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Religion IS crazy!

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Imagine where we'd be with pure logic and reason?
 
Ruby said:
Lack of Christian belief does not make one selfish. Some of the most philanthropic, kind and loving people in the community are non-Christians;
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I agree. After the 2011 floods caused death and destruction in my area, a flood refugee center was set up in my local village to look after those who homes were inundated. A couple of hundred people were there helping out. I knew most of them, including whether or not they were church goers. Some were, some weren’t, about half and half I’d say. Same story when it came to helping clean up homes that had gone under water – loads of people helping out, some of them Christians, some not.
There are many good and decent people who are not Christain in as much as they don’t believe in God, but they nevertheless live lives of integrity, honesty, and consideration of others. In short, they live according to the basic Christian principle of treating other people as you'd like them to treat you.

As has been mentioned before on this thread, Christians don’t own a monopoly on goodness and decency.

Ruby said:
conversely many Christians are sanctimonious selfish bigots.
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Certainly there are some of these types of people in Christian churches. But in my experience the overwhelming majority of Christians are genuinely good and decent people.
 
cynic said:
Now I ask you, where would our modern day sciences of mathematics, physics, astronomy, engineering, chemistry etc. be without the past discoveries of these religious savants?
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Certainly not as far as it is today. But because religion was regarded as part and parcel of civilised society, the contribution of the pioneers in each of the fields you listed was due to the fact that they were educated people, not religious people. It is only since Darwin that people could see how the different species that exist today could evolve through random mutation couple with natural selection. And it was only in the last century or so that people began to understand the fundamental structure of matter, the composition of the universe, the absolute vastness of the universe, the mathematics of how the universe could come to what it is today from its origins in the Big Bang, issues like the equivalence of mass and energy etc. etc.

So without that understanding how could anyone, prior to the twentieth century, explain the universe as it was known without relying on a deity of some sort. It was pretty much accepted that God was the creator of everything and science was just a means of understanding God's laws.

Perhaps to restate your question.

Apart from who assisted in the discoveries, what additions to our knowledge of mathematics, physics, astronomy, engineering, chemistry etc. came from religious knowledge. What have the scriptures for example, which is the source of most Abrahamic religious beliefs, added to our knowledge of those subjects. I think pretty much zilch. In fact in most instances, where biblical text addresses these issues, it is just plain wrong.
 
kennas said:
I've seen no peer reviewed Phd studies on this hypothesis, but my own personal experiences with family and friends would would be contrary to this assertion.
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There's a book about it...


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/educ...g-the-faith-20130217-2el4a.html#ixzz2UshUIzxO

I went to an Anglican school (I think it's the one the guy at the beginning of the article got expelled from). The religion aspect was certainly never forced down your throat beyond the once a fortnight morning house chapel service and an annual Founders' Day service. It does seem to be a bigger part of the Catholic system.
 

Ruby, next time, dont pull out one sentence out of a whole paragraph when I was talking about Christian schools verses public schools.

I would appreciate if you wrote the whole contents, thanks.
 

I can partially (although not totally) agree.
My post was primarily intended as a rebuttal to the opinion that those subscrbing to a belief in a higher being/power were either illogical or indoctrinated beyond the capacity for critical thought. A brief examination of the history of major scientific pioneers strongly suggests that, not only did many hold strong religious/philosophical beliefs, but on many occasions their scientific discoveries arose consequent to pursuits inspired by those religious/philosophical beliefs!


Yes this is very much akin to my philosophy. As it happens, even with science's progress into unravelling the mysteries of creation, much continues to remain unexplained.
Has an account been given for the origins of the particles/energy that led to the Big Bang event?
Certainly we are able to experience the existence of things such as energy/matter, volume and the passage of time.
Is anyone actually able to define the limits of the universe that we experience?
If they are, how do they resolve the puzzle of what lies outside of those limits?
If there's nothing outside, how could there be anything inside?
If it has a beginning, from whence did it come?
If it has an ending, where did it go?
If something has no begining nor ending, how could it ever have come to be and how could time be finite or even definable?
To me, the mere concept of existence is an intriguing paradox. To date, neither my belief in God nor my belief in science has yielded a solution to this conundrum! If you've somehow managed to discover a solution, I'm sure that many of us here would be happy to hear of it!


