Is religion really so bad?

[Mudda]

You have to convince yourself that the bible means something other than what is written, because as written, it's a comic book, and you agree, that's why you have alternate meanings for everything in it. You studied it with others who have found a way (even though absurd) to have the bible be believable, like that could ever happen, lol, I guess only if you choose to live in a fantasy world..

In order to excuse non-belief, some decide to turn scripture into slap-stick comedy. No excuse is needed for non-belief. Faith is a gift. Trust me, the Bible is not needed for faith.

Further, it is not about making the Bible "believable." It's about developing a truer understanding of it. People whose understanding of the Bible reaches only a comic book level, are missing a lot. It's comparable to people learning about villains and law enforcement via comics. Good luck with that.

The true understanding of the bible would tell you that it's made up by men with no invisible people involved.

 

[koshergrl]

You have to convince yourself that the bible means something other than what is written, because as written, it's a comic book, and you agree, that's why you have alternate meanings for everything in it. You studied it with others who have found a way (even though absurd) to have the bible be believable, like that could ever happen, lol, I guess only if you choose to live in a fantasy world..

In order to excuse non-belief, some decide to turn scripture into slap-stick comedy. No excuse is needed for non-belief. Faith is a gift. Trust me, the Bible is not needed for faith.

Further, it is not about making the Bible "believable." It's about developing a truer understanding of it. People whose understanding of the Bible reaches only a comic book level, are missing a lot. It's comparable to people learning about villains and law enforcement via comics. Good luck with that.

The true understanding of the bible would tell you that it's made up by men with no invisible people involved.

Uh, no.
That is not *true understanding of the bible*.

Isaiah 47:10
"You felt secure in your wickedness and said, 'No one sees me,' Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; For you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me.'

1 Corinthians 1:19
"For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE."

1 Corinthians 3:19
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS";

Jeremiah 8:9
"The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, And what kind of wisdom do they have?"

Isaiah 44:25
"Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness"

James 3:15
"This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic"

Proverbs 3:7
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil."

Isaiah 5:21
"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!"

Proverbs 26:12
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

 

[Mudda]

You have to convince yourself that the bible means something other than what is written, because as written, it's a comic book, and you agree, that's why you have alternate meanings for everything in it. You studied it with others who have found a way (even though absurd) to have the bible be believable, like that could ever happen, lol, I guess only if you choose to live in a fantasy world..

In order to excuse non-belief, some decide to turn scripture into slap-stick comedy. No excuse is needed for non-belief. Faith is a gift. Trust me, the Bible is not needed for faith.

Further, it is not about making the Bible "believable." It's about developing a truer understanding of it. People whose understanding of the Bible reaches only a comic book level, are missing a lot. It's comparable to people learning about villains and law enforcement via comics. Good luck with that.

The true understanding of the bible would tell you that it's made up by men with no invisible people involved.

Uh, no.
That is not *true understanding of the bible*.

Isaiah 47:10
"You felt secure in your wickedness and said, 'No one sees me,' Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; For you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me.'

1 Corinthians 1:19
"For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE."

1 Corinthians 3:19
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS";

Jeremiah 8:9
"The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, And what kind of wisdom do they have?"

Isaiah 44:25
"Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness"

James 3:15
"This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic"

Proverbs 3:7
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil."

Isaiah 5:21
"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!"

Proverbs 26:12
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

A scammer's book has passages in it that say that you're a fool for not believing the scam? Gee, what a surprise!

 

[OnePercenter]

Faith over reason is good?

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

 

[task0778]

Faith over reason is good?

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

 

[OnePercenter]

Faith over reason is good?

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

BULLSHIT! Religion is about the $68B/yr that suckers pay to be absolved of all sin which the church created. Why do you think there are two, not one catholic churches on the Las Vegas strip? Those fuckers know where the money is....... It's a sin to gamble, but if you give us your chips you'll be absolved! And folks believe this BULLSHIT!

 

[LittleNipper]

Faith over reason is good?

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

It seems odd that San Francisco has enough of them.

 

[LittleNipper]

Faith over reason is good?

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

They didn't write the Bible --- and why the Reformation came about. The fools are the ones who refuse to read the Bible for themselves or simply ignore it

 

[OnePercenter]

Faith over reason is good?

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

It seems odd that San Francisco has enough of them.

San Francisco is in the ring of fire.

 

[OnePercenter]

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

They didn't write the Bible --- and why the Reformation came about. The fools are the ones who refuse to read the Bible for themselves or simply ignore it

The snake oil salesmen wrote the bible.

