The Problem with Religious Moderates

[trotsky]

58. No, I mean anything that could be considered progress or advancement.

Building on past knowledge, expanding into much more advanced creations. All other human endeavors for knowledge have done this. So where is that progress in theology? What I hear from you is that we can't expect it, because theology is different. Then the question must be asked, what benefit does it bring to humanity? How does it grow and advance as we do? What benefit does it bring us and our descendents if it cannot become more responsive to our needs? Is the only purpose of religion/theology to hold us back and make us cling to ideas that the light of reason has shown to be false, like certain races are inferior or sex with certain people is an "abomination"?

You claim "the notion implied by Harris that man's understanding of God is somehow largely static is incorrect." OK, so you've declared that. Great. Now explain why it's incorrect. What new understanding of your god do we have today that we didn't 100 years ago, 600 years ago, 1000 years ago? What previous theology led to those new understandings, and how? Can you point to the steps of development like I can when it comes to scientific progress?

Be careful now - you need to demonstrate precisely how these ideas grew out of existing theology, and NOT from other areas of social progress, dragging religion kicking and screaming into modern society.