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The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 5:49 pm
(This post was last modified: December 10, 2015 at 5:56 pm by Excited Penguin.)
How do you cope with the fact that most people believe in magic, fairy tales, mystical creatures(e.g.God) and so on?
How do you explain it?
How do you think this belief in the supernatural affects the world, other than the obvious violence and divisiveness, aversion to science and rationality that it so often spawns? Do you think belief in a deity or in other such fantasies defines a person's mindset beyond these superficial qualities it inspires in some people of faith?
Do you think there will ever come a time when it's not considered normal, or sane for that matter, for a person to hold such beliefs and how and when would you say that could happen, if you do?
How I came to make this thread.
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:05 pm
First I'd say that people don't want to acknowledge what reality looks like. It's absolutely indifferent. When something bad happens, it just is. It's not beautiful, it's not character building, it's just unanswered tragedy. That's fucking hard to swallow. Most people are romantics, and egocentric. They want to believe their lives are cosmic stories and they the hero. For the world to be meaningless and indifferent ruins that little parade.
Also, people don't want to believe they truly lack anything in this world. Religion and spirituality offers a timeless view of life, something that could have been had thousands of years ago as much as it could be had today with all our gizmos and theories. That's why all religions are inherently anti-progress. They fundamentally propose that the truly important things have always been around and will never change. A progressive view of the world reveals that we are staggeringly ignorant and suboptimal.
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:19 pm
Quote:How do you explain it?
There are a lot of idiots in the world.
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:22 pm
I can kind of relate to the type you describe in the first paragraph, so I would have to disagree. I'm not saying I'm a nut, but I'm not that much of a pessimist either.
The second paragraph, I can get more in line with.
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:23 pm
(December 10, 2015 at 5:49 pm)excitedpenguin Wrote: How do you cope with the fact that most people believe in magic, fairy tales, mystical creatures(e.g.God) and so on?
I comfort myself in knowing I'm not that stupid. That's all that really matters.
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:25 pm
(December 10, 2015 at 6:19 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Quote:How do you explain it?
There are a lot of idiots in the world.
And you're sure you're not being one of them right now, are you?
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:26 pm
Live and let live. If a person is a good person and isn't harming anyone, then I don't see why it should bother you whether or not they believe in God.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:28 pm
(December 10, 2015 at 6:23 pm)Napoléon Wrote: (December 10, 2015 at 5:49 pm)excitedpenguin Wrote: How do you cope with the fact that most people believe in magic, fairy tales, mystical creatures(e.g.God) and so on?
I comfort myself in knowing I'm not that stupid. That's all that really matters.
Is it really? I could only imagine that mattered if you somehow feared your position on the matter is liable to change.
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:29 pm
(December 10, 2015 at 6:26 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: Live and let live. If a person is a good person and isn't harming anyone, then I don't see why it should bother you whether or not they believe in God.
No. I will vote to send you to the gas chambers any minute now.
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RE: The Not-so-elephant In The Room
December 10, 2015 at 6:31 pm
(This post was last modified: December 10, 2015 at 6:31 pm by Catholic_Lady.)
(December 10, 2015 at 6:29 pm)excitedpenguin Wrote: (December 10, 2015 at 6:26 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: Live and let live. If a person is a good person and isn't harming anyone, then I don't see why it should bother you whether or not they believe in God.
No. I will vote to send you to the gas chambers any minute now.
why?
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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