Atheism

@spendius,

Been there, done that, as the saying goes. Had I continued down that road to its logical conclusions, I'd be executing housewives and schoolgirls alongside the Taliban. No stomach for that ****. I have no qualms about killing in self defense, but killing for ideology, metaphysical speculation, etc just doesn't sit well with me. Good thing most theists don't follow their beliefs through to their logical conclusions, eh? Wink

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@spendius,

spendius wrote:

The reason there are no records before the bronze age is because people hadn't got into religion much before.

Had the situation continued without religion it is a reasonable assumption that nobody would yet know there had been a Bronze Age or that it was 3000 years ago.

As for informing the A2K viewers of those two amazing facts on this machine you can absolutely forget it mate. You can probably forget reaching the ripe old age you have done as well and having such long experience to be able to claim a God who you don't believe exists.

Are we supposed to define human life using new-fangled instruments?

Do what now?

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@FBM,

That is a candidate for the A2K Top Ten Silly Post Competition.

The "there" where you been and the "that" you have done are nothing but where you have been and what you have done. They by no means constitute the totality of places to be or things to do.

But I'm sure everybody is impressed by your distaste for executing housewives and schoolgirls.

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@spendius,

I love you too, spendius.

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http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/552410_444252858928616_1511357019_n.jpg

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The Able to know most rabid splendid said. Quote....

Gibberish means no understanding. You can't get better understanding than none with gibberish.

Humanity needs myths and fables and mysteries and fairy stories and fantasies and romance and yarns and tall tales and song and dance and superstition and pot boilers and story-telling and the improvisation stimulating imaginations and powering invention. Is that not an obvious scientific fact which stands out in the study of human Behaviour. Some people consider that those whose egotistical indignations drive them to denying those traditions to avoid being considered gullible are fools but will allow that they are very precious little dears indeed. Their righteousness is very touching I must say and there's not much in this world more amusing than seeing it expressed with eye-popping red faces with the vein in the temple pulsing away like billyoh.What's wrong about the blind leading the blind? If there is then you have answered the question--"where did Christianity go wrong" with "when it went wrong". Which is silly Billy shite. What could it have done right instead of what it did? ... Unquote

We know who holds the top 10000 places for Gibberish don't we spledidle Dick

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http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r147/panzade/556978_496581067033992_1313347615_n.jpg

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http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/549702_349502488457576_1219160478_n.jpg

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@hingehead,

I believe humans are prone to believe in gods; it's in our genes.

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@cicerone imposter,

Quote:

I believe humans are prone to believe in gods; it's in our genes.

I think that you may be somewhat correct but I think that it could be more like "people have an evolutionary advantage in believing" It can sometimes save your life as a child if you believe your parents are warning you of danger.

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@cicerone imposter,

I don't think it is in our genes. There are tribes that have no god beliefs. I think the concept of god only arises when people try to personify characteristics of nature as a method of wanting to understand why these things occur. As soon as we understand them, we tend to remove the god label from them. However; some stubborn people who don't or refuse to realize this will keep kicking the god can down the street every time it gets uprooted. It is just a matter of time before god has no where else to hide and will be reveals to of always been the imaginations of a fearful mortal existence.

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@Krumple,

Which tribes might those be? Even Native Americans believed in gods. I think many early human history had idols of one kind or another, and the more developed cultures had many gods.

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I think people do it just because it feels good. Like masturbation or gambling, I doubt it's required or compelled by our DNA.

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@FBM,

Some are more prone than others, but why not masturbation and gambling in human genes?

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@cicerone imposter,

I think if there's genetic imperative at all it's the drive to understand. In some people, and at other times, religion was pretty much all that offered a framework for understanding. That it also happened to be a great method of social control and a way of concentrating power warped it while ensuring its longevity.

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@hingehead,

I think humans are the only animal in our universe that has "a drive to understand." We're pretty much the product of our genes and culture/environment. If the culture has gods, it's probably pretty certain that the children will follow the lead of their elders.

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@hingehead,

But longevity from an evolutionary point of view is proof of validity. We have yet to see whether atheism has legs. It hasn't been properly tested yet as a method of social control.

I presume you don't favour no social control or no concentration of power.

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

Which tribes might those be? Even Native Americans believed in gods. I think many early human history had idols of one kind or another, and the more developed cultures had many gods.

The Pirahã tribe in Brazil have no god or creation story. In fact their language doesn't allow for things that are not actively observable.

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@Krumple,

Quote:

The Pirahã tribe in Brazil have no god or creation story. In fact their language doesn't allow for things that are not actively observable.

In which case what is the explanation for them not having an advanced scientific society?

How comes it that modern science grew from a Christian society if Christianity is holding science back?

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@Krumple,

Seems like a contradiction to me!

Quote:

The Pirahã have no concept of a supreme spirit or god[11] and they lost interest in Jesus when they discovered that Everett had never seen him. They require evidence for every claim made. They aren't interested in things if they don't know the history behind them, if they haven't seen it done.[5] However, they do believe in spirits that can sometimes take on the shape of things in the environment. These spirits can be jaguars, trees, or other visible, tangible things including people.[12] Everett reported one incident where the Pirahã said that “Xigagaí, one of the beings that lives above the clouds, was standing on a beach yelling at us, telling us that he would kill us if we go into the jungle.” Everett and his daughter could see nothing and yet the Pirahã insisted that Xigagaí was still on the beach.[13]

Those so-called spirits are gods to them. It's still not provable outside of their own imagination. In all cultures with gods, it's the same "spirits" that they conform to - especially when they pray.

Same-o, same-o; gods. It's the same "human" reaction to spirits.

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