Bex wrote"

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Re-read my posts, I made no such acknowledgement that I believe evolution is not a religion! Don't put words in my mouth, this is a habit Linear shares with you. You guys should get yourselves a couple of hand puppets and make a living out of it.

You're right, you never said that directly, yet when I argued about it you argued back. What's more, you went one step further and directly quoted me where I said that evolution is not a relgion three times in a row. You took my direct quote and quibbled about it. If you don't see evolution as a form of religion, then there's no need to reply at all. Or at the very least you could have simply said (a loooooooong time ago) "Uh, dude, what are you talking about? I DON'T think that evolution is a religion".

Look folks, if I say something and it doesn't apply to you, you don't need to reply back. Russ and other posters HAVE referred to evolution as a religion - so they're the ones who should be refuting my statements.

As for CTD's dictionary definition. I never bother to quibble over minutiae of trivia with dictionary quotes. It lends the impression that you're simply playing fast and loose with me rather than trying to prove a point. If you really want to demonstrate how evolution is a religion, then please respond to my earlier statements.

If evolution is a religion, according to whatever definition you choose, then by the same logic is believing oreo cookies taste great with milk also a religion? Please see the other anologies I used above. Do you just want to put the label of religion on evolution or do you believe that BELIEF, in and of itself, is religion? Because if evolution is a religion, than anything a person believes is also a religion. Are you saying that belief and religion are synonymous with one another?

Let me take it one step further then and ask you this: what word would you give for an expansive belief-system (note: not the same as a single, individual belief, like "I believe an apple a day is good for you) which includes holidays, deities, rituals and customs, etc.?

It sounds to me like you just want to bicker over words but I'd be happy to be proven otherwise. You can quote the dictionary and prove how believing in something is, by definition, a religion, but in terms of linguistics YOU KNOW this is not the same. When people talk about freedom of religion, for example, I'm quite confident you don't include "I think that Luke Skywalker is way cooler than Han Solo" as part of "religion". Ah, but wait, the dictionary says so - right?

"I'll see what Russ makes of this."

-CTD