Rather than limit myself to one stream of religious texts, my preference is to reply with my current understanding of the origins of several branches of science. Chemistry resulted from discoveries made by druid alchemists whilst engaged in their quest for the philosopher's stone. Initial interest in the movement of heavenly bodies (i.e. astronomy) arose from the practice of astrology. Much of our mathematics was provided by philosophers, many of whom subscribed to metaphysical belief systems of one form or another (if my memory serves me correctly, Pythagoras had an active interest in numerology!). I am also of the understanding that religious bodies/organisations founded the vast majority of our earlier universities. I do not insist that a firm belief in higher powers is a prerequisite for the expansion of the frontiers of science, however, I do believe that, whilst so much continues to remain unexplained, a mind that is open to a wider array of possibilities is essential!

My reasons for arguing the case for divine belief systems is twofold.
Firstly, I've experienced phenomena (often coincident with prayer/meditation) for which science has, as yet, failed to provide adequate explanation. The automatic denigration of my cognitive faculties, which is often the typical response of resolute disbelievers, could hardly be described as anything less than prejudicial and hence unscientific. (The "I know I am right therefore you must be wrong" philosophy simply doesn't wash with me!)

Secondly, whilst there are mysteries within our universe, that remain unexplained by science and other religions, I fail to see how anyone subscribing to one belief system can automatically claim to have such absolute authority over the truth as to be able to boldly and confidently declare another belief system entirely false.

Please understand that whilst I do have a firm belief in the existence of the divine, I do have an enquiring mind and, as such, remain open to the consideration of any alternative explanation that eventuates.

I've known many wonderful people in my time. Some believe in divinity, some disbelieve and others are undecided.

Whilst the aberrant actions of some devotees have certainly done a great disservice to the cause of various belief systems, including Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Science (yes! Some scientists have been naughty too!), it shocks me that intelligent people will so quickly condemn an entire philosophy without first giving consideration to the many wonderful contributions made to our society.
 
MrBurns said:
'Moderate Political Islam' Leading
Turkey to 'Moderate Shariah'

Read more:

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/turkey-political-islam-sharia.html#ixzz2UumNBe5m
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Yeah, looks like Turkey is about to step back in time.


Al Jazeera




CNN

 
Tink said:
Ruby, next time, dont pull out one sentence out of a whole paragraph when I was talking about Christian schools verses public schools.

I would appreciate if you wrote the whole contents, thanks.
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Tink, I apologise. I did not realise that part of your post was still about religious schools versus non-religious schools, so I will rephrase my comment.

It is narrow minded and incorrect to suggest that the teachings and philosophy of non-religious schools are any more self-centred and less philanthropic than those of religious schools. There are many non-religious schools which turn out very fine young people who have been taught to have high ideals, a spirit of service, and to be the best they can be. I speak from experience. Where is the evidence for your claim?
 
bunyip said:
Certainly there are some of these types of people in Christian churches. But in my experience the overwhelming majority of Christians are genuinely good and decent people.
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Bunyip - what is your point? The overwhelming majority of non-Christians are also genuinely good and decent people.

My issue is with sweeping baseless claims having no evidence to support them, such as the one which prompted my comment.
 
bellenuit said:
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Crazy.

Someone posted a youtube link in this thread where a certain Christian group thinks that the Earth is only 5,000 years old.


Saw this on reddit the other day.

 
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bellenuit said:
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That visiting scientist is to be commended for actually keeping a straight face throughout the interview - if it'd been me, my sides would've been splitting with laughter!

Thanks bellenuit for unearthing this gem!
 
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Religion is just a set of outdated belief systems and the civilized world is starting to question. As people question the fiction in the teachings they break down the belief system.

I'm reading a very good book that discusses this.
To Believe Or Not To Believe: The Social and Neurological Consequences of Belief Systems.
Rahasya Poe
 

Interesting. Does this also apply to other philosophies and belief systems such as evolution and other theories or just religion?
 
pavilion103 said:
Interesting. Does this also apply to other philosophies and belief systems such as evolution and other theories or just religion?
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Pav, i didn't want to get involved in this thread but i can't help but wonder how you can compare a belief system with a theory. You're a smart guy, so I'm sure you understand what a theory is. The bible is not a theory right? The theory of evolution is not a belief system, or religion...right?

Regardless if the theory of evolution has a staggering amount of evidence backing it up it still is a theory and cannot be proven at this stage. As far as i know religion is a belief system and not a theory, for all the evidence collected so far by the scientific community contradicts the bible, or the belief system.

OR are you saying there is enough evidence available supporting Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism that they are to be considered theories and not religions (belief systems)?

CanOz
 
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