy?
•Does my belief system deal
with the everyday world as
unimportant or a mere
preparation for a time when I will
really "live fully?"
"Say not, 'I have found the
truth,' but rather, 'I have found a
truth.' " Kahlil Gibran.
Additional sources: The
Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, your
own head, the Get YourselfALover
school of thought.
Andy Mitchell
Baker *86
More on evolution: a
logical theory of life
To the Editor:
This is in response to Bob
Jones's article in the last Thresher
and is also an open letter to people
who try to use religious beliefs as
scientific theory.
First, any construction of the
probability of life arising on earth
is limited by the fact that life has
arisen on this planet. If the same
physical and chemical predictions
of probability that Mr. Jones
applied to evolution are applied to
the existence of a creator, the
probability of life arising is zero. A
zero probability does not mean
that God does not exist, it means
that there is no reason to believe in
God from an observation of the
physical world. Unlike the
scientific evidence that exists for
evolution, there is absolutely no
direct evidence for the intervention
of a creating God or even for the
existence of God. Since there is,
even according to creationists, a
non-zero probability of evolution,
the conditional probability of an
evolutionary beginning of life —
given that life exists — is one, while
the probability of creation remains
zero. Unlike evolution,
creationism is not derived from
scientific evidence; instead, it is a
product of Western religious
tradition.
There are standard criteria by
which scientific theories are
judged. A scientific theory is
acceptable to the extent that it
explains reality and has predictive
validity. Another criterion, known
as Ockham's Razor, is that a
theory must be as succinct as
possible.
Assume that creationism and
evolution are both plausible
explanations for the existence of
life, although the existence of God
cannot be derived scientifically
and evolution can. Evolution
requires the construction of no
forces that have not already been
discovered by physicists. Quite
simply it states that the formation
of life obeyed physical laws.
Creationism, on the other hand,
requires that some kind of force
known as "God" exists. "God" is
not a well-defined concept and
attempts to explain God demand
incredible contortions of logic. For
example, how does something
extraphysical, such as God, affect
the physical world without being
part of it and therefore governed
by its laws? Such logical problems
have often caused people to claim
that belief in God is a matter of
faith. This may comfort them but it
BLOOM COUNTY
has no place in a scientific analysis,
or even a logical analysis, since it is
equivalent to claiming to have
proven something by showing that
it is unprovable. If ever there were
a cumbersome idea begging to be
lopped off by Ockham's Razor, it
is the concept of "God."
Next is the issue of predictive
validity. A usable scientific theory
enables us to predict what will
happen from knowledge of initial
conditions, and can explain more
phenomena as they are discovered.
At the core of evolutio nary theory
is the Law of Natural Selection and
the existence of mutations. The
environment selects mutations
that enable their bearers to
reproduce and pass on the
mutation. This selection process
can easily be carried out in the
laboratory and occurs continu-
see Threshing, page 4
by Berke Breathed
Yfl know, i just pont
think there are wow5
enough to apequately
pescr16e what nancy'5
reaction must hpne men
to this joyous announcement...
just think of it. A y06a
instructor. ronalp reagan's
youngest paughter p tti
is going to marry hek
yoga instructor. that's
just great.
although
*conniption fit"
cones to mini?.
oimr wenpell jmsty
can't you just
SMELL the
impenping
excitement:
<
ft chemistry serf
chemicals' burners
mysterious concoctions;
bo anp hme a oooq
TIME, SON!
com on out, son:
.got something
for yfi/
wem s
H&K35
OIJtY
wcwk
oklly
emmv
* JIM
AH' wen/ SO
HOW's the new
FiNe fine
terne know
if ya neev
anything.
- oliver ? everything
okay ? i thought
1hearp something
a
■me FiRe "H
pemrrmlt
anp %verai
gallons of
mctine:
\
2
chemistry xt, oh, lovely.
einstein r very nice.
i AN interesting
pbparture from
THE COMPUTER
it\ SCIENCES. .
-H&o I
no problems;
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NO
PROBLEMS
chovfts
jmf&s
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mmr-n 'm
PROGRESS,
PR OPPENHEIMEK 7
OH YES.
LOVELY.
THANK YOU.
CHIWTS
CH£MtM5
ONIY
cHEn IS
ONLY
tonight, we'u, be
showing you all how
to prepare ever/one's
FAVORITE SUMMER PISH :
msT peN6UIM mp.r.
ahp garnishep
with yummy
penguin
ni0lets !
servep with
pelici0u6 jellicp
penguin tongue.
anp there it is ! hot
anp reapy10 serve-
"roast penguin with raisins*
let's get someone from
the stupio aupience tv
gne it a taste:
here ya go, mm..
anp have some gravy
pig in anp tell us
mtyrwm.,
"yummy pon't
ViHfiT? ASK
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DIM'S QUITE
m EN0V6H,
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The Rice Thresher, May 18, 1984, page 3
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Havlak, Paul. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, May 18, 1984, newspaper, May 18, 1984; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245562/m1/3/: accessed June 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.