Friday, 19 April 2024
Life, the universe, pies, hot-pink bunnies, world domination, and everything
Continued from version 2009.1.
Reminder: This is a place for careful, clear, respectful discussions. We expect MBers to be able to express their opinions without attacking others personally AND to be able to listen to people who disagree with them without feeling personally attacked.
Date: August 8, 2009
Categories: Ideas, Life, The Universe
Oh, neato, a new thread. 
Anyway, here were the very last posts on the previous thread:
FS: Never, EVER, go into a Scientology Church unless you know exactly what questions to ask and are prepared to ignore their manipulations.
Me (in a reply): Woah. Why is THAT post not on the very bottom? Strange stuff.
Anyway, I think you’re being too mean to people and generalizing based on religion. Not every religious person is out to get you, you know. 
Lady Bunniful (in a reply): It was a technical glitch that we decided to leave as it was. But it’s time for a new thread, anyway.
Exciting stuff, no? But, FS, why is Scientology so bad?
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WIth Scientology, you basically buy your enlightenment. It’s like Catholicism, only much, much worse. (There aren’t any Scientologists on the blog, are there?)
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No, but I happen to be a devout Catholic and would appreciate it if you could please stop attacking my church.
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It’s not an attack, but an observation.
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Elias……………
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Didn’t Jesus himself say that Christians should expect to be mocked for their beliefs?
Anyway, muselover’s paragon is no longer applicable, as the Catholic Church as far as I know is no longer selling prayer and hours out of purgatory any more. However, modern Catholicism still has much to account for, and it’s not doing its job. Any other organization would have been shut down, if it weren’t for religion’s special status in society. Check out this article, I can’t wait for the video of this thing:
http :// blogs.telegraph.co .uk/news/andrewmcfbrown/100014133/intelligence-squared-debate-catholics-humiliated-by-christopher-hitchens-and-stephen-fry/
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I just meant in its early years. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.
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Anyway, I’m a Christian too. If you want me to explain exactly what I believe, just ask. It’s very complicated.
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For someone who appears to dislike Jesus Christ so much, you don’t seem to have much of a problem using His name/image for your own argumentative purposes…
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Could you elaborate?
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Scientology withholds all “answers” or religious information unless you fork over large sums of money. The Catholic Church used to sell time out of purgatory for relatives for large sums of money. Those churches didn’t build themselves, you know.
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This is a hilarious Scientologist scenario my dad thought up:
Man- Okay, so I paid $10,000. What do I get?
Scientology Guy- Well, what did you dream last night?
M- I dreamt that I was being eaten by a shark.
SG- Oh! That means that when you were younger, you DID get eaten by a shark!
M- But… I’m still alive.
SG- Well, you got better. That’ll be another $10,000.
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Elias is completely right about not going in there unless you know what to ask. The church is exploitative of its members. From a 1991 article from Time magazine:
At times during the past decade, prosecutions against Scientology seemed to be curbing its menace. Eleven top Scientologists, including Hubbard’s wife, were sent to prison in the early 1980s for infiltrating, burglarizing and wiretapping more than 100 private and government agencies in attempts to block their investigations. In recent years hundreds of longtime Scientology adherents — many charging that they were mentally or physically abused — have quit the church and criticized it at their own risk. Some have sued the church and won; others have settled for amounts in excess of $500,000. In various cases judges have labeled the church “schizophrenic and paranoid” and “corrupt, sinister and dangerous.”
There’s plenty more where that came from too.
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That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Google Lisa McPherson, Operation Snow-White, Operation Freakout, Rehabilitation Project Force, and for general info check out the very helpful YouFoundTheCard.com. It’s frightening.
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I tried one of these subjects on the Chatterbox, and it was much too… heated, maybe? I’ll try this one. I’m Reconstructionist Jewish, and I’m pretty happy with that.
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There’s an amazing (for lack of a better word) YouTube video about Scientology. “Scientology: Inside the Cult”. 25 minutes long, but it goes in-depth especially into the psychological and financial aspects of the cult. They got a hidden camera into one of the facilities and filmed some of the exercises the “fresh meat” have to do.
