Why do Christians trust the Bible?

[genkaus]

And can you legitimize the holy spirit without the bible?

Can you legitimize quarks without a particle accelerator?

Particle accelerators are not legitimized through quarks.

But we have looked inside - many times. That is what thousands of surgeons do every day. Still no chakras.

People take apart computers every day, no evidence of software in there.

Are you equating beer in fridge to software?

[Chad32]

Even if we didn't have particle accelerators to see quarks with, it would still be reasonable not to believe in quarks. Whether your god exists or not, it's not wise to believe he exists without evidence. That's why the core of atheism is a disbelief of gods, and not a statement that gods don't exist.

Make something that allows us to detect souls, and we'll start believing we have souls that need saving.

[Chas]

There is no evidence of the existence of chakras or of energy centers in the human body.

You won't find any evidence for beer in someone's fridge unless you look inside, your ignorance and cock-douchery not withstanding.

I am rational and skeptical. If you think that is "ignorance and cock-douchery" then you are not thinking very clearly.

And we have looked. Nope, not there.

[Anomalocaris]

Can you legitimize quarks without a particle accelerator?

Particle accelerators are not legitimized through quarks.

People take apart computers every day, no evidence of software in there.

Are you equating beer in fridge to software?

Actually, you can easily see physical evidence of software in a disassembled computer that has software medium in it if you look closely enough. Even the worst software conceivable by men is infinitely more substantive and less vacuous than the "holy" spirit. Software exists physically in the configuration of its medium and its effects are replicable using processes who physicality is verifiable at each step.

This seems so obvious one must question either wooter's sincerity or sanity in throwing out so fraudulent an pretense at equivalence or analogy.

[vorlon13]

Back when they were BIG, an appropriate powder could be dusted onto magnetic media to reveal the magnetized and unmagnetized regions, and assuming someone had months to kill on a stupid endeavor, software could be detected and decoded from a seemingly ethereal form of storage.

In the 'spook' world of spies, an audio recording of a dot matrix printer (Wiki that if you are too young to know what that is) printing a document could be utilized to regenerate the document.

Even IR laser bouncing off a window in a room with such a printer could be utilized to do that.

[Neo-Scholastic]

Chakras are an emergent property of the body.

[genkaus]

Chakras are an emergent property of the body.

Emergent properties have plenty of evidence for their existence - what is your evidence for the existence of chakras?

[Neo-Scholastic]

Chakras are an emergent property of the body.

Emergent properties have plenty of evidence for their existence - what is your evidence for the existence of chakras?

Some other cultures describe the location of consciousness as originating from the heart. The human heart has the second highest concentration of neurons in the human body. If, as you say, according to your own philosophy of mind, that thought is an emergent property of the human brain, then you have no basis by which to object that other concentrations of neurons can support qualitative experiences. Experienced meditators, who have learned specific techniques, can and do unite these centers of consciousness into a unified whole. In folk psychology it is described as learning to think with your heart.

[genkaus]

Some other cultures describe the location of consciousness as originating from the heart. The human heart has the second highest concentration of neurons in the human body. If, as you say, according to your own philosophy of mind, that thought is an emergent property of the human brain, then you have no basis by which to object that other concentrations of neurons can support qualitative experiences. Experienced meditators, who have learned specific techniques, can and do unite these centers of consciousness into a unified whole. In folk psychology it is described as learning to think with your heart.

The key phrase here being "center of consciousness" - not every neuron is capable of producing qualitative experience - most of them simply transfer the information. Just because you see a set of circuits don't assume they host software. By my philosophy of mind, consciousness is the result of specific neurons in a specific formations - and either one or both are absent in the heart and the groin. So no, I don't see any other center of consciousness other than the brain - but I am open to evidence. But better evidence than "it has a high concentration of neurons".

[DramaQueen]

Butt the soul is in the genitals (a real Libyan belief)