From Particles to Angels

This is the eighteenth article in the series From Particles to Angels . If you are interested in this article you should read the previous articles in the series in order, beginning with the first ( On Happiness ). Certainty:  It is a bizarre experience to watch a modern Christian who believes that the Bible is The Word of God, perfect in the truth and righteousness of all its particulars, attempting to use the Bible as their moral compass, painstakingly examining and comparing obscure passages, looking carefully for subtle clues and guidance on the details and nuances of proper thought, feeling, belief and conduct for themselves and others. An alarming perceptual filtering is part of this process. For instance, when such a Christian reads a passage like: "If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire" (Leviticus 21:9); the information they come away with is: "Ah, yes I see, this passage sh