To Theists: Why do you value hope more than truth?

Let me be more clear here. The magic shroom thing was a sort of a joke. I know you aren't ingesting fun fungi.

However, I am 99.999% certain (just my opinion of course) that you and those like you (true believers) have either an imbalance of some neurotransmitter or an under (or over) developed brain region that rewards you so greatly for your belief, with an endorphin rush, you may have no choice in the matter.

That may be insulting, but it's my opinion. Sorry.

 

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Its usually the outliers that are not the norm. And are usually selected against.

So what makes you so certain that its theists with the problem?

After all, the Nazis thought they were the cats whiskers too.

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Oh boy. sam's using the nazis as a point of comparison now. This usually indicates the last gasps of a dying, beached theist.

Anyway, I said it was my opinion. And a strong one at that. There is enough scientific evidence for neurochemical imbalances causing fanatical or deranged behavior (surely you know this Dr. Sam). Hardcore theism strikes me as just such a thing.

 

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Strange, atheism strikes me as just the thing.

And with a confidence interval that covers 1, no less. At a significance level of at least p = 0.0001

 

Weak sam. Very weak. I'm chuckling a bit right now...

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I drew a normal distribution curve. The religious fanatics fall at one end, the atheists at the other.:shrug:

 

Why is it impossible that substances couldn't correct an imbalance that all humans more or less have? Especially in light of the fact that this has been shown to be true in some instances (i.e, drugs can be given to a mentally ill person to get rid of their hallucinations. How do we know this can't go in the other direction as well and improve upon normal human consciousness? Why is there an assumption that normal human consciousness as it exisdts now is as good as it gets?). Superluminal, you should put the scientific method to work and do some empirical research, after which your opinion will actually be based upon something besides ignorance and prejudice.

 

Based on what criteria sammy dear? What variable did you plot?

 

Belief in God or Gods of course.

 

1) No, it's not impossible
2) It clearly can go in the other direction
3) There isn't such an assumption as far as I know. But leaping to "god" as opposed to the simpler explanation of basic brain function is not very intellectually honest.

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Anyway, since my statements offend you they must be born of ignorance and prejudice? Tell me grover, how well do you know me? What's my background? What sorts of things am I interested in? What have I studied fairly extensively?

I'm feeling a bit lost. Maybe you could fill me in.

 

How informative. We now know that there are a relatively few religious fanatics and non-believers.

Just like there are relatively few mass murderers and saints.


Super informative.

 

Superluminal, that was clearly me speaking from ignorance and prejudice. I made assumptions. Sorry.

 

Of course it is, shows that evolution does not favor extremes, no matter how profound their actions in the short term, they are undesirable in the long term.

Btw, if the Gandhis/mullahs consider themselves saints, does that make the atheists mass murderers? Hmm might have to look up the history of militant atheism.

 

No problem.

 

Militant atheism... Hmmm.

 

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M*W: You post triggered a memory of mine. I don't recall ever having an endorphin rush from anything I experienced with my religion. Oh, but I wanted to. I always felt I was missing something that other people were experiencing, like the joy, the reverence, the awe. Because of this numbness I had compared to others, I always felt like I was less of a christian than them. Now I know I was the only sane one among them. Out of all my former christian friends, I'm the only one who saw the light. NOW, I have the endorphin rush!

 

yet you still cant leave religion alone.

peace.

 

Abraham was alive many hundreds of years before Christ. Islam, and the name allah started around the 5th or 6th century AD.
Abraham had nothing to do with Islam or Allah.

 

Why should religion be left alone if religious people can not keep it to themselves?

 

atheists keep there beliefs (sorry - non-beliefs) to themselves?