The End of Faith

[Lestat]

again.. here is god's work.. deuteronomy chapter 21:

If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

This is a great book. I dont think Lestat actually read it.

The author is a behavioral neuroscientist and is at his best when he compares Eastern and Western religions and describes the commonality.

Also his writings on consciousness without thought are very good.

 

[victoria978]

Here's the thing, EVERY religion has scriptures that contradict other scriptures. They were written by man! Yes, under the influence of God, but interpreted and flawed by man. Just stick to the basics - the 10 commandments, love God and believe that he sent His Son to die for us and rise again. Only if you believe in the Lord are you a child of God. But you must believe with you're whole heart.

 

[Lestat]

This is a great book. I dont think Lestat actually read it.

The author is a behavioral neuroscientist and is at his best when he compares Eastern and Western religions and describes the commonality.

Also his writings on consciousness without thought are very good.

I have read it, what would make you think otherwise?

The guy is very bright, has a background in philosophy and is getting a doctorate in neuroscience. I've seen him speak as well.

He gets reduntant, almost to a flaw, trying to drive the point home, but I think his message is a powerful one and he is just trying to continually tie his evidence back to the premise

The end notes in the book are thorough, nearly 100 pages alone of end notes citing all the sources he used in the book, there are many.

His writing on consciousness are very good, especially the part about how our mind interprets mass destruction compared to individual loss of life. The story of the russian solider killin en mass vs point blank execution.. also the fact that most of us watched thousands of people die live on TV durin the 9.11 attacks, however the same people can't stomach to watch one individual being murdered (daniel pearl for example.)

I thought you'd like this book actually, although you seem to come across pretty pro religion and I didn't know if you would take it personal.

 

[Lestat]

Here's the thing, EVERY religion has scriptures that contradict other scriptures. They were written by man! Yes, under the influence of God, but interpreted and flawed by man. Just stick to the basics - the 10 commandments, love God and believe that he sent His Son to die for us and rise again. Only if you believe in the Lord are you a child of God. But you must believe with you're whole heart.

You can't just pick and choose which illogical and irrational writings to ascribe to. Fundamentalist muslims are simply "sticking to the basics" when they die as martyrs (suicide bombers).. they simple want to move on from this life to the next with all the virgins possible.

There is no evidence that the bible or any other "holy" book was written under the influence of a "god" as there is no evidence to suggest that a god even exists!

I challenge anyone to show me evidence that any book was written under the influence of god.

 

[Lestat]

chirp chirp

 

[EnderJE]

Faith is belief without proof. Science requires proof. Hence, the problem.

 

[Lestat]

Faith is belief without proof. Science requires proof. Hence, the problem.

agree 100%.

Why is it, that intellgent, rational beings believe things with no proof, more importantly, why are they willing to kill and be killed based on something that has no empirical evidence to back it up?

The argument of the book is that ALL beliefs should be subject to rational thought.

If someone came on here claiming that the earth was flat, we'd call him a FOOL, or if he said that the surface of the sun actually cold, we'd say they were an idiot. We need to start doing the same when it comes to people claiming to know HOW the earth was created, and by WHOM it was created.

 

[EnderJE]

But that's the whole point of faith. To believe without proof. People will believe anything in order for 'everlasting" salvation.

If you believe that all things should be subject to rational though, then are you saying that people shouldn't get married anymore (given the divorce rate)? Do you beileve that the ends justify the means?

 

[Lestat]

But that's the whole point of faith. To believe without proof. People will believe anything in order for 'everlasting" salvation.

If you believe that all things should be subject to rational though, then are you saying that people shouldn't get married anymore (given the divorce rate)? Do you beileve that the ends justify the means?

I have no problem with marriage, or the divorce rate.. what is irrational about it? There have been marriages that have lasted lifetimes, its proven, I wouldn't say DON'T get married because there is a chance you get divorce.. i'd say get married because there is a chance you could end up happy!

"To believe without proof" you said it all right there.. why is this acceptable in today's society??????? Are we still fucking cavemen and have to guess about everything? If someone believed that Posiedon ruled the sea, would you respect that person?