(August 22, 2013 at 7:47 pm)Stimbo Wrote: But it's still shit, whatever garnish is put on it. Good; I'm glad we're on the same page up to now.
It does actually say you should avoid astrology, necromancy (what we would call Mediums or clairvoyants) and all that kind of thing in the Old Testament if you're interested. It probably means to avoid it not because it's evil in itself but because it's a waste of time. In any case I think something like 5% of the population really take newspaper horoscopes seriously.
(August 22, 2013 at 7:47 pm)Stimbo Wrote: Here's where the point goes missing. My comparisons were in reply to your observation that people would have stopped doing something proven to be a lie. Clearly, this doesn't happen in the examples I mentioned. The only prayer (nyuk nyuk) for prayer at this point is special pleading.
I very much doubt prayer would have survived for long past the axial age when the modern view of the universe began to be developed. It continued because the people who practice the technique experience something. If you want to put it down to something psychological or physiological you can but that's only you're opinion. You have nothing particularly to support your opinion beyond that.
(August 22, 2013 at 7:47 pm)Stimbo Wrote: Brain scans of people engaged in thinking show activity in parts of the brain involved with thinking. Earth shattering.
It's a real physical effect of some kind you can observe so that's a demonstration that prayer does in fact do something beyond a person talking to their imaginary friend who doesn't exist.
(August 22, 2013 at 7:47 pm)Stimbo Wrote: One question: if this stuff is proven as you submit, why aren't all neuroscientists religious?
Because they're under assumption that consciousness is a byproduct of brain function alone. Of course there is no particular evidence for this, it's really just a belief popular within the scientific community at this point.
(August 22, 2013 at 7:47 pm)Stimbo Wrote: No, I don't know. Hey, I guess that's why they call me an atheist!
I don't know either but I do believe, what do you believe? You don't know? If you don't know yourself you can't really say or claim anything at all. You would have to rule yourself out of the debate entirely.