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Historical Jesus

angelo said:
Nevertheless. The stinking hole of the whole African continent, and a good part of the Asian continent are breeding way beyond what the world can sustain.
The vast majority of aid to these stink holes is from the mostly atheist West. Just how long can this go on?
Need I remind that the people breeding like flies are mostly religious?
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Not true. Birth rates are dropping all over the world. It won't be long now until they match the west. You're basing your numbers on predictions we made in the 80'ies.
 
Lion IRC said:
LOL
...except religion confers a survival advantage and longevity doesn't it?
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Like all things it depends on the environment. In an environment where if I take up religious practice it keeps me and my offspring from being exterminated then certainly it confers survival advantage. This has been typical of human history.

If on the other hand I practice faith healing in an environment where medical care for simple but potentially fatal conditions is available it won't. If I shun scientific knowledge it will put me at a disadvantage vis-s vis my peers and I will likely suffer.

The environment I inhabit is a bit of a hybrid presently. I can be scientifically illiterate yet still enjoy the benefits of scientific knowledge despite my religiosity. I don't have to understand it to use it to my advantage. In fact I can disparage it and cling to fairy tales about giant floods and ancient flying magical spacemen all the while utilizing the knowledge that science and medicine bring.
 
Whenever I see the religion versus science cannard I can't help but think of how prominent Christians, Jews and Muslims are among the lists of famous scientists/doctors/biologists.

Thank You God.
 
There has been made major breakthroughs despite their religious beliefs
They went looking for God and found empiricism, that they still believed in religious tenets and divinity is not the result of that empiricism
Faith is not a reliable means to truth, but that is not why we benefit from their empiricism
Still no credible evidence of Jesus, just diversion and if you want to continue just find someplace else to divert please

I guess that is just a testament to the fact science doesn't discriminate despite a Faith, there is hope and it doesn't seem to be competing religious

And I'd like to see you start a new thread instead of polluting this one
 
Stop polluting the thread with your own response to other people's responses to someone else's earlier post about science vs religion.
 
Lion IRC said:
Whenever I see the religion versus science cannard I can't help but think of how prominent Christians, Jews and Muslims are among the lists of famous scientists/doctors/biologists.

Thank You God.
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Well, that's because being a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim doesn't stop you from being a scientist. There are also prominent scientists who are communists and libertarians, so buying into really stupid philosophies in your personal life doesn't seem to impact your ability to do scientific research.

That doesn't hold up for Scientologists, of course, so I don't want anyone misrepresenting what I just said and claiming that I implied that Scientologists are able to think.
 
Lion IRC said:
Stop polluting the thread with your own response to other people's responses to someone else's earlier post about science vs religion.
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You didn't quote who the fuck you were responding to, how am I supposed to know who your unhinged disconnected ramblings are directed to
Plus it's lame, it appears religious folk are the most anti science maybe the most vocal
 
Lion IRC said:
Whenever I see the religion versus science cannard I can't help but think of how prominent Christians, Jews and Muslims are among the lists of famous scientists/doctors/biologists.
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Don't forget murderers, terrorists and rapists too.
 
joedad said:
Lion IRC said:
Whenever I see the religion versus science cannard I can't help but think of how prominent Christians, Jews and Muslims are among the lists of famous scientists/doctors/biologists.
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Don't forget murderers, terrorists and rapists too.
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Religious people are more often murderers and rapist. I'm guessing they're more likely terrorists to. But I haven't seen any numbers on that.
 
Tom Sawyer said:
Well, that's because being a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim doesn't stop you from being a scientist...
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Absolutely.

But I would argue that it goes further than just a coincidental connection.

Surely there's something like a sort of numinous awe about the act of discovery which keeps us searching the 'horizon' of the unknown.

And when I listen to scientists like Carl Sagan, Brian Cox, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, etc. talking (existentially) about that horizon, I can't help but smile. Do they know how 'religious' they sound?
 
Religion doesn't own awe.
 
Lion IRC said:
Tom Sawyer said:
Well, that's because being a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim doesn't stop you from being a scientist...
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Absolutely.

But I would argue that it goes further than just a coincidental connection.

Surely there's something like a sort of numinous awe about the act of discovery which keeps us searching the 'horizon' of the unknown.

And when I listen to scientists like Carl Sagan, Brian Cox, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, etc. talking (existentially) about that horizon, I can't help but smile. Do they know how 'religious' they sound?
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Ya, they do and they talk about the parallels constantly (well, not so much Sagan anymore). That's because the idea of looking past the horizon is an awesome and inspiring. Religions don't own that concept, they're just the things which failed to deliver on that concept because they invented a fake horizon to look past. Science not only generates the awe and wonder, it goes one step further and delivers results to actually get you past the horizon to discover even more horizons sitting there waiting for you.
 
You know most discoveries are by accident.... but that isn't the answer, prayer is
Cry me a river
 
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So if a scientist sticks to observable facts, she's criticized for being cold and methodical, for ignoring the sense of wonder that everyone else seems to come by naturally.

If the scientist tries to share the delight and enthusiasm that she feels when learning about the universe, she's criticized for "sounding religious."

You can't win with some people.
 
I'm easily pleased.

Lion IRC said:
...when I listen to scientists like Carl Sagan, Brian Cox, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, etc. talking (existentially) about that horizon, I can't help but smile.
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I love their delight and enthusiasm.
 
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