Posts by whereami

128

Cognitive Dissonance for Fundamenatlists

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

.

(via reddit).

whereami

So, another valid question to ask to fundamentalists is, does morality exist without God?

You might want to check this out on the Science Channel; http://science.discovery.com/tv-schedules/special.html?paid=48.15727.133273.0.0

Are You Good Or Evil?

Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, David Berkowitz. Were they born bad? Do humans have an innate sense of morality? If so, where does it exist in the brain and how did it get there? Meet the scientists searching for a physical basis behind the moral instinct.

Just finished watching it, extreamly facinating.

2

Dan Dennett's response to Rick Warren- "Religions are just as natural as cows". Great stuff.

by whereami in

philosopher dan dennett calls for religion -- all religion -- to be taught in schools, so we can understand its nature as a natural phenomenon.

then he takes on the purpose-driven life, disputing its claim that, to be moral, one must deny evolution.. philosopher and scientist dan dennett argues that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes and are not what we traditionally think they are.

his 2003 book freedom evolves explores the way our brains have evolved to gives us -- and only us -- the kind of freedom that matters, while 2006's breaking the spell examines religious belief through the lens of biology.. .

whereami

Philosopher Dan Dennett calls for religion -- all religion -- to be taught in schools, so we can understand its nature as a natural phenomenon. Then he takes on The Purpose-Driven Life, disputing its claim that, to be moral, one must deny evolution.

Philosopher and scientist Dan Dennett argues that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes and are not what we traditionally think they are. His 2003 book Freedom Evolves explores the way our brains have evolved to gives us -- and only us -- the kind of freedom that matters, while 2006's Breaking the Spell examines religious belief through the lens of biology.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/dan_dennett_s_response_to_rick_warren.html

3

Essential Readings in the Cognitive Science of Religion

by whereami in

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17123.essential_readings_in_the_cognitive_science_of_religion .

essential readings in the cognitive science of religionthe cognitive science of religion is fairly new and it is an endlessly fascinating area of research.

the mundane questions of religion such as "does god exist?

whereami

3

For The Bible Tells Me So

by Celestial in

in the 1980s, as a teenager, i had some fascination with alternative lifestyles.

i was never gay, i just thought i was.

i told my girlfriend about this and she ended up telling her dad.

whereami

Here's the whole documentary. Excellent movie. Every homophobic idiot including the GOP candidates should watch it.

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v191044278BAQY7F3?h1=For+the+Bible+Tells+Me+So+

3

Essential Readings in the Cognitive Science of Religion

by whereami in

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17123.essential_readings_in_the_cognitive_science_of_religion .

essential readings in the cognitive science of religionthe cognitive science of religion is fairly new and it is an endlessly fascinating area of research.

the mundane questions of religion such as "does god exist?

whereami

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17123.Essential_Readings_in_the_Cognitive_Science_of_Religion

Essential Readings in the Cognitive Science of ReligionThe cognitive science of religion is fairly new and it is an endlessly fascinating area of research. The mundane questions of religion such as "Does God exist?" (the philosophy of religion) became uninteresting to me years ago. However, that opened up the much more engaging topic, in my view, of "Why do people believe in religion (and the supernatural)?" These book go a long way in answering that and are much more rigorous than the previous (e.g. Freudian, Durkheimian, etc) attempts.all votes add books to this list

1	The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life by Jesse Bering score: 181, and 2 people voted	My rating:
2	Conceiving God: The Cognitive Origin and Evolution of Religion by David Lewis-Williams score: 100, and 1 person voted	My rating:
3	Minds and Gods: The Cognitive Foundations of Religion by Todd Tremlin score: 99, and 1 person voted	My rating:
4	In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion by Scott Atran score: 98, and 1 person voted	My rating:
5	Religion Explained by Pascal Boyer score: 97, and 1 person voted	My rating:
6	How the Bible Works: An Anthropological Study of Evangelical Biblicism by Brian Malley score: 96, and 1 person voted	My rating:
7	Why Would Anyone Believe in God? by Justin L. Barrett score: 95, and 1 person voted	My rating:
8	Creation of the Sacred: Tracks of Biology in Early Religions by Walter Burkert score: 94, and 1 person voted	My rating:
9	Magic, Miracles, and Religion: A Scientist's Perspective by Ilkka PyysiSinen score: 93, and 1 person voted	My rating:
10	Why Gods Persist: A Scientific Approach to Religion by Robert A. Hinde score: 92, and 1 person voted	My rating:
11	Theorizing Religions Past: Archaeology, History, And Cognition by Harvey Whitehouse score: 91, and 1 person voted	My rating:
12	SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable by Bruce M. Hood score: 90, and 1 person voted	My rating:
13	Born to Believe: God, Science, and the Origin of Ordinary and Extraordinary Beliefs by Andrew Newberg score: 89, and 1 person voted	My rating:
14	Descartes' Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human by Paul Bloom score: 88, and 1 person voted	My rating:
15	Supernatural Agents: Why We Believe in Souls, Gods, and Buddhas by Ilkka Pyysiainen score: 87, and 1 person voted	My rating:
16	Modes of Religiosity: A Cognitive Theory of Religious Transmission by Harvey Whitehouse score: 86, and 1 person voted	My rating:
17	Caveman Logic: The Persistence of Primitive Thinking in a Modern World by Hank Davis score: 85, and 1 person voted	My rating:
18	When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth by Elizabeth Wayland Barber score: 84, and 1 person voted	My rating:
19	A Cognitive Theory of Magic by Jesper Sorensen score: 83, and 1 person voted	My rating:
20	Religion and Cognition: A Reader by D. Jason Slone score: 82, and 1 person voted	My rating:
21	Imagining the Impossible: Magical, Scientific, and Religious Thinking in Children by Karl S. Rosengren score: 80, and 1 person voted	My rating:
22	How Religion Works: Towards A New Cognitive Science Of Religion by Ilkka Pyysiainen score: 79, and 1 person voted	My rating:
23	Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion by Stewart Elliott Guthrie score: 78, and 1 person voted	My rating:
24	The Divine Archetype: The Sociobiology And Psychology Of Religion by Brant Wenegrat score: 77, and 1 person voted	My rating:
25	Theological Incorrectness: Why Religious People Believe What They Shouldn't by D. Jason Slone score: 76, and 1 person voted	My rating:
26	Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition by Stuart A. Vyse (Goodreads Author) score: 75, and 1 person voted	My rating:

71

Letter to the Writing Department from Barbara Anderson

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

i thought i knew you.

an open letter from barbara anderson to watch towers writing department.

in 1517, martin luther wrote in a letter to archbishop albert of mainz: you must graciously forgive that i, that scum of the earth, am so bold as to dare to address a letter to you.. yes, i know, you think of me as scum, just like mainz believed of luther, wondering how i dare write you a letter, someone jehovahs witnesses disfellowshipped back in 2002. i was accused of being an unrepentant sinner and condemned for causing divisions, then labeled apostate because i spoke out publicly on nbcs dateline tv program aboutthe child sexual abuse policies that protected pedophiles policies that you helped formulate.

whereami

I'm sure Barbara knows very well that this will fall on deaf ears over in the writing department. But I'm sure this is more for the ones with doubts about their precious organization.

For the ones that were at the Watchtower study when this garbage was being read, and they themselves didn't agree with it. Now they will see how loving "gods organization" really is.

Excellent job Barbara.

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