"If God exists ONLY inside our brains, that does not mean God is not real. Our brains are where reality crystallizes for us."
I LOVE that quote!
In many ways it says it all when it comes to arguing the existence of God.
I really like the way that they approached the question, essentially mapping out WHY humans feel the need to identify and communicate with non-existent entities, and how that may have helped us to rationalize our world and develop into the critical thinking species that we are today.
I guess my question would be, does continuing to believe in a supernatural presence help us, or does it hold us back from evolving even further?
"I guess my question would be, does continuing to believe in supernatural presence continue to help us, or does it hold us back from evolving even further?"
ReplyDeleteThat would depend on what a person believes and how flexible those beliefs are.
Yes, but, who created our brains and what order of things gave man the creativity, intelligence, emotions, conscience, awareness, find meaning? Animals still do what animals did thousands of years ago. Dogs still lick their butts; but we are eye witnesses of how man has increased learning and understanding and we've conquered much in science. If we can conquer in these spheres, then who's to say we are fools to question a supernatural entity? If we put the brakes on the spiritual, which, since ancient times, every tribe and empire has aspired to seek, then we are quenching ourselves to go deeper and find more answers.
ReplyDeleteNo one can answer why (men) have been chosen to be stewards of this earth?
Do we limit ourselves just because we're told 'faith' or intuition is ignorance?
Regarding you first paragraph: DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE FIRST THING ABOUT EVOLUTION?
DeleteGo red some Dawkins and get back to us with apologies fro your ignorance.
Logic holds the simple answer - yes, religion is holding us back, as it considers itself an infallible source, ultra conservative, even reactionary in nature. It cannot accept or assimilate new information in a timely manner.
DeleteNot all humans show signs of increased learning or understand/accept anything about science. Some have evolved more rapidly than others. I think that humans decided they were the stewards of the earth - they were not chosen. And, with all the wars, destruction of natural resources, pollution of water and air, etc., many humans are not taking that stewardship role seriously.
DeleteO/T, but maybe not on this thread. Heard Dr. Calderone speak on the radio yesterday. Yowzaaa! evidently her intro speech went viral. She is a secular Jew, knows the Talmud better than the Hasidim Jewish Talmud thumpers (equivilent to Quiverful, uber-evangelist types here) and is willing to take them on.
Deletehttp://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/125021/in-new-knesset-a-true-maverick
We are hardly stewards of the earth, or haven't you noticed how much of earth we destroy on a daily basis.
DeleteI got in big trouble asking this very question when I was 9. I asked the good sisters at Sacred Heart Elementary school in Covina California, this question:
If there were no people, would there be god?
RIGHT to the principals office with my soon to be sorry ass. Parents called, remedial religion classes ordered, brainwashing commenced. Did it work, hell no. They could not answer my question and the barrage of bullshit and penalties I endured made me realize they had a hell of a lot to hide in regards to the very existence of "god".
9:38am
DeleteYou hit the nail on the head. We as humans are a relatively new species here on planet earth; who died and left us in charge? Were our progenitors, the upright primates from which we evolved, also crowned with "stewards of the earth" title? How about the lemur type creature from which our primate line evolved?
When exactly did the crown get placed on the humanoid head proclaiming us in charge of the earth?
It would stand to reason that sharks or even horseshoe crabs or coelacanths would hold the title of "steward of the earth" since they've been on this planet for a few hundred million years longer than we humans. How about Stromatolites? They've been hanging around this planet unchanged for billions of years! Home erectus is but a blip on the radar that represents the history of ALL life on this planet. We're a big brained primate that likes to think too much and overstate our importance in the chain of life.
We even made up gods that look just like us and accredited them with the genesis of this entire universe and planet, never mind that humans have only walked this earth in our modern biological form for 50,000 years. Wouldn't one posit that if god made man in his image that he'd of done it a lot sooner than 50,000 years ago? Why wait over 4 billion years to slap some humans on planet earth, if god is just a big old human himself in charge of things? Ah, the hubris of humans.
@ 9:38 (?) or is it 10:13?
DeleteAnyway.
Oh, but don't you know that all that evolution stuff is garbage? We have it on the best authority possible that we were created with the wave of a hand and a stolen rib! Genesis explains all that, right? And 6000 years ago at that!
I mean just because WE wrote that stuff doesn't mean that he doesn't agree with us, right?
Besides, don't you know that the rocks falling on those animals would have destroyed all the evidence unless it was faked?
Gee. Weren't you listening in sunday school class?
SNARK
Stewards of the Earth? More like Pestilence of the Earth!
DeleteAs an atheist I am now amazed that I am not a believer. I was raised in the church and went through the whole brainwash. My first memories of my thinking that it was all a bunch of baloney, were when I was five years old.
After watching this show, I know that I definitely had that condition that the other children had, with giving objects special meaning, etc. So why did I reject all the spiritual mumbo jumbo? There must be something really different about atheists that cause us to overcome part of our innate spirituality.
The answer to your question is simple. Look at a graph of technological advancement and see the flat line associated with the Dark Ages, the last time the religious fundies took complete control of science. If not for the Dark Ages one could argue we'd have had iphones a hundred years ago. Or more importantly, would the inventions that have triggered our growth even happened or would another invention have usurped the need? For examples - What if wind and solar panels had been invented in the 1860's and become commercially acceptable to gas and oil? Knowing mankind, most we would no be living with the consequences of the actions of our ancestors. Be kind of ironic if the Hunger Games was our reality today instead of just fantasy.
ReplyDelete