Quote:I kinda feel the same way. For example my belief in some form of afterlife is based mainly on a personal reasoning rather then any external logic. Here's how my internal argument goesEvery time I sleep whether I remember or not I have a dream. On the nights when I have no dream I wake up and i...

Quote:I've been sidetracked lately, so I haven't yet finished the book. Over the next week or so I should have time to finish. In the meantime, if you don't mind, let me stick to the section threads so I don't accidentally read any spoilers.Oops, I had just assumed you had finished it by the referen...

Quote:Other cultures have certainly worshiped gods they didn't precisely trust. Religion as a general phenomenon permits of a number of different relationships between the individual and the presumed deity.Well I can't think of any deity that is worshiped without some sort of trust, as I defined tru...

Quote:It seems entirely more likely to me that the bulk of orthodox religious believers simply don't think too much about the aspects of their religion which they sense they're likely to disagree with.This is incredibly scary to me. Quote:If a person is religious, then they probably can't draw such ...

Quote:One symbol of it is our reluctance to live both in prosperity and in proximity -- eg. if you have enough money, you're apt to put a lawn or a fence between you and your neighbor. Another example of vestigal yeomanism -- our social dependence on cars...And yet in cities, out of sheer impractica...

Quote:And for contrast's sake, you may want to keep tabs on the Asana thread.Asana and you have one other significant difference than how you arrived at your religious beliefs. When you string words together into a sentence, they make sense. When he strings words together, they make word salad (I th...

Well, my Thanksgiving was really nice. Father Steven was friendly and answered any question posed to him. He, however, rarely volunteered any information. After about a half hour of me drilling him with questions, I decided I should let the poor guy come up for air. I have to say, I was more curious...

Quote:That's probably so, but I think there's a very simple explanation for that. They couldn't fight large wars at all, because a nomadic lifestyle makes it difficult to build cohesion in large populations.I agree. And, just as it is difficult to "build cohesion in large populations" amon...

Quote:Is he looking for questions that challenge his faith? The last thing I'd want to do is ask questions or initiate a debate on a day that should probably focus on the things in life for which we are thankful.Oh no, that's not my intention at all. My mom and I do not talk about religion or Americ...

Quote:It would make for interesting social arrangements, but I don't think it would eradicate cultural differences. Well this is a purely speculative discussion. However, although I agree that it wouldn't eradicate cultural differences, I wonder if they would remain as fixed. Quote:A good historical...