Free Allegiance Forums

Gandalf2 wrote:QUOTE (Gandalf2 @ Jun 22 2012, 02:10 PM) Because I'm happy to discuss but don't really want to spent my spare time being insulted?

Lets be honest. Participating in this sort of thread is only one step removed from throwing feces at one another.

Gandalf2 wrote:QUOTE (Gandalf2 @ Jun 22 2012, 05:23 PM) Guess I didn't make myself clear in my last post. This is a fruitless conversation to have in a public forum.

I am more than happy to speak to anyone who has an open mind via PM.

Is there any space in your pm inbox? Typing on the phone is so laborious that I want to make sure that it stands a chance of getting through.

Duckwarrior wrote:QUOTE (Duckwarrior @ Jun 22 2012, 03:08 AM) The topic is Creationism & Science.

Not Religion Vs Science.

Exactly this. I forget it sometimes. Meant to write a long reply about something Adept said earlier but I feel like I was getting sidetracked.

I guess a question I have for everyone is: Why do some humans have the need for faith in their lives, and why isn't science cutting it for them? Please keep your responses 10 pages or less, single-spaced .

Gandalf2 wrote:QUOTE (Gandalf2 @ Jun 22 2012, 07:23 PM) I am more than happy to speak to anyone who has an open mind via PM.

PM answer is fine. I'd really like to know as it seems like such a crucial problem in christianity to me.

fuzzylunkin1 wrote:QUOTE (fuzzylunkin1 @ Jun 22 2012, 05:01 PM) Why do some humans have the need for faith in their lives, and why isn't science cutting it for them?

Thinking about my own question for a bit while listening to some post rock, I wonder how much of this has to do with the length of our lives. I just had a short conversation with someone who told me they are afraid of not knowing many things. I didn't get a clear answer (if there is one), but they explained what they are afraid of not knowing and told me the following (rough quote):

"It makes me feel distressed. The clock is ticking. The clock is ticking and I do not read enough. I can't learn enough. I do not understand enough."

I wonder, just how many people feel this way?

the short version is that religion addresses two fundamental human existential crises: fear of the unknown and self-doubt, and it does so in a format that caters to the inherent human need for social structure and makes those two subjects easier to discuss in simple terms

It also eases the fear of death. Religion offers a mental bolthole from all sorts of troubling questions. I just wish we weren't that easy to manipulate.

Adept wrote:QUOTE (Adept @ Jun 23 2012, 12:22 AM) It also eases the fear of death. Religion offers a mental bolthole from all sorts of troubling questions. I just wish we weren't that easy to manipulate.

Ignorance is bliss.

Besides, if everyone was less easy to manipulate, society would be more fragmented and central governments weaker. Surely you wouldn't want that?

Camaro wrote:QUOTE (Camaro @ Jun 23 2012, 10:18 PM) Ignorance is bliss.

Besides, if everyone was less easy to manipulate, society would be more fragmented and central governments weaker. Surely you wouldn't want that?

If we were smarter we wouldn't need as much governing, and I'd probably be in favour of some more socially concious form of libertarianism.

I want us to be free to live and enjoy life, and take care of this wonderful rare jewel of a planet. I value aggressive free press and accountable democratic governance. Smarter people are needed for all that.