Quite the most bemusing item in all of this lunacy is >b>Fingerprint�s appeal (to people like me, obviously) to have an open mind.
But why?
I consider all religious belief to be unutterably absurd � an insult to, a betrayal of, that intellect that evolution has given us human beings. And although, in a free country, people are fully entitled to misuse � indeed, abuse � that intellect, why should I have an open mind about it? Or, as some people demand, respect it? Must I have an open mind about, and a respect for, astrology, flat-earthism, magic carpets, tealeaf-reading?
Tolerance, yes of course � at least in those areas where religious belief remains harmless.
Mind you, that tolerance becomes hard-pressed when faced with Theland�s bland and blind, cannot-think-for-myself Bible spouting, Mani�s nasty, hateful extremism and Fingerprint�s rewriting of the gospels (which have no historical basis anyway) to accomodate some ridiculous dogma invented by the RC Church. But it survives.
I can�t remember who it was who said �By all means have an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out.