If we were truly wired to believe in deities, the god concept would come naturally to kids, and not have to be taught.

It doesn't come naturally and it does need to be taught.

Remember, the likely reason for the creation of religion is likely, initially, to explain things our early ancestors did not understand.  Later, it was taken over by people so that they could control the masses, whether through woo, ignorance, or fear.  As it still is for billions, today.

(February 4, 2016 at 11:28 pm)scoobysnack Wrote: God and the soul and spiritual realm is real

Would you kindly provide some evidence of this assertion. All the rest of the tripe you spewed relies on this being unquestionably true yet none have ever provided evidence to support it.

(February 4, 2016 at 11:30 pm)Jenny A Wrote:

(February 4, 2016 at 11:28 pm)scoobysnack Wrote: I'd say that our consciousness is meant to interact in this carnal reality of the animals we evolved from in the earthbound realm we understand as earth and reality that our five senses can perceive, so we still have that in our dna. There's information that experience of our ancestors still live with us. Our subconsciousness is more what connects us to our higher selves and the collective consciousness. Then there is the id as well. Really evolution was done so to allow the souls in the spiritual realm to inhabit so they could continue to evolve in a new experience we call reality, but this is just a playground for us to learn.

Everyone has the connection, but many turn it off because although it encompasses this realm, it's outside our five senses, so it seems more natural to some to ignore it and adopt the perception of the senses.

God and the soul and spiritual realm is real, but while here we have a veil of ignorance put over our eyes to forget where we came from so we can learn without being hindered by our past. We are hear to explore possibilities with our free will, and learn through our experiences which can't be done in the spiritual realm without a physical body. For example, two beings can't meet from what I've seen yet to create a new being in the spiritual realm as that can only be done by the creator. Here in the physical world, we can unite as male and female in love and create a new child for a soul to inhabit and teach our lessons learned, and love that child and help it grow to go on to create more opportunities to learn for other souls. Earth is a place for souls to visit and learn and grow and interact with all.

Yes you would say that,  and probably believe it too, but on what evidence?

This information does not come from science, or religion or commonly held belief systems. They are the conclusions from studying hundreds of people that have claimed to have died and come back with a message, whether you want to believe it or not. Really doesn't matter what you believe at least to me. Your disbelief is not enough to change years of research. Humanity as a whole is not meant to know the ultimate truth, since we are still in the physical. This is info from where we came from, not where we are.

A 20  minute OP destroying TED talk.

I love to see a can of whoopass opened on superstition.

Humans have the ability to imagine. Explains why people see faces in places and things where there is no face. Unfortunately, someone back in time imagined a god(s) and it stuck. Then, eventually, it became a bane to humanity.

As to why the author can't shake god I can only guess. Based on what she said in the article my guess is that she finds it comforting (though she admits irrational) on some level. If that gets her through her day(s) that's OK. For me, I'm not buying it.

(February 4, 2016 at 11:28 pm)scoobysnack Wrote: God and the soul and spiritual realm is real[...]

Yeah, no.

ETA: Snakey got there first. Hard to steal a march on that sonofabitch.

(February 4, 2016 at 10:10 pm)athrock Wrote: Turns out it's pretty hard to believe in nothing when your psyche is wired for faith.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/postevery...age%2Fcard

After reading the article, my questions are:

Why on God's green earth is the human brain wired for faith when our development is the result of purely evolutionary processes with no supreme being involved at all?

Is it possible that God gave us brains that are pre-wired for receptivity to His existence to make it easier for us to believe in Him?

Atheism is a step away from monotheism.
Monotheism is a step away from henotheism.
Henotheism is a step away from polytheism.
Polytheism is a step away from anthropomorphism.
Anthropomorphism is a step away from animism.
Animism is a step away from teleologism.
Teleologism is a step away from intentionality.

And guess what?

Human beings are intentional. Moreover, they're animate and teleological, and.... (wait for it)... the steps I've outlined can be traced throughout their history as progress they have made in storytelling!

Mystery solved!

. . . invoking God sarcastically . . .

. . . invoking God for humorous effect . . .

. . . invoking God blasphemously . . .

. . . invoking God ironically . . .

. . . invoking God paradoxically . . .


Hopefully all my invocations are in the 'approved' categories.  I'd also give a pass to "Jesus, this is fucking gonna hurt" uttered prior to impact after falling off a ladder.

Thanks Pickup.

There's one more left.

The OP's jism!

(February 4, 2016 at 11:40 pm)scoobysnack Wrote: This information does not come from science, or religion or commonly held belief systems. They are the conclusions from studying hundreds of people that have claimed to have died and come back with a message, whether you want to believe it or not. Really doesn't matter what you believe at least to me. Your disbelief is not enough to change years of research. Humanity as a whole is not meant to know the ultimate truth, since we are still in the physical. This is info from where we came from, not where we are.

And have you researched hundreds of NDE claims from countries/regions that are not predominantly christian?