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Yeah, I saw it. It was interesting, but i’ve seen better.
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I think I saw that docu. Heavy stuff. I just got back from Berlin, where I visited the Scientology church as a joke/investigative venture. I tried getting some info on the religion, as if I were considering it, but without forking over some cash you get nothing. They realized that we didn’t have “honest” intentions and called down the muscle to glare at us until we left. I stared the guy down, but we still felt actually threatened, so we left. I thought it prudent to avoid asking about McPherson, the RPF or the operations.
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I’ve heard a bit about Scientology, and it just makes me confused. I think it’s a big joke that the founder played. It has beliefs like no other religion.
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5- I hope they didn’t somehow get your name out of you. You’d have plenty a stalker by now.
5.1- It’s not a religion, and it’s not a joke. It has millions of dollars in profit every year (all tax-free, thanks to blackmailing the IRS), it abuses (psychologically, emotionally, and physically) its “believers”, it has very illegal activities (including the single largest infiltration of the U.S. Government in history (using up to 5,000 “inside” agents to steal, destroy, or hide “unfavorable” documents about the “church” or its founder), and has been found by different studies to be the worst cult out there, in terms of long-lasting psychological damage. When you join the cult, you sign a one billion-year contract. Therefore, if you leave, the cult will have gotten enough information on you to stalk, threaten, blackmail, or otherwise force you into doing whatever they want. People who have spoken out publicly against Scientology have been attacked. There was a plan (the Operation “Freakout” Elias mentioned) to have an author of an anti-Scientology book be imprisoned or forced into a mental institution. Scientology was morphed into a “religion” (as opposed to a philosophy) in an effort to secure its tax-free status.
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Nah, they didn’t get jack. I know how to take care of myself. Anonymous also gives great advice on how to deal with Scientologists.
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Sorry, I feel I need to express a dissenting opinion. Scientology was founded as a religion because Hubbard knew that religion was an easy way into brainwashing people. If you treat it as if it weren’t a religion, you’re missing a huge part of what enables it to function the way it does.
Enceladus: Beliefs like no other religion? How are the Scientology beliefs any less coherent than the beliefs of any other religion?
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Does Christianity, or any other Judeo-Christian Religion, or infact, any other religion on Earth involve holy aliens and cavemen?Do any other religions involve extorting the governtment?
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A cosmic Jewish zombie coming to earth and then leaving again? Check.
Evangelical preachers using their religious status as a tax-free cover for fleecing their crowd? Check.
Think about it a little. Common religious beliefs only seem ridiculous to you because they’re the ones that have been around long enough to permeate our tradition. In 2000 years people will be saying Hubbard walked on water.
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*rises from the shadow to offer his concurring opinion with Elias*
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Question for a Jewish MBer:
Do people still belong to the Twelve Tribes of Israel? Do you still remember who belongs to each? If so, and if someone converts to Judaism, are they accepted into a Tribe or something?
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8- Actually, some people do know, like the Kohanim, the Priests. They belong to the tribe of Levi, descendants of Aharon, the first High Priest. Other people may have a good idea, but few know for certain. Also, the majority of people nowadays are from Judah and Benjamin (and some from Levi), with a scattering of some others, because there was a split way back when, when Soloman’s son was king, into two kingdoms. There was the kingdom of Judah (consisting of Judah and Benjamin) and Israel, (which was everyone else). For a number of reasons (including power-hungry kings), the kingdom of Israel left God before Judah, and they were invaded, and exiled. Those ten tribes are lost now. The other kingdom was invaded much later, and, though they were exiled, we know where they are. The reason we aren’t so sure who’s who anymore is because the king/emperor who exiled them scattered them, as was his habit with conquered countries, because scattered people offer less of a problem, rebellion-wise. (I forget the king’s name, sorry.) There are theories about the Ten Lost Tribes, but I don’t really know them well, so I won’t say anything about them. No, I don’t believe people who convert are accepted into any tribe.
