Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 22:46:09 -0800
From: Mark W*****
To: darwin@atheists.net
Subject: simple

Hello.

I stumbled upon your page by accident.  Although I was not impressed
with your aims, I figured there was no point in emailing you, as you are
surely an unshakeable convert to your own cause.

After reading your "Simplicity of Existence" in a drop-jawed,
unable-to-look-away miasma of incredulity, however, I changed my mind.

You may be an atheist, but you sure as hell have a religion if you
believe that mess of an essay that you wrote.  Aside from seeming
written by a 12 year old who got his hands on a high school physics text
book, its axioms and postulates--and its tangled mix of logic and
conjecture--are far less convincing than those of any established
religion.

Let's face it, sir, you've pulled this "Simplicity of Existence" out of
your butt.  In an attempt to refute the existence of God, you have
created your own haphazard version of physics.  This is fine; the
problem comes when this creation of your butt, being a physical theory,
has to conform to events in the actual physical world.  In trying to
explain physical phenomena, you'll end up inventing new rules or axioms
until you're trapped in a morass of concepts of your own creation.
You've taken ontology back to the air/wind/water/fire days--and we know
that can't be right, because people believed it OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS
AGO!

Well, I guess I've had my rant.  You need to read a lot of books and
stop making web pages.  If you read great philosophical, metaphysical,
and religious works, I guarantee you you will be much humbler and better
off for the effort.

As for religion, you greedily discount God and religion; have you ever
read anything on the subject?  Christianity, for one, turns out to be
remarkably consistent--even logical--when viewed in its totality.  Like
most religions, it just starts with different axioms. But seeing it this
way takes a significant amount of study, and you are probably not
willing to invest the time.

Regards,
Mark W*****

P.S. Remember that I waste my time writing this not out of anger, but
because I love you enough to tell you the truth.