God is a preference

Discussion in 'Comparative Religion' started by Seattle, Dec 8, 2016.

  1. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Sorry if terminology confused you.

    Truth not in the form of value.

    Churches preach their own versions of truth, god, devil, heaven, hell and angels etc etc.

    Of course no proof offered.

    The sort of truth I meant to imply is knowledge.

    Look at the Universe. Examine the Universe. Work to find out how the Universe works from neurones to black holes.

    Look at what has been built to obtain such knowledge.

    Buy your kids a toy top to spark interest on how it stays upright on its tip base.

    Keep feeding curiosity.

    One day he may ride a spaceship to Mars which will depend partly on a version of the spinning top to plot the way there.

    I confedently predict he won't get there if he tries to work out how to do it on angel wings.

    Not sure what the reference to IQ stands for.

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  3. Michael 歌舞伎 Valued Senior Member

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    Ha! I'll be dead anyway

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    IMO it's the most reasonable.

    There goes the concept of the modern Nation State AND fiat currency - in one fell swoop!
     
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  5. Michael 歌舞伎 Valued Senior Member

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    Well, to be fair, some of the greatest thinkers, spent their lives thinking about the world according to their understanding of the Christian God. Newton for example.

    I find the Japanese have the balance right. Religion plays a small role in people's daily lives, mainly superstitious. At the beginning, a Shinto ceremony, at the end, a Buddhist funeral.

    That said, I agree, we have diverted resources away from better means of research due to a reliance on religion. However, the amount spent on research is pretty small relatively speaking. Most people would rather direct our resources towards enjoying stuff - like a latte. And, perhaps religion has allowed for the maximum productive activity in society, therefor making the slice spent on research, still that much bigger.

    Incidentally, I read a research paper a year or so ago that suggested, had we kept regulations at the same level as 1949 (certainly not a free for all), then our annual income would average (adjusted for inflation) over 380,000 per year. IOWs, without our superstitious belief in the State, enforced through the Government, we'd probably be on Mars now.

    IQ measures something in the brain, which we could refer to as g. The measurements are getting good enough to be predicted by fMRI measurements. An IQ of 85 correlates strongly with criminal activity. #notallIQ85s

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    Joking aside, not accounting for individual differences in intellect and disposition (both greatly influenced by genes), which can be measured by an IQ test, will make it very difficult to understand the differences in societies as well as individuals in society. Ignoring this scientific data, leads to people making up irrational emotional-based superstitious-like reasons for why societies are the way they are. Once IQ is factored in it becomes quite reasonable to infer and predict all sorts of social phenomena. As an example, males have IQ normality curves that are more broad, averaging at 100 but flatter. Females have IQ normality curves bunched up at 100, more peaked. Males are more likely to be awarded Nobel prizes, as well as more likely to end up on the street homeless. Yet, I just heard a social scientist suggest women are not awarded Nobel prizes because they are being discriminated against in higher education - never-mind more females have attended University, than males, since the early 1980s, also, females are more suited to the 50 minute study period. It should be noted, this social scientist did not seem to find the lack of homeless women, something that needed to be leveled out. Recall the Harvard President who was fired for suggesting genetic differences in intellect. Talking of genetics and intellect today, would be like talking of atheism in the middle ages. And, to be fair, this has to do with the legacy of eugenics. However, if you want to understand society, I wouldn't worry so much about the role religion plays, as it is minimum and probably sub-optimum at this point, and focus on other aspects of society.
     
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  7. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    I understand that many great thinkers believed in god.

    Also understand that their thinking related to their observations of the real world.

    Have not read all their papers but I am sure if I did I would not find any which contain "...while I was observing a angel..." or ".... while chatting with god he mentioned something about gravity..." or some other such statement.

    If you know of one let me know please.

    Will continue later.

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  8. Jan Ardena OM!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Who/What is the ''your'' in the statement?

    I'll get over it when you're able to explain what you mean.

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    jan.
     
  9. Jan Ardena OM!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I'm not the one attempting to explain faith. I can understand that he is wrong because his analysis makes no sense in light of my own experience of faith.

    Just because you don't accept the evidence for God, doesn't mean it isn't evidence.

    If you hope he pull himself together for this particular up-coming exam, then that is faith, no different to any others who naturally have to resort to faith for a hope to manifest, without knowing that it will. And this is regardless of what may have occured in the past. It is what occurs right at that very moment in your life. ''Faith'' is totally interactive. You don't just have the faith switch turned on in the background. That's the misunderstanding.

    I like the way you pretend to lump all these concepts together, like putting all kinds of rubbish into a box and hide that box away in the basement.

    You cannot comprehend God in a sense that you could believe that He exists. I get it. As such it seem nonsensical, and irrational. Like believing that if you walk on the cracks in the pavement, you will get eaten by giant lizards. There's nothing I can do about that, as it is your perogative.

    jan.
     
  10. Seattle Valued Senior Member

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    There is evidence for that however you just don't don't accept the evidence. The giant lizards are invisible so you can't see them but every time a person trips who do you think is doing the tripping?
     
  11. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Yes it does.

    Wanting something to happen.

    A strong belief in something.

    Saints Faith, Hope and Charity

    A group of Christian martyred saints.

    Their mother is said to have been Sophia (Greek for Wisdom)

    You appear to be implying Mother Wisdom gave two of her daughters the same name.

    Are you implying a intermittent faith?

    Faith like a light bulb only turned on when needed.

    I don't think there was any pretence about lumping the concepts together.

    Kudos on calling the concepts rubbish.

    I wouldn't hide the box in the basement in case it got found.

    I'd put it with bin linner.

    No you don't.

    Because both are.

    I'm sure he is not bothered in the least about your inability.

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  12. Jan Ardena OM!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Now you have to resort to chappy humour. Typical.

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    Jan.
     
  13. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    On the contrary, I discussed it "sincerely" in a dedicated thread, in some depth.

    Here's a link to that thread, to jog your memory (and for the benefit of those who didn't see it first time around):

    http://www.sciforums.com/threads/is-faith-a-reliable-path-to-knowledge.152142/
     
  14. Jan Ardena OM!!! Valued Senior Member

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  15. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    The link is there. Anybody can read the thread and make up their own mind.
     

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