Was that clear? I think it was OK, but tell me if it wasn’t. Oh, and you can also ask about the history. I kinda abbreviated it, but I can try to answer any other particular questions you may have.
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OK, I understand. Thanks!
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I’m glad. I wrote it kind of late at night, and, while it made sense to me, that did not mean it would make sense to anyone else. And I really like history, of all kinds (particularly that time, with people invading countries because they wanted to and they could), so thank you for letting me show off my knowledge.
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8 – There are still a few people who can trace their ancestry back to Biblical times, but most can’t now. The Nazis made sure of that.
9 – The king’s name was Sennacherib. And you are correct about people who convert not joining a tribe. I know that I don’t have a tribe, as both of my parents converted.
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10- I didn’t think so. I know a few converts and I didn’t think they did. Sennacherib! I remember now! Thank you!
Both of your parents are converts? Very cool. My parents didn’t grow up religious, but I’m FFB, and there are no converts in my family, as far as I know. Pity. I love hearing people’s reasons for converting, etc.
Wow, I really don’t make sense, do I?
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You make sense to me. And hearing why people decided to become religious can be cool too, although the conversion stories that I’ve seen are wilder.
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Oh? Like what?
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1. The African prince who decided to forego his inheritance, not to mention his place as the next king, to become a Jew. He now lives in Tzfat. (Safed)
2. A woman became a Noahide, then converted and lived in the Orthodox Jewish community for several years. Then she discovered that her conversion wasn’t valid, and therefore her kids weren’t considered Jewish by Orthodox standards either. So then she had to convert again, but not all of her kids wanted to stay Jewish. Talk about a heartbreak…
3. My own parents’ story is pretty interesting too, although I don’t want to put it on the internet, just in case people from the church/cultlike thing they used to belong to have a google alert on anything to do with themselves. The last thing I want is for them to find us, especially since they nearly did a few years ago.
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Wow, it’s been forever. Yeah, I knew about the prince, but that second one is new to me. That’s so sad. And the thing about your parents is just plain scary. I am tired and inarticulate. Good night.
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Question for Atheist MBer:
I overheard part of a conversation today and someone asked, “Do atheists have churches?” I know you wouldn’t have churches for worship like, say, Christians do, but I was just wondering if there are atheist meetings or gatherings to talk about whatever, or is every atheist his/her own atheist.
It seemed like this thread needed a bit of revival, so I thought I’d post the question. Thanks!
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Um, this is more of a question for the Atheism thread. But I’ll try to answer it as best I can.
Atheists don’t have churches, or meeting places like this, because the point of atheism isn’t that you believe in god not existing, more that you just don’t believe in him. We just don’t really have a religion, and having meetings like that seems a lot like being religious about atheism. 
I know this is explanation is clumsy, and I’m sure someone will come along and answer it a bit more eloquently.
All in all, Atheists don’t view Atheism the same way Christians or Jews or whatever view Christianity or Judaism or whatever.
So, your answer is no. Just in case you don’t want to read that.
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I go to a secular Jewish (Jewish atheist) temple, where we study/discuss Hebrew, Jewish history, current issues affecting Jews, etc. We also sing, celebrate major Jewish holidays, and eat lots of bagels. However, I don’t think that many atheists have churches/temples/other buildings.
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Atheism is a religion like baldness is a hair colour. So no, no churches. However, there are organizations that promote secular values and offer a social network for like-minded people when it comes to atheism as well. The American Atheist Association, the Reason Project, Richard Dawkins Forum, etc all offer some sort of structure for atheists to interact socially and philanthropically.
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What would we talk about?
“Hurrr, there’s no god.”
“Yuhhh, totally. Let’s all sing to show our lack of proof!”
“OMG GAIZ RICHARD DAWKINZ!!111!1!!!!ELEVENTYONE!1!111!”
There’s not really any point. Gatherings of atheists is fine, but not if it’s simply because everyone doesn’t believe in supernatural beings.
