Religion in the age of the internet.

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Study finds that belief is easier on the brain, and therefore favored by many in the population, than disbelief which requires the brain to work harder.

Courtesy of The Daily Beast:

While in an fMRI scanner, participants were asked whether or not they believed in a number of statements. Sentences ranged from the very simple and fact-based (California is larger than Rhode Island), to the abstract and highly subjective (God probably does not exist). The data revealed activation of distinct but sometimes overlapping brain areas during belief versus disbelief conditions. 

Additionally, the scans clearly showed something that was more straightforward. Brain activation, overall, was much greater and persisted longer during states of disbelief. This is important because neuroscience has long shown that greater brain activity requires more mental resources, of which there is a limited supply. A cognitive process that demands little mental resources, such as believing, is less work for the brain and therefore favored. This concept was summed up nicely in a 2015 NewScientist cover story on the science of beliefs, which stated, “Harris’ results were widely interpreted as further confirmation that the default state of the human brain is to accept. Belief comes easily; doubt takes effort.”

Well that makes sense.

I favor cognitive thinking and skepticism because I have an active intellect, while those who simply accept things on faith are intellectually lazy.

Makes pretty good sense actually.

It's Sunday, so let's start the day with a little Chistopher Hitchens in honor of the Sabbath, shall we?

There were a number of things on which I did not see eye to eye with Hitch. He could also be very arrogant, and abrasive, which did not always help people keep an open mind ot the things he was saying.

However he was often very good at whittling down an argument to its most succinct points, and then stating them bluntly and with no apologies to those who might take offense.

Gotta love that about him.

Indian man faces three years in jail, on charges of blasphemy, for explaining that the local "miracle water" is in fact leaky toilet water.

"Look how can I say this so you understand. You're drinking poopy water."

Courtesy of Secular News Daily:

The local Catholics spotted water dripping from a crucifix in Mumbai’s western suburbs. They eagerly lapped up the “miracle water”, thinking it had magical powers. 

Sanal Edamaruku, president of the Indian Rationalist Association and Rationalist International, inspected the site and pinpointed the source of the water. A leaking toilet drain. 

For explaining that the only “magic power” the water has is to transfer gastrointestinal infections and other disease, Edamaruku now faces up to three years in prison for “blasphemy”. 

"It’s a case of miracle-mongering," Edamaruku told AFP from his home in New Delhi. "Any kind of miracle-mongering is ultimately to get money and power." Accusing him of spreading "anti-Catholic venom" during televised debates on the crucifix, outraged religious groups in Mumbai have filed police complaints that could see Edamaruku jailed for up to three years under India’s blasphemy law. 

Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Catholic-Christian Secular Forum, lodged one of the complaints, claiming it was the result of Edamaruku’s “”very obvious and stridently anti-Christian bias”. Edamaruku, who has spent the last 30 years debunking India’s mystics and gurus who attract massive followings (and fortunes), welcomes the charges as an opportunity to challenge India’s blasphemy law.

Okay now as you know I am constantly taking issue with people putting faith above logical thinking, but I cannot remember when I saw a more clear cut case of  a faith inspired harmful outcome that was rectified by a logical thinker. And for this Sanal Edamaruku faces jail time?

I am not sure where they  get the "anti-Christian bias" here since his discovery has potential saved dozens, if not hundreds, of Christians from contracting a gastrointestinal infection and at the very least rescued them from drinking dirty toilet water.

Unless what they are saying is that they would rather drink feces infused toilet water then have to face the fact that their blind faith might be a detriment to their physical and emotional well being?

Just something to keep in mind.

To see larger image click here.

We may have little control over where we are born, or what culture surrounds us, but we DO have a choice about whether we simply accept things as they appear or whether to always seek truth regardless of the barriers placed before us.

 I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.

 Galileo Galilei