On the following two pages are two reactions to 'What I Believe but Cannot Prove', both very interesting. .. .. .. .. .. read on

From: Ken Vallario
Date: Thu Jan 26, 2006 04:45:51 PM GMT
Subject: Attn: Rev. Bill Darlison
Dear Rev. Darlison,
I thoroughly enjoyed your latest sermon 'what I believe but cannot prove. I’am a listener from the U.S. and I am thankful that you have chosen to podcast from your church. This new medium has allowed me to hear great thinkers and feel connected to the small minority of people who exhibit what I call inclusive skepticism, which is how I refer to that idea of belief. Believing in ideas because they exist without having to prove everything we find valuable. I think the ability to believe in the infinite nature of the universe is evidence of healthy self-esteem as a species. Our ability to believe in miracles is a great test of our open-mindedness and I am glad that you are challenging your congregation with these ideas, it certainly takes guts. Anyways, I am a loyal listener and I look forward to more of your sermons.
I am a professional artist and writer living in New York and I have included a link to my website in case you are interested, hope you enjoy.
Sincerely,
Ken Vallario
http://www.kenvallario.com

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NORTH STAR LADY

For the past three months the image of a horse named 'North Star Lady' had been sporadically buzzing through my head, during waking and sleeping hours, though I didn't actually know of any horse by that name. I thought it a 'typical' name for a horse (though perhaps more the kind of name they might be likely to choose in the U.S.), and wondered what it would sound like being chanted by the race caller, especially as it won a race. Imagine my surprise when I discovered (late one Friday night) that my ratings system (which refers to runners only by number) had included as one of the choices in one of the interstate races scheduled for later the next day, a horse called 'North Star Lady' .
I was leaving Rosehill [a Sydney Racecourse] just after the eighth the next day, quite pleased with myself after having an especially good betting day, hurrying in order to make a dinner appointment on the South Coast, when it occurred to me that I had just time enough to place a bet on the next interstate race, even if I didn't have time to watch it, and then collect the following week if I won something. As I glanced at the bookmakers' fluctuation monitor to gauge the markets on my two selections (which were both outsiders) I noticed that one of them (at 20-to-1 and rising) was North Star Lady, which reminded me of the surprise I had felt the previous night. If I were New-Age-ish, I thought, I would treat this as a SIGN, and put all my winnings for the day on what was obviously decreed by fate, and feel certain of taking care of the mortgage payments for the next year. But wait a minute, I thought, could this be an onset symptom of what one might call a 'betting problem' (from which the 'scientist' would smugly tend to consider himself immune)? I decided (out of shame) to reduce the bet size my (impartial) system had suggested to just $5., but to stay a moment longer and watch the race.
By this time, there were not many patrons left on course, and I had the interstate monitor pretty much all to myself. As I watched the horses lining up, which was difficult to watch because of the mist and heavy rain, I wondered what it would be like to be one of those people who stake their life savings in such a moment, and actually WIN. Happily or sadly, I concluded, I am not one of those people. ’...and they're off!' woke me from my musings, though what was going on in the race was almost completely obscured by the weather conditions, and for the next minute and a half or so, all I could make out (all I ever can make out, come to that) was that some horse was leading, some others were just off the lead and some others further back, followed by somebody at the tail of the field.
Finally, the horses were out of the mist heading toward the finish, with one a clear leader over the others, winning shortly afterwards with the kind of ease I don't tend to associate with chance outcomes. Then I thought, could THAT be what I heard the caller in my dreams saying? '... and it's North Star Lady [winning] by two-and-a-half lengths...'
As I made my way to my car, I wondered whether I had just experienced something profound, or if not, if I had at least learned something important.
Probably not, I concluded, which comforted me for some reason.
David Edelman