(December 25, 2015 at 3:16 pm)Delicate Wrote:(December 25, 2015 at 8:52 am)Jehanne Wrote: Science, unlike religion, has self-correction mechanisms built into it; theories are always being tested and retested, all of the time. Religion, unlike science, is not falsifiable. Fundamentalists can always appeal to something like the Omphalos "hypothesis" (e.g., "Last Thursdayism") to keep their religious tenets intact. My experience attests to the fact that religious fundamentalism is a meme; my parents infected me, and as a consequence, it was very hard for me later on in life to get away from it. Of course, the social aspect of it is undeniable; after all, where else can you go to find "instant acceptance"? If you don't believe me, try it! Walk into a fundamentalist Baptism church sometime, be dressed in such a way as to look like others around you (and, so, if the men there are in dress shirts and ties, wear a dress shirt and tie, and if the women there are all wearing skirts, then wear a skirt and modest blouse), and Voilà!, complete strangers will come up to you, ask you how you are doing, like they are one of your good friends! (And, from their perspective, you already are!) Say that you profess their religion (i.e., "the Bible is inerrant, that is, without error of any kind"), and wow, they'll be inviting you over to their house, introducing their kids to your kids, and hey, is that adult son of yours looking for a girlfriend?! Before long, you'll be going through their membership initiation, and in a few short weeks or months, be a member of their church, which is likely part of an even larger organization (which means, that if you move, you can continue to attend a church which is very similar)! Your wedding and funeral needs will be taken care of for life, as long as you attend regularly, which means contributing regularly, also!I find that religion, at least philosophically informed religion, does have self-corrective mechanisms. Perhaps you are operating on a misguided sense of religion.
Do you think you are unfairly generalizing about all kinds of religion based on your fundamentalist experiences?
I also find that religion is falsifiable. At least Christianity is. If you can prove, empirically, that Jesus didn't resurrect, Christianity is false.
So on multiple counts I think you're operating on a couple misguided views. Presumably these are beliefs your have learned from the new atheists. But I think you'll find on many counts the facts go in a different direction.
Trying to "prove" that Jesus did not "resurrect" is like trying to prove that an alien abduction didn't happen. It's impossible. It's a burden of proof, on them and not on Us. Maybe God became Man among of the one of the Aztecs of Central America?
