II. Going Viral - Basic Issues

I do not have any direct formal credentials in these subjects. 

However, I am a qualified and experienced teacher in the topics covered, and have read extensively on these subjects.

I am not interested in trying to persuade anyone in or out if belief in God. The subject does not interest me.

I studied at Christchurch College, a Church of England college of education, Now incorporated with  the accredited University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.  See

Christchurch College and Canterbury Cathedral

When the British education system was founded, many schools were already established as "Church of England" (C of E) schools.

Neither the college, nor any of the many schools I taught at, had any axe to grind over evolution. It came as an astonishment to me, late in life, that significant number of U.S. Americans, plus a scattering of anglophones and Muslims from elsewhere, had a problem with it. Incomprehensible. The nearest explanation I have come across is Karen Armstrong's "Battle for God". From Amazon,

In the late 20th century, fundamentalism has emerged as one of the most powerful forces at work in the world, contesting the dominance of modern secular values and threatening peace and harmony around the globe. Yet it remains incomprehensible to a large number of people. In The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong brilliantly and sympathetically shows us how and why fundamentalist groups came into existence and what they yearn to accomplish.

We see the West in the 16th century beginning to create an entirely new kind of civilization, which brought in its wake change in every aspect of life - often painful and violent, even if liberating. Armstrong argues that one of the things that changed most was religion. People could no longer think about or experience the divine in the same way; they had to develop new forms of faith to fit their new circumstances.

Armstrong characterizes fundamentalism as one of these new ways of being religious that have emerged in every major faith tradition. Focusing on Protestant fundamentalism in the United States, Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and Muslim fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran, she examines the ways in which these movements, while not monolithic, have each sprung from a dread of modernity - often in response to assault (sometimes unwitting, sometimes intentional) by the mainstream society.

Armstrong sees fundamentalist groups as complex, innovative, and modern - rather than as throwbacks to the past - but contends that they have failed in religious terms. Maintaining that fundamentalism often exists in symbiotic relationship with an aggressive modernity, each impelling the other on to greater excess, she suggests compassion as a way to defuse what is now an intensifying conflict.

Social Media

It amuses me that some posters disparage my work as mere blogger comments, whereas all they are doing is mailing social media  comments without any substance. The source of any piece has no significance. It is the content that counts.

Wikipedia

The same comes when I am criticised for using material from Wikipedia.  
1) It is convenient.
2) It compares well with other encyclopedia. It is constantly ans mecilessly reviewed by an army of volunteers steeped in their subject.
3) Look at the reference section and also the 'talk' tab if you have any doubts about its accuracy. If you do have such doubts, get stuck in and get the issue sorted. Merely sneering that a source comes from Wikipedia is lazy, and adds nothing of value to the conversation.

Close the tab to go back to where you came from.

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