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Think about this -
#1
Think about this -
If your dog suddenly starts speaking to you, telling you what you can or can' t do - and you try to convince your neighbors about it - they send out the men with the butterfly nets and drag you off to the nuthouse.


Same thing - but instead of your dog - you say it' s an invisible man who created the universe - your neighbors will all pitch in and buy you a building so you can tell everyone about it. Tax free.

Conclusion: people are dangerously stupid.
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#2
RE: Think about this -
It mind boggling that the species still exists.
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#3
RE: Think about this -
[Image: Religion-is-insanity.jpg]
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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#4
RE: Think about this -
(April 30, 2021 at 5:34 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: If your dog suddenly starts speaking to you, telling you what you can or can' t do - and you try to convince your neighbors about it - they send out the men with the butterfly nets and drag you off to the nuthouse.


Same thing - but instead of your dog - you say it' s an invisible man who created the universe - your neighbors will all pitch in and buy you a building so you can tell everyone about it. Tax free.

Conclusion: people are dangerously stupid.

But there are billions upon billions of people who believe or believed in God, yet there is no one that I know of who says that his dog speaks to him.
Would you like to restate your analogy?

Thanks,
Ed
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#5
RE: Think about this -
(May 2, 2021 at 2:55 pm)edial Wrote:
(April 30, 2021 at 5:34 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: If your dog suddenly starts speaking to you, telling you what you can or can' t do - and you try to convince your neighbors about it - they send out the men with the butterfly nets and drag you off to the nuthouse.


Same thing - but instead of your dog - you say it' s an invisible man who created the universe - your neighbors will all pitch in and buy you a building so you can tell everyone about it. Tax free.

Conclusion: people are dangerously stupid.

But there are billions upon billions of people who believe or believed in God, yet there is no one that I know of who says that his dog speaks to him.
Would you like to restate your analogy?

Thanks,
Ed

Quote:On the night of August 10, 1977, Berkowitz was taken into custody by New York City Police Department homicide detectives in front of his Yonkers apartment building. He was subsequently indicted for eight shooting incidents. He confessed to all of them, and initially claimed to have been obeying the orders of a demon manifested in the form of a dog belonging to his neighbor "Sam." Despite his explanation, Berkowitz was found mentally competent to stand trial.

Wikipedia || David Berkowitz
[Image: extraordinarywoo-sig.jpg]
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#6
RE: Think about this -
(May 2, 2021 at 3:13 pm)Angrboda Wrote:
(May 2, 2021 at 2:55 pm)edial Wrote: But there are billions upon billions of people who believe or believed in God, yet there is no one that I know of who says that his dog speaks to him.
Would you like to restate your analogy?

Thanks,
Ed

Quote:On the night of August 10, 1977, Berkowitz was taken into custody by New York City Police Department homicide detectives in front of his Yonkers apartment building. He was subsequently indicted for eight shooting incidents. He confessed to all of them, and initially claimed to have been obeying the orders of a demon manifested in the form of a dog belonging to his neighbor "Sam." Despite his explanation, Berkowitz was found mentally competent to stand trial.

Wikipedia || David Berkowitz
Yes, you have one example. Smile Thumb up
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#7
RE: Think about this -
(May 2, 2021 at 2:55 pm)edial Wrote:
(April 30, 2021 at 5:34 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: If your dog suddenly starts speaking to you, telling you what you can or can' t do - and you try to convince your neighbors about it - they send out the men with the butterfly nets and drag you off to the nuthouse.


Same thing - but instead of your dog - you say it' s an invisible man who created the universe - your neighbors will all pitch in and buy you a building so you can tell everyone about it. Tax free.

Conclusion: people are dangerously stupid.

But there are billions upon billions of people who believe or believed in God, yet there is no one that I know of who says that his dog speaks to him.
Would you like to restate your analogy?

Thanks,
Ed
Theist math -

Billions of wrongs =right
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#8
RE: Think about this -
We may be biologically programmed to believe in a god. The belief in god was beneficial to society at one time at least. It made it easier to come to an agreement as society about what is morally acceptable, and made people more willing to sacrifice their lives as soldiers if they thought they were going to be rewarded in the hereafter for it. Taking away religion can improve some things, while at the same time make other things worse. When religion goes away, societies are vulnerable to other things like these new social movement, non-theistic religions that have taken the place of theistic religion in many people's lives. Fathers are in their children's lives less than ever and so many people don't believe in the idea of marriage any more. That doesn't help society. It just hurts the children and gives them less of a chance at succeeding in life.
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#9
RE: Think about this -
(May 2, 2021 at 2:55 pm)edial Wrote: But there are billions upon billions of people who believe or believed in God, yet there is no one that I know of who says that his dog speaks to him.
Would you like to restate your analogy?

Thanks,
Ed

Was his name Peter?  Did he take you to the door of a building where a voice miraculously emanated from a dog telling you to worship christ?

(May 2, 2021 at 11:01 pm)Irreligious Atheist Wrote: We may be biologically programmed to believe in a god. The belief in god was beneficial to society at one time at least. 

Probably more that we're inclined to see and project intent out into the world - necessary for predicting the actions of a creature like us, not so helpful when it comes to a tidal wave.  Never stops us from trying to appease the sea god the same way we would appease a human threat, ofc.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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#10
RE: Think about this -
(May 2, 2021 at 2:55 pm)edial Wrote:
(April 30, 2021 at 5:34 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: If your dog suddenly starts speaking to you, telling you what you can or can' t do - and you try to convince your neighbors about it - they send out the men with the butterfly nets and drag you off to the nuthouse.


Same thing - but instead of your dog - you say it' s an invisible man who created the universe - your neighbors will all pitch in and buy you a building so you can tell everyone about it. Tax free.

Conclusion: people are dangerously stupid.

But there are billions upon billions of people who believe or believed in God, yet there is no one that I know of who says that his dog speaks to him.
Would you like to restate your analogy?

Thanks,
Ed

Right, when a belief is common in your society it is not delusional (in the sense of psychologically diagnosable as delusion) to accept it, no matter how far-fetched it may be. It may be maladaptive to not accept it if the social cost is high. For instance, most African (speaking very generally) believe that witchcraft constitutes a serious threat to society.

When Somali Bantu refugee children I was mentoring several years ago accused one of the other Bantu children having the Evil Eye (that he was making people sick by looking at them), I didn't try to argue them out of believing the Evil Eye is real when it's taken for granted in their culture, but I did convince them (I think) that it doesn't work in America. But the children weren't delusional for believing what their parents taught them.
I'm not anti-Christian. I'm anti-stupid.
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