tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post2416391937942403682..comments2023-11-27T23:30:40.341-05:00Comments on Anything But Theist: Pray for UnderstandingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02504734487692109101noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-34597250219857145592011-02-02T22:50:20.454-05:002011-02-02T22:50:20.454-05:00The fact that every culture does some general prac...The fact that every culture does some general practoce is not grounds for its usefulness. Prejudice exists in every culture ever recorded, but we would be better without it. The fact that no two religions in history have agreed is evidence of how arbitrary "religion" as an all-encompassing concept is. Not every culture in history even worshipped gods, and very few believed in only one.<br /><br />In order for me to give you the better answer, I'll need a question.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02504734487692109101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-56897705947017868242011-02-02T17:48:31.014-05:002011-02-02T17:48:31.014-05:00Not trying to dazzle - just food for thought. I wa...Not trying to dazzle - just food for thought. I was hoping you might be more open to listening if it came from someone of a like mind. History reveals there has never been a civilization that did not practice religion of some kind. It is a universal phenomenon. It is a part of human nature ingrained in us so, you are correct - people naturally seek something greater than themselves. So in your opinion, what is the better answer?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-41712234536015280612011-02-01T23:40:08.814-05:002011-02-01T23:40:08.814-05:00Oh, well... if a famous skeptic said it, I should ...Oh, well... if a famous skeptic said it, I should take it as the atheist word of... whatever atheists believe in.<br /><br />How about you quote me: religion is an idea that must be transmitted. No one is born praying, talking to god, sacrificing, or doing anything remotely religious. Religion is taught, in the same way that eating with a fork and knife is taught. People will naturally ask questions and seek a means of defining morality or concepts greater than themselves, but religion is not the only sources of answers (and it's far from the best).<br /><br />You should argue the concept, not try to dazzle me with quotes from people I never heard of and don't care about.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02504734487692109101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-34491440953842368532011-02-01T22:56:56.321-05:002011-02-01T22:56:56.321-05:00Famous skeptic, John Tyndall:
Religion lives not ...Famous skeptic, John Tyndall:<br /><br />Religion lives not by the force and aid of dogma, but because it is ingrained in the nature of man. To draw a metaphor from metallurgy, the moulds have been broken and reconstructed over and over again, but the molten ore abides in the ladle of humanity. An influence so deep and permanent is not likely soon to disappear...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-740518923769223572011-02-01T12:15:08.774-05:002011-02-01T12:15:08.774-05:00Religion is no more programmed into the human brai...Religion is no more programmed into the human brain than slavery, misogyny, or any of the other social constructs religion has brought us.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02504734487692109101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-38739581646535763712011-02-01T11:18:23.182-05:002011-02-01T11:18:23.182-05:00The more science delves deeper and deeper into und...The more science delves deeper and deeper into understanding the mechanics of how the universe and our bodies work, the more we realize that the odds of such precision happening by chance is virtually impossible. Religion is not going anywhere - it is programmed into us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-10082855726451291422011-01-31T21:55:25.718-05:002011-01-31T21:55:25.718-05:00That was a bit a hyperbole, though to be fair... t...That was a bit a hyperbole, though to be fair... the Bible isn't clear about the matter. The King James Bible mentions the heart as the center of thought, will, desire, etc over 700 times. But like the firmament, the "heart" isn't scientifically recognized as being well described in the Bible.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02504734487692109101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-79499127057094524032011-01-31T16:40:09.095-05:002011-01-31T16:40:09.095-05:00Whatever would make you think a Christian doesn...Whatever would make you think a Christian doesn't believe in brains?Lauraleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13766657674080708910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-60960974112554058642011-01-30T12:52:03.550-05:002011-01-30T12:52:03.550-05:00I think prayer is a game to take people away from ...I think prayer is a game to take people away from their notions of personal power. The most perfect prayer doesn't even refer to god. I made it up myself. Here it is:<br /><br />I am not all-powerful. What will happen, will happen and I have no control over it. I accept this.<br /><br />That's the true message of prayer, and god isn't even in the picture. By the way, I know what you mean with respect to the religious guy who wrote to you last week. I had a comment the other day on my non-graphics blog. From the profile of the commenter, it's clear he's a religious wingnut but all he said was, "I invite you to visit my blog."<br /><br />Now, I liked that. Of course I didn't respond. His profile was enough for me. Still, it seems some religious people aren't relentlessly vicious and crazy. They're polite and don't press. This kind of religious person I can put up with.. I only wish there were more of them. (I still haven't gotten a polite question or comment from the religious brigade, alas.)writenowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612617536948351540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-33313648801120677442011-01-28T20:34:55.583-05:002011-01-28T20:34:55.583-05:00I think prayer works on the same principle that me...I think prayer works on the same principle that meditation works. It's the mind's power, nothing more.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04073782907747032366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-15861374141217066352011-01-27T19:15:01.885-05:002011-01-27T19:15:01.885-05:00Every time this thing called prayer comes up in my...Every time this thing called prayer comes up in my presence, I think of the people who were being ushered into the "showers" at Auschwitz, and other death camps. Surely when they realized what was going on, they prayed...desperately, but prayed nevertheless. Such is the real power of prayer, in my opinion.<br /><br />Perhaps they were praying for the wrong thing?<br /><br />I'm not saying it doesn't work, but this example is a poor advertisement for it.jadedjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16569736113526368917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-33667529039236535502011-01-27T16:41:16.292-05:002011-01-27T16:41:16.292-05:00I hadn't even considered it, but you're ri...I hadn't even considered it, but you're right; the Bible explicitly describes prayer very differently than modern Christians generally preach it. This is generally the case, however, because Christians have been philosophically back peddling since the Renaissance.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02504734487692109101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5721082653718997788.post-605023710399374692011-01-27T15:58:41.739-05:002011-01-27T15:58:41.739-05:00Spot on. I think prayer can be rather easily dismi...Spot on. I think prayer can be rather easily dismissed because of the fact that believers always attempt to shift the goalpost of evidence to that which is just out of reach of being independently verified, but somehow still real enough to affect the material world. <br /><br />The New Testament is quite clear on its "ask, believe, receive" theology. Believers are then forced to make all kinds of excuses for God – it wasn't his will, I'm not supposed to pray for that, I didn't have enough faith, etc. It's just one of many mysteries that makes much more sense when you realize it's just not real.Mike Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04097261108461657167noreply@blogger.com