(This isn’t meant to be mean, just sarcastic. I do respect your question. </anti-troll measures>)
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My “atheist communities” have discussions ranging from cracking jokes on the latest religious foolishness to political (believe it or not, some people have differing opinions) discussions, to ethical debates and how it relates to atheism, to just general philosophy. The thing about atheists is that they’re almost always people with a healthy respect for rationalism, empiricism and debate in general.
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There are organizations called Ethical Societies for people who want the social aspects of a church without the religion. Some friends of mine send their children to the one in Washington. They even have a Sunday school at which they give lessons about great people and good behavior. Ethical societies were more popular 100 years ago, though; they’re not very big nowadays.
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Reminds me of what the schools in Germany and Switzerland are doing now. Religion classes are no longer being taught as optional courses; instead every student takes an “ethics” class which teaches about the different religions’ stance on morality from a purely objective point of view, as well as Kantian philosophy.
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http :// ajp.psychiatryonline . org/cgi/content/abstract/160/11/1965?ijkey=59dcc1de49c86015bfd47ad0a9c31a74b7c94044&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
Interesting article on spirituality and religious experiences. They are caused by serotonins, the neurotransmitter crucial to mood and motivation. It’s the same thing that LSD triggers for its “mystical” effects. Basically religious experiences are biologically LSD highs.
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What do you term a “religious experience”? Going to synagogue/church every Saturday/Sunday?
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It’s not my article, they define what they mean by it. Please read before answering. -.-”
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The way I read it, they’re talking about “prophecy’ and that sort of thing, not just going to shul. Correct me if I’m wrong, but…
I’ll read it again in the morning. It was very interesting, but my brain wasn’t really up to the task.
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We’ve (AM&I) come up with a new philosophy. We call it neo-Buddhism, as it is based on some beliefs of Buddhism.
Neo-Buddhism is a religion based on the fact that all. suffering is caused by desire, and eliminating suffering is eliminating desire. However, desires for information, love, and eliminating desire, and survival are Ok. There are 6 basic feelings; 3 negative, sadness, fear, and anger: 3 positive, love, happines, and contentedness. Negative emotions should be avoided. Once a state of only non-material desire is achieved, you have reached nirvana..
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Yay, ad hocs. We need material desires to survive, you can’t get rid of ’em.
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It seems I *forgot* to add in a little bit:
Desires needed to survive are ok desires. Such as food, clothing, other people, ect.
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Well, I was more referring to the necessity of desire to stimulate ambitions, the cornerstone of economic stability and development, as well as a must for any sort of interacting community.
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Problem:
I have been attending a UU church for a year now in secret, as most of my family are devout Hindus and I seriously can’t believe in that sort of stuff.
I’m not in any danger of my parents finding out luckily, but I feel guilty not telling them. But last time I even mentioned the possibility of other religions them got quite angry. I know they wouldn’t let me go otherwise. I want to make them understand. How do I go about this?
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Wait until you’re 18. Or out of the house. No use in making life annoying because of religious bigotry. If things are fine now, don’t change it. And DEFINITELY don’t feel guilty about religion. The whole thing’s bull anyway
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Talk to a trusted adult, one who isn’t SO close to your parents that they’re also torn. Maybe a teacher? And this is important, and your family is not being discriminatory. No one is out to get you, that’s an important thing to remember, and God is there to rely on. I’m glad you feel guilty about keeping secrets, even if this is an important one. Someone who can lie without a pang, even when it’s important, will lie when it isn’t important and it’s unnecessary.
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Doesn’t UU try to not rely on God as a specific entity?
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Bah. I missed what church it was. Stupid me. (Blushes) I need to read things more carefully. Thanks for pointing that out.
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Oh, just heard a joke from Christopher Hitchens: “What do you get when you cross a unitarian universalist with a jehovah’s witness? Someone who comes and knocks on your door for no particular reason”.
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BWA HA HA HA! No really, that was great!