 

[task0778]

That would depend on the reason or reasoning. Also the faith.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

BULLSHIT! Religion is about the $68B/yr that suckers pay to be absolved of all sin which the church created. Why do you think there are two, not one catholic churches on the Las Vegas strip? Those fuckers know where the money is....... It's a sin to gamble, but if you give us your chips you'll be absolved! And folks believe this BULLSHIT!

Now that we have left logic, reason, and reality behind, we are left with the truth, which is that some people will believe whatever they want to believe.

 

[LittleNipper]

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

They didn't write the Bible --- and why the Reformation came about. The fools are the ones who refuse to read the Bible for themselves or simply ignore it

The snake oil salesmen wrote the bible.

Have you ever honestly read the entire Bible. A snake oil salesman couldn't be bothered and certainly wouldn't be smart enough.

 

[Disir]

To hear some people you'd think so...or you'd think SOME is...but that would be looking at it only one part of it.

I do think religion helps us to think of a higher purpose, to think outside of ourselves and our immediate needs, to think of others. And that is a good thing. I'm not big into "salvation" as a formal concept...and I am firm believer that we create our own heaven and hell through our actions on earth.

As long as it is not in the public sphere, does it matter? The vast majority of people I encounter are not the movers and shakers in any religion. They are ordinary people that do what they can to get by. There are pastors that are out there that do what many refuse to do as far as taking care of people thrown away by society. They walk the talk.

Life is difficult enough and if it brings people piece of mind then it's a good thing. I am not about to make an argument with a 70 year old facing their own mortality, watching their loved ones pass away while society keeps trying to write them off. At some point that argument becomes cruel.

 

[OnePercenter]

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

BULLSHIT! Religion is about the $68B/yr that suckers pay to be absolved of all sin which the church created. Why do you think there are two, not one catholic churches on the Las Vegas strip? Those fuckers know where the money is....... It's a sin to gamble, but if you give us your chips you'll be absolved! And folks believe this BULLSHIT!

Now that we have left logic, reason, and reality behind, we are left with the truth, which is that some people will believe whatever they want to believe.

Faith over reason.

 

[OnePercenter]

Faith is a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension? As in afraid to not believe? Not necessarily, I know it fits your personal agenda, but fear isn't part of the deal.

Reason is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

True. So what?

Logic is reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Validity depends on who is doing the validation. There are a number of sciences for which absolute proof is not possible, not yet anyway.

ie; ALL religion is BULLSHIT.

Here's where you fall off the cliff, your dots do not connect and your logic totally fails. The 1st 3 statements do not conclusively support the 4th. There are scientific fields (social sciences) where the strict principles of validity cannot be applied, are they bullshit too? Let me ask you a question: Does your mother love you? Or your significant other? Do you believe these to be true? How are you going to validate that? Or is it bullshit?

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

They didn't write the Bible --- and why the Reformation came about. The fools are the ones who refuse to read the Bible for themselves or simply ignore it

The snake oil salesmen wrote the bible.

Have you ever honestly read the entire Bible. A snake oil salesman couldn't be bothered and certainly wouldn't be smart enough.

In fairly recent (comparable) years, L Ron Hubbard and John Smith Jr.

I can start a religion and offer a $1M non-transferable guarantee of ever lasting life. How many takers (faith over reason) do you think I'd receive?

 

[OnePercenter]

To hear some people you'd think so...or you'd think SOME is...but that would be looking at it only one part of it.

I do think religion helps us to think of a higher purpose, to think outside of ourselves and our immediate needs, to think of others. And that is a good thing. I'm not big into "salvation" as a formal concept...and I am firm believer that we create our own heaven and hell through our actions on earth.

As long as it is not in the public sphere, does it matter? The vast majority of people I encounter are not the movers and shakers in any religion. They are ordinary people that do what they can to get by. There are pastors that are out there that do what many refuse to do as far as taking care of people thrown away by society. They walk the talk.

Life is difficult enough and if it brings people piece of mind then it's a good thing. I am not about to make an argument with a 70 year old facing their own mortality, watching their loved ones pass away while society keeps trying to write them off. At some point that argument becomes cruel.

Or one can put their big-boy pants on.

 

[dblack]

I wrote 'spiritual apprehension,' The whack-a-doodles that believe that earthquakes are the vengeance of God for not believing.

