h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Exactly, and I just wonder how you can understand the science, and yet still believe in a lot of organised religions, propoganda. perhaps thats why we (as catholics) get brainwashed as children, before we can question it.

Yes, the majority of people who actually believe in god and go to church were forced to as children. But that's pretty obvious, not to mention it's been said. So I don't exactly know where I'm going with this post. Oh yea, here it is. Why don't you let your children decide if they believe in god, whoever-you-are-that-makes-their-children-share-their-beliefs? My parents took me to church till I was seven or so, then let me make up my mind. I told them I'd never believed in god. They said, neither do we.

Interestingly, as a child I also never believed in the tooth fairy or santa clause.

Shows how up to date you are

Maybe Mary just had some artificial insemination?

If any Christian group opposes that, you could just say that Jesus was born that way!

Personally, I think Mary had an affair, and lied about it.
People sure can be gullible.

Hrm. Maybe that is why it was needed for her to remain a virgin. That way Joseph would not find out that she was... semi-new.

Exactly. But my reasoning was, She and joseph never got busy, in the fornicate-ory sense of the term, and she had little Jesus. How would she explain that, bearing in mid that adultery was a stoning crime then. "God did it! It's God's fault! stone god!"

Surprises me that the bright minds in Rome (they have to be smart to keep an institution alive that long) never thought of that...

They never wanted to think about it. To them, faith precludes the formation of thought. It's like a blood clot of the mind.

Am I the only one who gets a headache when they try to read all caps? I assume that he was referring to the Christian deity. Wanna know something that has always bugged me? Christians claim to be monotheistic, however, they clearly have two deities: God and Satan. Not a very original name on the first one though. Well, three is you count Jesus. I am going to shut up now before I get started on a huge rant about the flaws of Christianity, and I don't really think that this is the right place for this.

~~Din'

P.S. Has anyone else notices that this is the only thing that Researcher 172255 has ever done? No entries, no journals, no other posts of any kind.

You know something I have noticed... hardcore atheists know more about religion than most people who believe.

Is the Holy Trinity a polytheistic thing?

For me personally, I have a mild interest in religious faith cos it's something that I have trouble understanding, and I like to get people opinions on the matter. Faith is pretty far removed from my realm of experience.

I don't think there is such a thing as hardcore atheist anyway....

Researcher 172255 works in mysterious ways dontcha know

A very intelligent priest type person that I know said during a discussion that religious faith is above reason and logic, that it transcends it. Now, I'm not sure I get this myself, but I hope to some it may prove enlightnening.

Researcher 172255 seems to be a religious zealot on a tirade. I go to school with a girl very much like our anonymous researcher. She thinks that her beliefs are the only "true" beliefs, and everyone else is going to Hell. She says that she feels sorry for me because I don't share her religious views (personally, I stopped believing in god around the time that I stopped believing in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny). I can't stand people like them, always thinking they are so much "better" than the rest of us. I think that everyone should be able to think and choose for him/herself, as long as those choices don't hurt anyone else. A good example of religious choices hurting people would be the Crusades: a bunch of "Christians" breaking the ten commandments and the Golden Rule in the name of their god. The Crusaders were, for the most part, murders, thieves, and rapists. If the Christian god wants people doing those things, I don't think I want to go to his heaven. Now there are Christians ignorant enough to denounce Muslims as evil murders. Look in the mirror, people. Christians have murdered millions for having different views. I'm so tired of people thinking that their religion is the only "good" and "right" religion and everyone else is "evil," a "sinner," or other such nonsense. I guess Albert Einstein was right when he said, "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." BTW, "God's Debris" by Scott Adams provides some interesting perspectives on religion. While I don't completely agree with everything in it, it is definitely one of the best books on religion I've ever read.

Surely not the same Scott Adams that writes the fantastic "Dilbert"?

Science has it's own versions of the 'truth', that are acceptable and unacceptable. The only difference is that the accepted truths have to be arrived at after a certain, very specific process (i.e. Previous knowledge -> Hypothesise -> Test hypothesis -> Theorise).

I wouldn't go as far as saying that science is a religion (I have argued against that with a few people), but something with such strict boundaries cannot be expected to reveal everything about our universe. I am not superstitious, I am an athiest, I am also a scientist, but science does not hold the answer to it all.

Even science admits that nothing is 100% impossible, such is the nature of the beast.

Ohhh, I cannot stand the self-satisfied, smug religious types. Religion should be a private thing, or practised amongst others of the the same faith (In My Humble Opinion). I know plenty of fervently religious people, my father-in-law is a priest, they don't go around shoving it down your throat. But if you engage them in the topic, they love to talk about it, from a deeply personal perspective.

Ste, "God's Debris" is written by the same Scott Adams that writes Dilbert. In fact, I think there is a link to download the ebook at the Dilbert website. If you're interested in downloading it, it costs about 5 dollars US (about 3.44 British pounds). I can't post the link in this conversation though, so you'll have to find it on your own if you want the ebook. You can read the introduction and one chapter for free to "try before you buy."

I agree with your views about science and religion. I believe in science and things that can be proven, and I hate it when self-righteous religious types insist on telling me to run my life. And you're certainly right about them liking to talk about it (I know at least one person who rarely *stops* talking about religion).

Oops. The part above that reads "telling me to run my life" should be "telling me *how* to run my life."

Yeah, I get the 'daily dilbert' through email, the link is right at the top on it, I'll read the intro in a sec. Maybe I'll get around to buying it someday.

But things can be proven in many different ways, not just using the scientific method surely? What I was saying is that science cannot explain everything. I think science is a wonderful, powerful tool, but somethings are simply beyond it's scope.

I don't know many religious types who would talk about faith with me unless I invited them to do just that. You sound like you're hanging out with the wrong crowd. Or are you just in a particularly christian area of the world?

Ste,
I see that I misunderstood your previous post somewhat. Now that I've reread it I see what you were saying. In my personal experience, though, there have been very few, if any, things that could not be adequately explained through science.

There's just one person who really tries to force religion upon me, but she does it nearly every day. It seems like she wants to start a religious debate with anyone and everyone for any reason she can think of. She really irritates me . She doesn't want other people to think for themselves or have different opinions. She "knows" that she's right, and anyone who disagrees is wrong and going to hell. I wish she'd either have a more open mind, or a closed mouth.

Kane

Yeah, me too. It is my experience that freaky things that make you go "ooooh" always happen to other people. Like my wife who is always having deja vu and stuff. There is very little that I have personally come across that cannot be explained in a decent and logical manner, without having to resort to superstition, religion or organic farming.

I am an athiest and feel liberated quite a lot of the time by my lack of faith. Imagine what a burden it would be! Is this girl a total religious fundamentalist? It really isn't difficult to tear into their agruements yknow, hehehe. As I'm sure you've found out. It's the kind of smug "I'm Right" attitude which really gets my goat too.