But yes, one of the reasons I joined this church was to not believe in God…
Thank you for your support- did you mean in comment 17.1, that I should wait until I’m 18 (6 more years!) to go to the UU or to tell my parents?
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If you don’t believe in god, why go through with the time-consuming rituals of a church anyway, not to mention the risk of being “discovered” by your parents? If you want spirituality, all you need is your mind. I never understood UU, it seemed to me to be atheism without the benefits of individualism.
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It’s about community, not spirituality. As I understand it, Unitarian Universalists are a specific kind of religious humanists. They want someone to celebrate with when good things happen, and to offer support when bad things do. They don’t meet to talk about boring stuff like worshiping God.
Although koko52 would be the one to ask.
(and, I lol’d at the joke.)
koko52- It’s probably simplest to hide it from your parents while you still depend on them, if you’re certain they won’t find out. 18 is nice and all, but if they’re paying for college, or if you’re not even in college yet, then don’t do anything rash. Best of luck to you!
I think your parents are being discriminatory, by the way, and I think that lying is sometimes the best option, not the first step on the road to hell.
If you really want to tell them, maybe start with a theoretical discussion. Like, “Today in history class we were talking about *insert religion here*…” And go slowly.
There’s a Unitarian Universalist church somewhere around here. I saw them holding signs about love in this parade-type-thing that’s locally identifiable that the band marched at too. I kind of want to go, out of curiosity, and… it would be kind of comforting to know that I’m not the only humanist around. That sounds stupid. But I fully appreciate the social aspect of religion, once God is gone. (except I can’t drive and I don’t want to impose on my parents when they hardly ever go to church/synagogue anymore and don’t force me to)
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Dodecahedron, your comment about theoretical discussions reminded me of one of my college roommates who always sounded out her parents’ views on delicate topics by saying “surveys indicate….”
I still can’t hear that phrase without thinking someone must be hiding personal information.
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I know, but I just feel like it’s a sort of cowardly atheism. It’s like you’re scared to stand on your own, to abandon the support of a community. Furthermore, a community built on a religion might not even be that great a community. I’d rather interact with people who shared my interests in music, or literature, or philosophy or whatnot, but if it’s about beliefs or simply desiring community for its own sake… That leaves me cold. Seems strangely artificial.
My advice to kokopelli52? Avoid all churches. All of ’em. Stand on your own two feet. You don’t need ’em.
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Isn’t it based on philosophy? And sometimes you can have friends there. It’s a little artificial, I guess, but I don’t know.
Also, I’m not going to advise kokopelli52 to leave somewhere s/he likes attending because s/he doesn’t need it.
Rebecca- Aren’t they, though? Who consults surveys unless it’s something they care about?
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You don’t have to need something to enjoy it. What are you calling cowardly atheism? It’s mainly about enjoying other peoples’ company and trying to understand other religions. And communication. And cake, of course- they serve great cake at UUC. It’s a religion therefore it cannot be called atheism, yet it doesn’t base its beliefs on a particular spiritual… thingy. There are discussions about whether such things might or might not exist. It’s also a good way to avoid going to a church with my parents and pledging my everlasting allegiance to something I don’t believe in.
17.3.1.1.1- er, I’m 12 and in 7th grade. But I will be working my way through college, so then I can be independent.
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I don’t care about semantics, but if you don’t believe in a god, you’re an atheist, call yourself what you want. The label’s been horribly demonized.
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“Spiritual support” and “horrible demonization” are two entirely different things- and there are a lot of religions who don’t worship a god, or multiple gods. In Taoism, for example, devotees worship their ancestors.
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I said that the term atheist as a label has been demonized. Furthermore, every religion has its own concept of god and the supernatural, all logically fallacious. You’re playing with semantics.
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Hee hee. I like it!
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In response to this discussion
I’m a UU. The way I understand it, UUism is about finding what you believe and the way you want to live your life.
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EES/FS:
Do you think that there was a man in Nazareth around the time of the start of the C.E. named Joseph who was a carpenter? Or is there no one who fitted in with “jesus”, and the later people (Paul? Luke? someone else?) came up with the whole thing?
