Posts by DJS

33

whats so bad about believing people go to heaven?

by sowhatnow in

it occurred to me today, that so often, my mother will make the comment that .

"those false religions teach that everyone is going to heaven when they die, oh sure, .

all you have to do is be a good person, and off you go to heaven.

DJS

Based on a number of studies, belief in heaven is evidently bad for society. Belief in hell, OTOH, seems to be a deterrent to bad behavior. From the world wide web:

In a 2012 study (Shariff and Rhemtulla) examined national rates of belief in heaven and hell for 67 countries, as measured by five waves of the World Values Surveys and the European Values Surveys between 1981 and 2007. Shariff and Rhemtulla then drew crime statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which provided data on a litany of nasty things people can do to each other: homicides, robbery, rape, kidnapping, assault, theft, drug crime, automobile theft, burglary, and human trafficking.

With other factors controlled for – including national GDP and Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality – countries where more people believed in hell showed significantly lower levels of crime. The effect sizes were big:

Controlling for the effect of belief in heaven, a 1-[standard deviation] increase in belief in hell resulted in an almost 2 SD decrease in national crime rate; conversely, controlling for the effect of hell, a 1 SD increase in belief in heaven resulted in an almost 2 SD increase in national crime rate.

Fearing the imminent wrath of a judging God, it seems, makes you a lot less likely to steal, cheat, or murder – whereas a friendly, forgiving God (apparently) may inspire you to go easy on yourself, and possibly do bad things with the expectation of being forgiven.

Shariff, together with Lara B. Aknin, explored this possibility in a second study, published in 2014 in PLOSOne, in which they looked at the effect of heaven and hell beliefs on personal happiness.

At the societal level, belief in hell seems to perform some important behavioral corralling – by infusing the culture with a sort of generalized ambience of supernatural punishment, it inspires (or frightens) people into shaping up, toeing the line, and playing by the rules. But this fear of God isn’t so great for people at the individual level. Plenty of other research, particularly in religion and mental health, has shown that a loving, forgiving God is psychologically better for you than belief in a punitive and angry one. But that same forgiving God may give people a subconscious license to do less-than-honorable things, because, hey – God forgives!

17

Red or Green Flags....

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

it seems everybody is doing it, and giving green or red flags.

and personally what a difference it makes to my " ego" when i get a green flag and feel my opinion is respected.

my green flags totally convince me what i say is " brilliant.

DJS

The Rebel,

We all like being "Liked," Sally. But my mission is to teach - being a dad and a college professor are two of my most fulfilling and rewarding roles. That is why I am here, as I believe the only gift I have to share on this site is to teach my former ex-dubs to think and act more rationally and analytically. My style is to hopefully make you smile or laugh, make you think and sometimes make you uncomfortable (because without that a lot of people never move from ground zero). No pain. No gain.

It's fairly clear that the only thing that has changed with my posting style since Simon created the "Like" and "Dislike" buttons is that I put more attention to details and walk maybe just a tad bit farther away from the Line. But not much.

Sometimes I'm trying to get "Dislikes," but you should already know that. As long as I make people think, maybe make them smile - hopefully both at the same time - mission accomplished.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

Screen clutter. Bertrand doesn't speak for anyone but himself and certainly not me. Empirical evidence is the best we have to follow. Thinking that it is the final unchanging word is what religionists feel and believe. They won't change their minds regardless.

I will. Just give me better numbers. So will all empiricists. Russell is confusing religion and feelings with rational and evidence.

Thanks for the Dislike Clammy. Geesh, ANOTHER stalker. Take a number and queue up CB.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

SBF,

There certainly can be multiple sources of knowledge. As an empiricist I follow the evidence regardless of where it comes from. When such is presented for the divine, other than via philosophical musings and questionings, I will believe.

I'm not a religious atheist.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

SBF,

I rarely comment on your musings. You often make a lot of sense. I see rationals and those who are striving to live an evidence based life, regardless of the topic, rather than militant atheists with an agenda.

A very few concentrate on these subjects. I typically just read and rarely participate. It isn't a strength of mine nor a particular interest.

Where we always divide is between the evidence based and those ruled by their emotions. On every topic.

Clammy is clearly in the emotional camp. Thanks for the Dislike CB.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

Clambake,

This site is full of OPs you seek. Get some self control dude. Develop some emotional maturity. Avoid these OPS if they bother you so much. Back away from the keyboard.

And do something about that shrill whine. It's hurting my ears. But thank you so much for the Dislike. I will wear it with pride.

62

Richard Carrier debunks Christianity using Science and History.

by Island Man in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2kgjk4jo4

DJS

Island Man,

Great stuff. Most of this I had read in various places. Putting it all together in this manner makes me even more embarrassed that I ever believed this nonsense.

18

Man Killed in car crash watching Porn

by StoneWall in

makes me wonder what "flashed" before his eyes at moment of impact/death.http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/82584838-story

DJS

It's called culling the DNA herd. And the winner of this year's Darwin Award goes to . . . . . . .

36

Seriously....We have to start attacking this cult!!! Enough is enough!!

by DATA-DOG in

i propose that we make pintrest accounts and start openly challenging this crap.. .

seriously.... any suggestions?

this crap cannot be left unchallenged.

DJS

Indoctrinate them at a young age. Baptize them at a young age. Trap them in the cult by the threat of Shunning. It is the trifecta of evil. The Dark Lords' strategy to mitigate THIS:

23

inquiring mind has 3 questions

by OutsiderLookingIn in

just a few questions from a newbie.

answer one or as many as you want.

1. why cleaners?

DJS

Outsider,

As mentioned, Dubs often clean houses, etc. for a living because they are discouraged from seeking higher education, they bought into the lie that they will soon be living in paradise, etc. As a result, JWs are the religion with the lowest education and family income. As for leaving, yes, nearly 2/3 leave. It would no doubt be much higher if they got rid of the shunning policy. The best research on this comes from the Pew Foundation: