Richard Dawkins on why science is better than myth
- Thread starter danmand
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Your lenses aren't that of a 4 year old Somalian boy being left on a road to die by his mother and baby sister because she can not go on with him despite her hearbreak. Fuck "God."That I suppose depends a great deal upon the lenses through which one views life.
To my knowledge plaque and famine was never known to have brought people
to hate God. I doubt the tragedy in Somalia will create more atheists than believers.
Human misery is often cited as "evidence" against God. But that is pastime for armchair
philosophers only. Believers who hate God tend to be lunatics as dangerous as the
martyrs of God.
to hate God. I doubt the tragedy in Somalia will create more atheists than believers.
Human misery is often cited as "evidence" against God. But that is pastime for armchair
philosophers only. Believers who hate God tend to be lunatics as dangerous as the
martyrs of God.
It's funny you say that...because my experience in third world countries is that people are more religious than us folks sitting in front of computers in first world countries.Your lenses aren't that of a 4 year old Somalian boy being left on a road to die by his mother and baby sister because she can not go on with him despite her hearbreak. Fuck "God."
Answer
Maybe thats the problem then.It's funny you say that...because my experience in third world countries is that people are more religious than us folks sitting in front of computers in first world countries.
Hate
FAST
Nobody said plaque and famine brought people to hate the god thing, but sure as hell changes peoples minds as to the existance of one.To my knowledge plaque and famine was never known to have brought people
to hate God. I doubt the tragedy in Somalia will create more atheists than believers.
Human misery is often cited as "evidence" against God. But that is pastime for armchair
philosophers only. Believers who hate God tend to be lunatics as dangerous as the
martyrs of God.
FAST
That we get soft and arrogant and complacent in our comfort? Or that religion is what makes a third world country third world?Maybe thats the problem then.
Is your suggestion that somehow we are spiritually or morally better than people in third world countries?
Didn't you read the post preceding mine? Not to say the poster actuallyNobody said plaque and famine brought people to hate the god thing, but sure as hell changes peoples minds as to the existance of one.
FAST
said anything hateful. Well-meaning people have been known to hate God.
If I'm an atheist how can I hate something I don't believe in? Rather my contempt is saved for religion which is an attempt to pervert the need for a social contract into a twisted relationship of worship and rewards. By delegating ultimate authority to a higher power we have tried to give purpose to our lives other than the immediate satisfaction of just being. Why should our existence have any meaning at all, and even if it doesn't why shouldn't we still strive for a society which considers the needs of all it's members. The most insulting thing in the world is to ask for God's blessing, our existence is blessing enough.
I find it rather incredible that a bunch of random elements swirling around in the universe just by chance combined and developed into life as we see it on this planet, with no help from an intelligent designer..... if you want to believe that it definitely happened that way , go ahead, but I prefer to keep my mind open.
Then there is the difficult concept of a beginning, or no beginning. With or without a "god" , that is a concept that escapes the grasp of this human mind. Is our pre-history eternal? Is time a subjective illusion? ( Cue the closing trombone lick from Chicago's "Does anybody really know what time it is?")
Then there is the difficult concept of a beginning, or no beginning. With or without a "god" , that is a concept that escapes the grasp of this human mind. Is our pre-history eternal? Is time a subjective illusion? ( Cue the closing trombone lick from Chicago's "Does anybody really know what time it is?")
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Because some people desire answers and to know more. Some people like to know things work, and some people are happy just to appreciate them.Why do you need to believe in anything, all questions will be answered definitively soon enough until then enjoy this incredible random event.
And if those Abrahamic folks are right, doing the right thing pays off.
No most people really don't want answers, they want assurances that there is some meaning to our lives. No religion has ever provided these to a degree where man has devoted himself to the grander principles espoused in any consistent manner. Rather we have barely managed to raise our collective consciousness beyond the aggregate of our most base individualistic urges.
Actually although that may well be true for you, it isn't for most people.Nobody said plaque and famine brought people to hate the God, but [it] sure as hell changes peoples minds as to the existance of one.
Questions like this are always among the most difficult. Non-believers say how can you possibly believe in God when we are in such a fallen creation. Believers say how much worse would things be without God's presence and love.Your lenses aren't that of a 4 year old Somalian boy being left on a road to die by his mother and baby sister because she can not go on with him despite her hearbreak. Fuck "God."
Actually the opposite. We all want to believe our lives have meaning. However, most people don't want to struggle with the answers they want to be told the answers, hence the large increase in membership in fundamentalist denominations as compared with mainstream denominations.No most people really don't want antswers, they want assurances that there is some meaning to our lives.
So you think that the wide spread of organized religion has had no impact on the rise of western civilization?No most people really don't want answers, they want assurances that there is some meaning to our lives. No religion has ever provided these to a degree where man has devoted himself to the grander principles espoused in any consistent manner. Rather we have barely managed to raise our collective consciousness beyond the aggregate of our most base individualistic urges.
It is amazing how well you know what religious people want out of religion. Is there any chance that you are projecting your own cynical worldview on them?
The rise of western civilization was retarded by religion as scientific thinking was condemned when it conflicted with the churches teachings. Galileo was seen as a threat to religious doctrine and spent years of his life under house arrest for asserting Earth was not the center of the universe. Darwin nearly didn't publish his theories on evolution because of the effect it would have on the church. Science and rationalism dragged us out of the spiritual morass that was the middle ages while religion was often spread by the sword ( crusades ) and at the expense of indigenous cultures ( Incas ). The best and worst of humanity exist without religion it is each individuals choice to forge their own path not follow the false guidance of just another manmade institution.
When you credit me with thinking I know what people want from Religion you underline the inherent flaw in Religion. A worshiper must come to religion with no wants no desires only acceptance of what the divine has been supposed to have revealed. My cynicism is a response to the perversion of a divine ideal by mortals just as flawed as myself.
When you credit me with thinking I know what people want from Religion you underline the inherent flaw in Religion. A worshiper must come to religion with no wants no desires only acceptance of what the divine has been supposed to have revealed. My cynicism is a response to the perversion of a divine ideal by mortals just as flawed as myself.
I am amazed at how ironic (or should that be with an 'm'?) this statement is. He refuses to accept the randomness of nature but is keeping his mind open to divine causes.I find it rather incredible that a bunch of random elements swirling around in the universe just by chance combined and developed into life as we see it on this planet, with no help from an intelligent designer..... if you want to believe that it definitely happened that way , go ahead, but I prefer to keep my mind open. ...
I find that open containers are also prone to losing their contents.
A huge distortion of things.The rise of western civilization was retarded by religion as scientific thinking was condemned ...
Religion allowed us enough social structure to permit ever larger groups of people to live in harmony together. The larger groupings allowed the specialization required for civilization and therefore scientific advancement. Just because some periods in the history of religion (such as the middle ages in Europe) were not accepting of certain scientific advancements, other periods prospered in them. Remember that when science was unacceptable in Europe, it was thriving in the Muslim world.
It seems to me that ONE religion (or the manipulation of it) was responsible for that anti-scientific hiccup. Not implying that this one religion is/was bad, just that it didn't like science at the time