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The most plausible historical theory is that Paul of Tarsus combined pre-Christian myths with Platonic philosophy to spread his own particular Jewish cult, of which the middle east was full of during that time period. There may have been thousands of carpenters named Joseph. There may have been hundreds of people claiming to be the messiah with their own little following.
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Hey, I agree with you! Well, it is history, rather than an opinion, but still…
Joseph was hardly an uncommon name, and carpentry hardly an uncommon profession. It was begun as a Jewish sect, but it became to radical for even the radical Jews, and either the cause or effect of this was Paul took it to the other nations.
Re: Messiahs: Take Shabsai Tzvi, for example…
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What about Mohammed? Buddha?
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I haven’t studied medieval Middle Eastern History enough to say safely, but as far as I know it’s a pretty safe case to say that Mohammed existed historically. As for Buddha, I haven’t the faintest idea. Did Siddhartha Gautama exist? I’ll look it up later.
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Something incredible has happened. My parents have left the church! *celebrates* I’m not exactly going to tell them about UU yet-maybe kind of suggest going to it, then suggest I attend one (so it will be plausible that the members already know me) and then bring them along, or at least have their permission to go. Actually my mom heard that my beloved cousin got kicked out of church for questioning the Pope’s words and argued with the committee about it, and questioned their morals- my dad followed suit and their beliefs sort of collapsed. You would think that it would take something monumental to collapse someone’s beliefs, but no, it happened in about a minute. Weird huh?
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That’s great! But I thought you said your parents were Hindus…?
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Yes, they were. Why?
oh, you mean the pope thing- their church worships gods in a hindu way but believes in catholic, well, beliefs. I’m not too clear on it myself. when I used to go I would fall asleep during sermons. But anyway, it was hinduism in my opinion.
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SFTDP, but I just found the proper phrase: catholic principles.
isn’t it weird how such a normal word can skip you mind?
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ah, I see! That’s unusual but I see how it would potentially work…Well in any case I’m glad your situation has improved a bit! Hopefully they will be more understanding now/ whenever you choose to tell them
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Thanks!
Actually it’s easier not to tell them now since they can’t tell me I’m breaching the faith (seeing as there is none).
Yes, it is unusual. Very unusual. As I recall there were only about 30 people who ever came to the church.
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Sorry if this is ruining the thread or something, but I just need to get peoples opinion on my own personal religion.
I call it Cretightism (Creatures of the Night-ism) and I worship…. well, creatures of the night. Do you people find that stupid?
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No, the way I see it, thinking someone’s belief is stupid can be rude. Believe what you want, don’t let people judge you for what your views of life may be.
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Thanks a bunch!
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Hmm, what kind of night creatures? I think of wombats when I hear that…
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Let me guess..vampires, werewolves, you know…
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Sounds interesting. Could you tell us a bit more about it?
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What do you define as creatures of the night? Vampires? Owls? Rats? Werewolves? Shadows? Sounds interesting, anyways.
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In response to your original question, yes. But don’t worry, I feel the same about every religion.
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20.2-It’s actually exactly what the name implies to the specific person.
20.3- Pretty much all of those.
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Now the question arises: Why do you worship “creatures of the night”?
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Because… they’re awesomely nocturnal?
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No, I don’t think that’s stupid. As long as you’re being true to yourself, then there’s nothing wrong with worshiping whatever you want to. Everyone’s got different beliefs anyway…
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I really have no idea, it started when I read my first Anne Rice book. Queen of the Damned. It was very good. That also means that my avatar fits my personality perfectly.
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Query: How does a yamulkah stay on? Are they clipped to the hair? Only it seems like they should fall off at that angle, but then how would a bald person wear one? Tape? I hope the question isn’t insensitive.
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Suction cups for bald people.
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It stays on because, unless someone grabs it (which has happened to me), there is no significant force. This question isn’t insensitive, because, if so, half the people at my school, including some seniors I don’t even know, must be insensitive. Yes, some people wear hair clips, but not me personally. For bald people, there’s always staple guns.
