The Potential of the Spiritual
I suspect most people consider the dichotomy (two mutually exclusive entities) of mind/body is ‘real’. Body is a material entity and mind is a spiritual entity and these two entities are mutually exclusive.
Those who hold such views consider that this spiritual world is of a ‘heavenly’ substance, it is the substance of the gods or God. It is a marvelous reality unsoiled by materiality; it is a substance that is holy whereas material substance is soiled and often evil.
Let us say that in this spiritual world there is a specific reality called ‘honor’, and honor is a great and wonderful entity. Then let us suppose that someone is capable of reifying (to make into a material concrete entity) honor and to reify honor in the form of a golden colored paint.
Then suppose someone takes this golden colored paint and paints the concrete act of killing with this paint. These suppositions might help us understand how it is possible for an Islamic family to stone to death their own daughter and sister.
This is just one example of all of the things one might do with this paint and to any other heavenly substance in order to make some actions acceptable to people who would find such actions in a non dichotomy world to be impossible to accept.
Is God an Accident?
“Despite the vast number of religions, nearly everyone in the world believes in the same things: the existence of a soul, an afterlife, miracles, and the divine creation of the universe. Recently psychologists doing research on the minds of infants have discovered two related facts that may account for this phenomenon. One: human beings come into the world with a predisposition to believe in supernatural phenomena. And two: this predisposition is an incidental by-product of cognitive functioning gone awry. Which leads to the question Is God an Accident?” This is an article in the December issue of “The Atlantic” http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200512/god-accident
I am not sure but you may have to subscribe to read this on line. I will give a short review because I think it is a very good read.
“Enthusiasm is building among scientists for the view that religion emerged not to serve a purpose—not as an opiate or a social glue—but by accident. It is a by-product of biological adaptations gone awry.”
“We see the world of objects as separate from the world of minds, allowing us to envision souls and an afterlife; and our system of social understanding infers goals and desires, where none exist, making us animists and creationists.”
“Nobody is born with the idea that humanity started in the Garden of Eden, or that martyrs will be rewarded in heaven; these ideas are learned. But the universal themes of religion are not learned. They are part of human nature.”
“The theory of natural selection is an empirically supported account of our existence. But almost nobody believes it. We may intellectually grasp it, but it will never feel right. Our gut feeling is that design requires a designer.” See:
http://www.wku.edu/~jan.garrett/302/folkmeta.htm
“Despite the vast number of religions, nearly everyone in the world believes in the same things: the existence of a soul, an afterlife, miracles, and the divine creation of the universe. Recently psychologists doing research on the minds of infants have discovered two related facts that may account for this phenomenon. One: human beings come into the world with a predisposition to believe in supernatural phenomena. And two: this predisposition is an incidental by-product of cognitive functioning gone awry. Which leads to the question Is God an Accident?” This is an article in the December issue of “The Atlantic” http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200512/god-accident
I am not sure but you may have to subscribe to read this on line. I will give a short review because I think it is a very good read.
“Enthusiasm is building among scientists for the view that religion emerged not to serve a purpose—not as an opiate or a social glue—but by accident. It is a by-product of biological adaptations gone awry.”
“We see the world of objects as separate from the world of minds, allowing us to envision souls and an afterlife; and our system of social understanding infers goals and desires, where none exist, making us animists and creationists.”
“Nobody is born with the idea that humanity started in the Garden of Eden, or that martyrs will be rewarded in heaven; these ideas are learned. But the universal themes of religion are not learned. They are part of human nature.”
“The theory of natural selection is an empirically supported account of our existence. But almost nobody believes it. We may intellectually grasp it, but it will never feel right. Our gut feeling is that design requires a designer.” See:
http://www.wku.edu/~jan.garrett/302/folkmeta.htm
Two opening posts for the price of one .. that's cheating!
I liked (possibly the wrong word) your use of holy paint to explain actions that would otherwise be .. inhuman.
Is there a possibility that religions need time to mature (say 1500 years)? As long as no new religions appear perhaps we can look forward to a period of stability at some point in the future.
-C2.
This God and miracles thing .. isn't it just a part of failing to grow up?
-C2.
I liked (possibly the wrong word) your use of holy paint to explain actions that would otherwise be .. inhuman.
Is there a possibility that religions need time to mature (say 1500 years)? As long as no new religions appear perhaps we can look forward to a period of stability at some point in the future.
-C2.
This God and miracles thing .. isn't it just a part of failing to grow up?
-C2.
C2
This is my 'two for the price of one day'. No extra charge.
I think that a population steeped in Critical Thinking is the only way out. Pass the word!
This is my 'two for the price of one day'. No extra charge.
I think that a population steeped in Critical Thinking is the only way out. Pass the word!
Maybe just try some smileys 
They're not so bad
You can say a lot with them
They're not so bad
You can say a lot with them
QUOTE
“The theory of natural selection is an empirically supported account of our existence. But almost nobody believes it. We may intellectually grasp it, but it will never feel right. Our gut feeling is that design requires a designer.” See:
I would have disagree with this statement (IMC). From as far back as I can remember, the concept of God just seemed out of place and wrong! I remember sitting in church (on the couple of occasions when I went with friends) and thinking how bizarre it was that these people were willing to give themselves up completely to something they could not see, feel, hear... Religion has really never made sense to me! I was more uncomfortable with the ideas of God then with the idea that we came about in an "unguided" fashion. I have come to actually think that having a God creator, reduces our value as humans because we are then just some supernatural beings playthings. Where if we came about naturally in an unguided way, this would be genuinely special!
Krreagan
krregan
In the United States something over 90% of the people indicate a belief in God. Some very large majority believe in miracles and heaven and hell.
In the United States something over 90% of the people indicate a belief in God. Some very large majority believe in miracles and heaven and hell.
QUOTE (krreagan+)
Where if we came about naturally in an unguided way, this would be genuinely special!
I like that thought very much. Maybe we should have special 'being human' days every once in a while. Everybody leaves their car keys in their cars and if anyone tries to steal a car you beat the .. OK .. I'll have to try harder.
-C2.
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