Yeah, but religion is also about living a better life, exercising the qualities of mercy and selflessness and helping your fellow person in times of difficulty. But here's the thing: whatever works for them is for them to decide, not you. You might think it's all hogwash, but for many it is comforting to believe that loved ones who have passed away will still be around when you're gone too. It's not a bad thing to have others to lean on when you need someone who believes as you do. Not everyone is strong enough to go it alone without a God to pray to and ask for guidance. It may be nothing more than a mental placebo, but the mind can sometimes do positive things that modern medicine cannot.

They didn't write the Bible --- and why the Reformation came about. The fools are the ones who refuse to read the Bible for themselves or simply ignore it

The snake oil salesmen wrote the bible.

Have you ever honestly read the entire Bible. A snake oil salesman couldn't be bothered and certainly wouldn't be smart enough.

In fairly recent (comparable) years, L Ron Hubbard and John Smith Jr.

I can start a religion and offer a $1M non-transferable guarantee of ever lasting life. How many takers (faith over reason) do you think I'd receive?

The Mormon thing was pretty recent as well.

 

[Disir]

To hear some people you'd think so...or you'd think SOME is...but that would be looking at it only one part of it.

I do think religion helps us to think of a higher purpose, to think outside of ourselves and our immediate needs, to think of others. And that is a good thing. I'm not big into "salvation" as a formal concept...and I am firm believer that we create our own heaven and hell through our actions on earth.

As long as it is not in the public sphere, does it matter? The vast majority of people I encounter are not the movers and shakers in any religion. They are ordinary people that do what they can to get by. There are pastors that are out there that do what many refuse to do as far as taking care of people thrown away by society. They walk the talk.

Life is difficult enough and if it brings people piece of mind then it's a good thing. I am not about to make an argument with a 70 year old facing their own mortality, watching their loved ones pass away while society keeps trying to write them off. At some point that argument becomes cruel.

Or one can put their big-boy pants on.

Look guy, I'm an atheist, my parents are atheists, my son is an atheist and it really isn't what you say you are. It's what you do.

 

[Coyote]

To hear some people you'd think so...or you'd think SOME is...but that would be looking at it only one part of it.

I do think religion helps us to think of a higher purpose, to think outside of ourselves and our immediate needs, to think of others. And that is a good thing. I'm not big into "salvation" as a formal concept...and I am firm believer that we create our own heaven and hell through our actions on earth.

As long as it is not in the public sphere, does it matter? The vast majority of people I encounter are not the movers and shakers in any religion. They are ordinary people that do what they can to get by. There are pastors that are out there that do what many refuse to do as far as taking care of people thrown away by society. They walk the talk.

Life is difficult enough and if it brings people piece of mind then it's a good thing. I am not about to make an argument with a 70 year old facing their own mortality, watching their loved ones pass away while society keeps trying to write them off. At some point that argument becomes cruel.

I agree with you...though what do you mean by in the "public sphere"? If you mean part of our system of laws - then absolutely agree. But I also see an intolerance towards public displays of religion. For example I have no problem with towns celebrating Christmas as Christmas...perhaps we go to far on insisting it not be called Christmas. I believe in respecting the rights of all religious people.

 

[Disir]

To hear some people you'd think so...or you'd think SOME is...but that would be looking at it only one part of it.

I do think religion helps us to think of a higher purpose, to think outside of ourselves and our immediate needs, to think of others. And that is a good thing. I'm not big into "salvation" as a formal concept...and I am firm believer that we create our own heaven and hell through our actions on earth.

As long as it is not in the public sphere, does it matter? The vast majority of people I encounter are not the movers and shakers in any religion. They are ordinary people that do what they can to get by. There are pastors that are out there that do what many refuse to do as far as taking care of people thrown away by society. They walk the talk.

Life is difficult enough and if it brings people piece of mind then it's a good thing. I am not about to make an argument with a 70 year old facing their own mortality, watching their loved ones pass away while society keeps trying to write them off. At some point that argument becomes cruel.

I agree with you...though what do you mean by in the "public sphere"? If you mean part of our system of laws - then absolutely agree. But I also see an intolerance towards public displays of religion. For example I have no problem with towns celebrating Christmas as Christmas...perhaps we go to far on insisting it not be called Christmas. I believe in respecting the rights of all religious people.

That's what I mean and includes public property. I am very big on separation of church and state and I am on the same page as the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom. I'm in pretty good company here.

I have never demanded anyone to stop calling Christmas as Christmas or Saturnalia or Festivus or even the plain old winter solstice. I understand why Christmas break was changed to Winter break for the schools. I don't care how people call out the holiday greetings. I say Merry Christmas right back and smile. I don't care what a business decides to call it or not call it. I don't care what decorations people put up on their lawns or in front of churches or private property.