Religion: Pros and Cons

[jaydee]

Originally posted by utabintarbo
One must question what is being asked of him/her, eh?

Yup, even if it gets your thrown out of your cult/church. If they have problems with asking questions like "why", then you shouldn't be involved with them IMO.

[utabintarbo]

Originally posted by bigben2k

... It's the basis of all forms of Mysticism, and goes back thousands of years.

Mysticism here is the problem, of course.

Originally posted by bigben2k

It's not hard to see why it happens, and it doesn't make it correct, but it's there, it's been around for a very long time, and it's going to stick around for a while.

That's right, it doesn't make it correct. But correctness is a goal to be strived for, no?

Originally posted by bigben2k

Personally, I believe that most leaders of people understand this very well. Further, I also believe that these leaders don't commonly share that understanding, and that a few very perceptive people are able to pick up on this, and come up with a whole bunch of wild conspiracy theories, of secret or underground societies or groups of elite people, that control the world.

I am not a conspiracy advocate. I think it is more a matter of inertia. People prefer their ignorance because it is easier than asking the hard questions. Especially of themselves!:shrug: "Leaders" tend to take advantage of this inertia, and use it to achieve their agenda. Hitler is a perfect example of this.

Bob

[bigben2k]

Originally posted by utabintarbo
Mysticism here is the problem, of course.



That's right, it doesn't make it correct. But correctness is a goal to be strived for, no?



I am not a conspiracy advocate. I think it is more a matter of inertia. People prefer their ignorance because it is easier than asking the hard questions. Especially of themselves!:shrug: "Leaders" tend to take advantage of this inertia, and use it to achieve their agenda. Hitler is a perfect example of this.

Bob

Well, mysticism isn't quite a "problem", but it is starting to impede on good science. Correctness is only natural, and I think that science will eventually prevail. We just need a better education system .

I'm glad we see it similarly. Leaders understand many things, but that doesn't automatically make then "good guys".

[utabintarbo]

Originally posted by bigben2k
Well, mysticism isn't quite a "problem", but it is starting to impede on good science. Correctness is only natural, and I think that science will eventually prevail. We just need a better education system .

The trend (back) toward mysticism is the most serious threat to human progress now extant. When you can hold non-reality (faith) as valid as reality (science), you threaten the very nature of knowledge itself.

Originally posted by bigben2k

I'm glad we see it similarly. Leaders understand many things, but that doesn't automatically make then "good guys".

It doesn't necessarily make them "bad guys" either. Opportunistic, perhaps..... e.g.: G. W. Bush after 9/11 for a more contemporary (and more benign) example... but that is a topic for another thread.

Bob

[bigben2k]

Originally posted by utabintarbo
The trend (back) toward mysticism is the most serious threat to human progress now extant. When you can hold non-reality (faith) as valid as reality (science), you threaten the very nature of knowledge itself.

I don't know if I'd call it the most serious, but I will certainly agree that it's significant. It certainly isn't alone though!

Originally posted by utabintarbo
It doesn't necessarily make them "bad guys" either. Opportunistic, perhaps..... e.g.: G. W. Bush after 9/11 for a more contemporary (and more benign) example... but that is a topic for another thread.

LOL! Yeah, that just might be worth it!

[Alchemy]

I've picked up <i>Gödel, Escher, Bach</i> and have been reading industriously. So far, one of its central themes is the question of what it really means to *know* or *understand* something. It may give me a better bearing on this religion debate, though I doubt it will change my beliefs so much as change the way in which I look at my beliefs.

As a companion piece, I'm reading a collection of essays on Zen Buddhism.

I should probably put more effort into job hunting.

Alchemy

[Since87]

Originally posted by Alchemy
I've picked up <i>Gödel, Escher, Bach</i> and have been reading industriously...

...I should probably put more effort into job hunting.

Fantastic book. Enjoy it.

There's always time for job hunting.