tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post6776727069489094890..comments2023-09-24T07:53:50.826-05:00Comments on The Atheist Experience™: Religion is the answer (they're selling)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-60241484637696639742007-04-26T17:03:00.000-05:002007-04-26T17:03:00.000-05:00Creationists drown puppies.<A HREF="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/04/creationists_drown_puppies.php" REL="nofollow">Creationists drown puppies.</A>AmberKatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288659650941053065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-10302244761826046172007-04-25T17:09:00.000-05:002007-04-25T17:09:00.000-05:00Ya know, I could get silly and say that god was pu...Ya know, I could get silly and say that god was punishing the creationist crappers. But I'm sure religion already has a spin on that one.<BR/>"(Oh, and by the way, he says, isn’t it great that creationism was launched at Virginia Tech by a civil engineering instructor?)"<BR/>sojournerlearner.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-82323108710386844142007-04-25T13:10:00.000-05:002007-04-25T13:10:00.000-05:00I think the sad part about religion is that a lot ...I think the sad part about religion is that a lot of well-meaning people that I know- my parents, many of their friends- honestly believe there is a benevolent god out there watching over us. They base this belief on what they are TOLD of the bible, what they've read in devotional books, etc... without reading ALL of what the bible says.<BR/><BR/>And- from personal experience growing up with this- even the parts that are appalling that DO get mentioned, do not get presented as appalling, but as "righteousness" from a "just god". For example- killing all the first born of Egypt. Assumptin-> <BR/>Egypt = Bad<BR/>Death of First born = Just<BR/><BR/>Whenn I look at this concept from OUTSIDE the faith, it is horrifying. god is credited with annihilating hundreds of thousands of infants & children (and presumably the adult first born as well- kind of gets weird and shaky there) and I never heard a single person in church say, "wow that was mean".<BR/><BR/>Now I look at the same killing spree and think "Holy crap what an evil thing to do."<BR/><BR/>They turn a blind eye to this and all the other atrocities and cling to the father figure. Somebody out there won't give me more than I can handle.Fieryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08681456246185901798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-13267751135932301042007-04-25T08:19:00.000-05:002007-04-25T08:19:00.000-05:00>they are merely seeking an emotional shelterWhile...>they are merely seeking an emotional shelter<BR/><BR/>While I read Jeff and Martin's posts, I had to also agree. I do see Don's point that it offers nothing materialistically--but the emotional comfort factor is huge to some people.<BR/><BR/>Last night we had a thunder storm. I have 4 cats in my house. Some hide under the bed when there is thunder and lightening. Does this really protect them from the thunder? It's their instinct to seek refuge if they perceive danger.<BR/><BR/>In this case, there is no real danger to them; but they have the instinct just the same; and so they hide under the bed--which really can't save them from a loud noise.<BR/><BR/>It's logical from an instinctual standpoint: They percieve potential threat, they hide.<BR/><BR/>But from a reality standpoint, it's nonsense: The thunder isn't any more or less a threat to them in the overall house than it is for them under a bed. They aren't "escaping" or "hiding" from the thunder by moving locations in the house.<BR/><BR/>Another example is that someone sent me to a blog recently where a person suffering from severe depression was posting about how they didn't think they could possibly go on if not for their belief in god being there to care for them. The person who directed me to the blog asked me not to contact the blogger to argue. After reading the blog, I wrote back to the one who directed me there to say (paraphrased): "While I udnerstand your need to warn me--there would be no chance I would contact such an emotionally frail person and try to take away their only perceived security blanket."<BR/><BR/>While it saddens me that this person doesn't recognize that if _anything_ is actually keeping them going, it's their own strength of will, and not their external imaginings, I'm not going to try to convince them of this when they're obviously on precarious ground emotionally--and potentially capable of self-harm. That would be completely irresponsible of me.<BR/><BR/>So, it does offer _something_ to some, I agree. But I also share Don's implied wish that those who find that "something" in it, would recognize they actually have that "something" in themselves, and they don't need to pretend their strength comes from some other source.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-67834847267629569042007-04-24T23:27:00.000-05:002007-04-24T23:27:00.000-05:00I agree with Jeff that religion is primarily emoti...I agree with Jeff that religion is primarily emotional in its appeal, and does in fact offer something to bereaved people: a sense of community and comfort. Religion is able to provide that sense <I>expressly</I> because it is an emotional and not intellectual exercise. If one prefers to think (as we atheists have an annoying habit of doing) about the actual ramifications of tragedy and how real life almost always conflicts harshly with the rosy promises of faith, then the whole house of cards comes crashing down. But it's true that when believers are bereaved, they don't think those thoughts; they are merely seeking an emotional shelter, the comforting feeling that a benevolent, loving parental figure is protecting them from the big bad world, even if he isn't.<BR/><BR/>In one of his novels, the world renowned science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke speculates you would only find religion among intelligent species in which a two-parent family unit was the norm. While I'm not sure much of a difference would be had between one or two parents, I can see how concepts like God might originate in such a culture. To a small child, its parent(s) is very much like God, all-knowing, all-seeing, making rules and doling out rewards and punishments. That people who were the products of such a culture would create gods as an extrapolation of that experience is quite plausible.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-17559702287552763682007-04-24T21:19:00.000-05:002007-04-24T21:19:00.000-05:00Don, While I sympathize with your abhorrence over ...Don, <BR/><BR/>While I sympathize with your abhorrence over the self-serving gall of many people rushing to enrich themselves via this tragedy, I don't think you can honestly say that religion offers nothing in situations like this. If that were true, if religion offered no survival advantage at all, it would have been eliminated thousands of years ago. <BR/><BR/>Clearly, religion offers <I>something</I> to people in situations like this, or those involved would stop using it. Some do, of course, but others actually embrace it even harder. <BR/><BR/>Now, to you and me that seems incomprehensible and completely illogical. But religion isn't a logical enterprise, it's an emotional one. If I'm in a callous mood, I'll compare it to a Stockholm Syndrome kind of deal, where the hostages become sympathetic to their captors, against all reason. If I'm in a generous mood, I'll say religion offers the hopeless some kind of hope, no matter how distant and unknown.<BR/><BR/>Maybe that's the survival advantage to religion, that it makes people keep going when otherwise they'd just lie down and die. <BR/><BR/>I don't know about that, but as I said, I don't think it can honestly be said that religion has nothing to offer some people, at least. Or else it wouldn't exist, you know?<BR/><BR/>Anyway, thanks for the blog, it's good to know there are other Austin atheists around (I'm in Bertram, about an hour northwest of the city depending on traffic).Jeff Heberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13732306951663286466noreply@blogger.com