Posts by Oubliette

59

How the human mind processes facts and faith differently

by EdenOne in

i found this very interesting article by t. m. luhrmann in todays edition of the new york times (i've highlighted a few parts i 've found most interesting):.

it seems weird to deny them.. and yet a broad group of scholars is beginning to demonstrate that religious belief and factual belief are indeed different kinds of mental creatures.

people process evidence differently when they think with a factual mind-set rather than with a religious mind-set.

Oubliette

EdenOne: the point of debate of this thread isn't about the claim that supernatural thinking increases with age ... but about the different thought processes that the human brain probably uses to process statements of fact and statements of faith. - Emphasis added

Maybe that's the problem.

You Cut & Pasted 10 paragraphs of the article but merely said you found it "interesting" and that you'd like to see an experiment that scans the brain while the person is making a factual statement versus a faith-based statement.

We're not mind readers you know!

You should read this thread: A Request to All Posters Regarding Cut & Paste Posting of "Interesting Articles"

Although you did include some commentary, you didn't include enough for us to know the point you were trying to make. We had to wait two days as many pages and 30+ posts before you explicitly stated "the point of the ... thread."

The points you highlighted certainly didn't make your particular point clear.

4

Apostasy Trial - Part 2 - Accusation Against Elder Needs 3 Witnesses

by berrygerry in

despite being in for decades, i have never heard this before.. can any elders confirm this, and the reasoning?.

Oubliette

That's bullshit.

I was an elder for 20 years.

If the particular elder has a lot of influence you've got an uphill battle, but there's no "Three Witness Rule" for them.

59

How the human mind processes facts and faith differently

by EdenOne in

i found this very interesting article by t. m. luhrmann in todays edition of the new york times (i've highlighted a few parts i 've found most interesting):.

it seems weird to deny them.. and yet a broad group of scholars is beginning to demonstrate that religious belief and factual belief are indeed different kinds of mental creatures.

people process evidence differently when they think with a factual mind-set rather than with a religious mind-set.

Oubliette

Eden, the burden of proof is always on the person that made the initial assertion. I didn't do that.

But thanks for the link. Kind of expensive for a 20-ish page paper, but It looks interesting.

45

How to Choose a Wife!

by snugglebunny in

jw
friends

back in the day, when my family moved to a new congregation, i fell head over heels with a young sister who was an elder's daughter.

it wasn't long before we were talking about marriage and i was contemplating buying her an engagement ring.

my parents were not happy at all.

Oubliette

Let's review: It's a cult!

94

Disowning the God of the OT is not an Option

by cofty in

it's to their credit that many modern christians prefer the jesus of the gospels to the god of the old testament.. ot god is an embarrassment.

i am not going to list his multitude of moral crimes here but my personal favourite is his brilliant idea that a girl who is raped must marry her rapist.

it's not his biggest crime but it demonstrates a disregard for human feelings that is beyond the comprehension of every moral person.

Oubliette

HMTM: To be unable to see the unseen does not itself prove that the unseen is a delusion.

That's true enough.

But there's certainly enough other evidence to prove that believing the majority of what is in the Bible is to believe in a delusion.

de·lu·sion
dəˈlo͞oZHən/

noun: delusion; plural noun: delusions
an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder.

59

How the human mind processes facts and faith differently

by EdenOne in

i found this very interesting article by t. m. luhrmann in todays edition of the new york times (i've highlighted a few parts i 've found most interesting):.

it seems weird to deny them.. and yet a broad group of scholars is beginning to demonstrate that religious belief and factual belief are indeed different kinds of mental creatures.

people process evidence differently when they think with a factual mind-set rather than with a religious mind-set.

Oubliette

Eden, you can argue all you want.

The problem with your source is that it combines all sorts of disparate groups, making a very general statement about them, without allowing the reader any way to separate or distinguish them.

I would hope the actual study would make these distinctions explicit clear.

94

Disowning the God of the OT is not an Option

by cofty in

it's to their credit that many modern christians prefer the jesus of the gospels to the god of the old testament.. ot god is an embarrassment.

i am not going to list his multitude of moral crimes here but my personal favourite is his brilliant idea that a girl who is raped must marry her rapist.

it's not his biggest crime but it demonstrates a disregard for human feelings that is beyond the comprehension of every moral person.

Oubliette

HMTM, Their laws reflected their time not ours.

Good point.

It doesn't really work to try and judge people from ancient times according to our present knowledge, beliefs and values.

That doesn't mean that we can't or shouldn't call their beliefs what they are: harmful delusions.

59

How the human mind processes facts and faith differently

by EdenOne in

i found this very interesting article by t. m. luhrmann in todays edition of the new york times (i've highlighted a few parts i 've found most interesting):.

it seems weird to deny them.. and yet a broad group of scholars is beginning to demonstrate that religious belief and factual belief are indeed different kinds of mental creatures.

people process evidence differently when they think with a factual mind-set rather than with a religious mind-set.

Oubliette

"supernatual reasoning"

Now THERE'S an oxymoron!!!

Eden, thank for the reference. I gave it a look!

It's only a brief summary of a research study. Only scant details are mentioned as to the demographics and they are lumped together in a way that makes it impossible to really analyze the thesis of the article.

However, there was this very telling quote. Notice what it said about one large group in the study.

"They also conducted a study with 366 people in South Africa, where biomedical and traditional healing practices are both widely available. ... Yet supernatural explanations, such as witchcraft, also were frequently supported among the children and universally among adults." - Emphasis added

Um, yeah!

Although the specifics of the demographics of this group are not revealed, they are most certainly NOT typical of adults in industrialized countries anywhere, particularly in the West.

94

Disowning the God of the OT is not an Option

by cofty in

it's to their credit that many modern christians prefer the jesus of the gospels to the god of the old testament.. ot god is an embarrassment.

i am not going to list his multitude of moral crimes here but my personal favourite is his brilliant idea that a girl who is raped must marry her rapist.

it's not his biggest crime but it demonstrates a disregard for human feelings that is beyond the comprehension of every moral person.

Oubliette

EdenOne: It may not make rational sense, of course. But you're not taking into account that belief is also a way that our brain has to cope with physical and mental pain.

You aren't quoting me. You are re-quoting my quote of Bertrand Russell.

So it's Mr. Russell you have the disagreement with, not me!

I'm sorry if it wasn't clear that was all Bertrand.

94

Disowning the God of the OT is not an Option

by cofty in

it's to their credit that many modern christians prefer the jesus of the gospels to the god of the old testament.. ot god is an embarrassment.

i am not going to list his multitude of moral crimes here but my personal favourite is his brilliant idea that a girl who is raped must marry her rapist.

it's not his biggest crime but it demonstrates a disregard for human feelings that is beyond the comprehension of every moral person.

Oubliette

GT: Is the bible a fundamentally Jewish or Christian document?

Jesus was a Jew.

You knew that, right?