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Ah. Staple guns… ouch. Snort. Thanks!
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My dad has a bald patch that is completely covered when he wears a yarmulke. I find this incredibly amusing.
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Not stupid, Keiffer. In fact, many people think all religions are a bit ridiculous, so why should yours be any different…wait. No. Not what I meant. I mean…no religion is more ridiculous than others! Yes! I’m sorry. Please don’t take offense! Now I sound like I’m groveling. *dies* it’s heading into the PoPo territory…coming in for the final stretch…there!
*cough* Anyway, I think it’s fascinating to observe other people’s religions. For instance, I went to a bat mitzvah last weekend. I don’t understand a word of Hebrew but all the chanting is still so beautiful. The artwork is, too. There’s this mosque near where I live that has the most phenomenal mosaic tiling on the front … *sighs*
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Another question for Jewish MBer:
So in the Old Testament (I don’t remember the name for it, sorry) there are the prophets, who are messengers of God to the people and I’m assuming role models of faith, right? Are there people that Jews would recognize as prophets that existed after 1 A.D.? Are there people who would be comparable to saints in the way that they are role models of faith? I hope the question was clear. Also, is John the Baptist considered a prophet in Judaism?
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Anyone?
SFTDP
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Sorry. That’s one of the parts of Judaism that I don’t know much about.
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Just wondering: what are the GAPAs’ religious views?
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Jehovah’s Witnesses are… a peculiar bunch. No offense to any JW MBers (are there any?) I have to do a report on them for school.
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Well, this thread is dead.
In other news, I’ve decided that right now, I’m pretty much a humanist. I’ve noticed that if you take anything about God or whatnot, if you replace it with “humanity”, or “life” or whatever is applicable (for example that is pretty much my views. No supernatural, just people.
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So that’s more or less atheism, right? Could you explain a little more?
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Well, it’s like atheism with a strong (nearly religious) belief in humanity. I mean- look what we’ve done: We’ve created communication systems that allow people in Singapore to “talk” to people in Massachusetts, we’ve left our planet and flown into space, we’ve WALKED ON ANOTHER PLANET, we have ways of breathing underwater, we’ve travelled faster than sound… How can you look at humanity and say we’re not (nearly) omnipotent? We just need time and motives.
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Humans are bound by the laws of the physics just like everything else. Doesn’t seem very omnipotent to me.
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Omnipotent within the bounds of reality. We’re not Eldritch Abominations here.
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If we’re limited by the laws of physics, then we’re not exactly all-powerful, are we?
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Yet.
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Totally agree. This has been augmented by Doctor Who.
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I’d like to add that humanism is a philosophy (life stance?) slightly different from Secular Humanism. Secular Humanism, sometimes shortened to Humanism, is existentialist, and has a few core tenets which I have copied to here from the Humanist Manifesto.
“Free inquiry as opposed to censorship and imposition of belief; separation of church and state; the ideal of freedom from religious control and from jingoistic government control; ethics based on critical intelligence rather than that deduced from religious belief; moral education; religious skepticism; reason; a belief in science and technology as the best way of understanding the world; evolution; and education as the essential method of building humane, free, and democratic societies.”
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I just want to say that the World Religions book and discussions from around 2006 completely changed my life. Thanks!
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Wow, really? In what way?
(Great to “see” you, Hippo!)
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Well, I was in 6th grade at the time, and I hadn’t really ever given much thought to religion, so it opened my mind to that idea in the first place. I learned a lot about how different families all over the country and the world deal with the tasks and questions that face all of us.
But I was also quite taken with the philosophies of Buddhism and Taoism, so taken, in fact, that I still meditate every day and try to direct my thoughts and actions to the “Right” way whenever I can. Heck, I have a pocket Tao te Ching in my backpack that goes with me everywhere.
I suppose I probably would have found Buddhism anyhow, but it sure was nice to have it in middle school.
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