-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
</A> -Cui Bono?-
Eagle 1 wrote:
>
> -Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
> </A> -Cui Bono?-
>
> bluehoney wrote:
> >>These are "believers" that blindly believe that the bible was written by
> God and it is 100% true from cover to cover. Talking logic to these people
> is impossible.<<
>
> Please define "believers"... that is a wide-open category.
Not really Eagle 1. It's pretty well understood why certain people
choose to " believe " as opposed to actually think. It's not a good
reason, and it's not worthy of respect.
For those believers with guts, check out the book below.
Joshua2
========
BELIEF AND MAKE-BELIEVE
by G. A. Wells
Why do so many people - sometimes even intelligent people - swallow
the
preposterous claims of religion? G.A. Wells, the leading freethinker
of
our time, tries to shed light on this puzzle in his entertaining and
enormously learned book, Belief and Make-Believe.
Professor Wells begins by analyzing the nature of belief. To dispel
popular confusions on the relation between words and thoughts, he
compares
the thinking processes of scientists, laymen, and chimpanzees.
The power of emotion and instinct to help form people's ideological
outlooks is analyzed by reference to "defiance" and "reliance", polar
attitudes which arise from the need for dominance and submission in
primate groups. Wells shows the influence of defiance and reliance
in patriotism and in monotheistic religions, where submission to the
will
of the omnipotent is a wonderful technique for feeling secure in the
face
of life's actual and ineradicable dangers.
Since all knowledgeable Christians now accept that the Bible is
uneven,
unreliable, and sometimes morally abhorrent, and that the New
Testament
account of the origin of Christianity is mostly legend, various
attempts
have been made to save something from the debris by selective
re-interpretation. Wells evaluates several typical examples, showing
how
the apologists shrink from the clear implications of their arguments,
which
would demolish the whole edifice of Christian doctrine.
Finally, Professor Wells debunks some of the extravagant and
mystical
claims that have been made for the arts, notably poetry, as
quasi-religious
vehicles for gaining insights into the human condition.
George Wells is professor emeritus of German in the
University of London. Re is a leading authority on both
German intellectual history and the origins of Christiani-
ty. His books include Goethe and the Development of
Science, The Origin of language, Religious Postures, and
Who Was Jesus?
=================
> Everyone
> believes in something. You must believe in gravity, and believe in it
> blindly... because it can only be understood in theory.
Ridiculous. There are NO CONSEQUENCES to believing or not believing in
gravity. Belief is irrelevant because it is real and operates upon us
whether we know it exists or not. God, on the other hand has no
existence
outside the " belief " of humans. It is ONLY through belief that god
exists.
> It cannot be
> physically examined, but it certainly can be experienced, and I'm sure you
> "believe" in it's reality and its effects. :)
>
> Don't knock it, 'til you try it, honey...
> For example, If you want to believe that the moon is made of green
> cheese... and is served best with ranch dressing, and if you also believe
> you've tasted it and experienced it... and you think it's the greatest
> thing since sliced bread, it would be impossible to talk logic with you
> either.
You got that right. And what you are describing here is a form of
insanity
based on an aversion to reality for whatever reason.
Usually simple cowardice.
> People who believe the Bible was written by God, and those whom you call
> impossible to talk logic, more than likely have had a life changing
> experience that has convinced them that the Bible is true.
>
> There is no brainwashing or mind control. It's called FAITH. A very
> healthy human attribute.
WOW!
What a whopper! Faith ONLY exists through brainwashing and mind
control.
ONLY!
Faith is nothing more than self delusion. There is nothing healthy
about it.
Not only does faith cause you to believe in the utterly ridiculous,
like
biologically impossible virgin births and even more absurd
resurrections from
the dead, it makes the believer a carrier of mental illness which is
passed to
large numbers of people orally.
It then spreads to entire populations and induces mass insanity where
even
the same ethnic groups start killing each other over religiously
induced hal-
ucinations. One need merely cite Ireland, Yugoslavia, Nigeria, and
Sudan.
> Sounds to me that you've just found something in life and the social culture
> to disagree with and you just want to thump the thumpers. (I actually
> don't blame you to some degree)... But, If you haven't experienced it,
> you cannot logically judge someone who claims to have experienced it. One
> cancels the other.
>
> eagle 1
I have experienced it and it's total bullshit.
It's exactly what Marx said it was. An opiate.
Joshua2
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "blue honey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 8:49 AM
> Subject: [CTRL] Religion and Mythology (was BUSH IS A REPTILIAN)
>
> > -Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
> > </A> -Cui Bono?-
> >
> > No I didn't consider that. But aside from snakes, think about this - Horus
> > from Egypt (was prophesized to be great, born of a virgin on Dec. 25,
> taught
> > in a temple at the age of 12, had 12 deciples, was slain on a cross
> between
> > 2 thieves, often represented with a triangle...), Quentalocatl of Mexico
> > (was prophesized to be great, born of a virgin, was tempted and fasted for
> > 40 days, was slain in atonement for primal sin, often represented as the
> > trinity and signified by 3 crosses, his second coming is confidently
> > expected...) and the list goes on to Beddru from Japan and like I said
> > before, there are dozens of characters through out time that share
> > strikingly similar qualities. So what happened in Ancient Sumer that
> spawned
> > this global myth of a hero? And why is Christianity so widely believed to
> > be true (in this country)? There's your conspiracy my friend: highly
> > educated people, grown adults in the year 2000 believe with all their
> heart
> > that the miracles and impossibilities in the bible actually could have
> > happened. Most would rather burn in hell for eternity rather than say that
> > they don't believe. I don't care if these prescientific minds believed
> > thunder was a god and snakes can sneak up and bite you, sometimes causing
> > death...maybe that's why they are "evil". But in the information age there
> > are 100,000 new Christians each day. What's the deal? These are
> "believers"
> > that blindly believe that the bible was written by God and it is 100% true
> > from cover to cover. Talking logic to these people is impossible.
> >
> > Mind control? Brainwashing? You tell me, because I still believe in
> Santa...
> >
> > andy
> > www.bluehoney.org
> >
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