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  STEP #3. ACCEPT THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE STUDENT: Dr. Brink? BRINK: Yes, oh come on in for our weekly conversation. STUDENT: I don't think I'll come in. I just stopped by to say thank you for all the time you have given me, but I don't think I'll be coming bac k. BRINK: I have enjoyed our conversations. But I thought that we would have a few more before I was done giving you my complete answer. STUDENT: I am sure that you have more to say, but I think that I got enough. I don't really disagree with anything you have said so far. I really thought about what we said last time about the limits of reason, and I do agree with that, and that it all comes down to making a decision, a commitment, and I have made my decision. I am going to stay with science, not just for my major and career, but my view of the world, evolution and all. BRINK: Well do come in and grant me a conversation about science. STUDENT: OK, I guess that I do have the time. BRINK: Tell me w

  Excerpt from How to Argue with an Atheist , by Professor TL Brink STEP #2: Accept the limits of reason     STUDENT: Dr. Brink, is it OK for our weekly religion discussion?   BRINK: You are right on time. Any problems with what we covered last week?   STUDENT: No, like I said, I am a rational kind of person, so I have no problems accepting that I exist and that other people exist.   BRINK: And what about that people are driven by values?   STUDENT: Oh, yeh, that too is logical, but I just can't see what that has to do with religion. Humans to me are just like other animals: they exist, they have desires. So where does God fit into the picture?   BRINK: That is a few more steps down the road.   STUDENT: Must be, because what you said last time was so rational, and religion still seems irrational.   BRINK: Tell me what you mean by being rational.   STUDENT: Following the rules of reason.   BRINK: Give me an example of good, rational reasoning.   STUDENT: Like the one we talked about