Are You Religious



High Entropy said:
We have been changing, we will continue to change, that is a certainty, we're constantly changing, it's evolution and we won't sit still and continue to fix and mend.

We will change, we are changing and I'd like us to move down this path, not that path, we can shape our future so I think your statements are just factually incorrect, they're more like wishes or personal desires than reality.
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Are you sure you understand evolution? Yes, we'll continue to evolve but that won't have anything to do with religion or logic.

Good luck in your Utopian ideals. Yesterday you were talking about how we're only successful because we're adaptable and now you're predicting an evolution of thought which will make us logical creatures rather than being driven by emotions like we are now. That's not biological evolution. I think you have your facts tangled up.
Mackem00 said:
To say humans are just animals and have animalistic urges is just an excuse for absolute arseholes to act like arseholes.
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What a funny man. How do think David Attenborough would describe us? How would he present us on a nature documentary? An animal that does animal things when it's territory is threatened, when resources are threatened, when we're attracted to a mate?

Just an excuse. :lol:
 
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Kent_Mackem said:
There are very few mammals that are self-aware. It is an exclusive club of which we are members.

Hmmmm.... more straws than the Wizard of Oz scarecrow there mind :)
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I will admit to some amount of artistic license :D
daveydavey said:
What does it mean to be religious? To believe in God..is that it? What does even that mean because if someone were to say they believe in God, but then didn't live accordingly do they really believe at all...

To believe in God and live accordingly is a pretty high standard for anyone to say they manage. Hence, we are all sinners.

I'm not sure if I believe in God, but i think the construct of the bible stories and their meaning, the way in which to aspire to live, are mostly admirable and helpful ways to view the world. They serve that benefit to me , and I don't really stress at all about whether an actual conceptual God exists; what use...
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Absolutely - the point is to live and learn and do our best.

Absolutely - the root of the teachings of the Bible is to do to others as you would wish they would do to you, and that's not a bad thing. I'm not a Christian either.
Mackem00 said:
To say humans are just animals and have animalistic urges is just an excuse for absolute arseholes to act like arseholes.
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We are, and we do, but the arseholes will be arseholes because they can't control themselves and use their animal nature as an excuse.
 
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JonnotheMackem said:
We are, and we do, but the arseholes will be arseholes because they can't control themselves and use their animal nature as an excuse.
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I'd say that it's the other way around.

A male beaver will take a female's kit hostage as ransom in return for food. That's just animal behaviour but if a male human did that he'd be considered as being evil. He's not. He's simply using a base animal behaviour to get food. Of course in a complex society this needs to be corrected but we attribute notions like good and evil to actions that are neither.

It is just as much a part of humanity to put millions of people into ovens as it is to help and protect them. The bad guys didn't use animal nature as any excuse, they saw themselves as being intelligent and logical in their actions. More highly evolved than the millions they justified killing.
 
No I am not religious but when my first born was undergoing life saving surgery 30 years ago at around one year old I still prayed to god as if by default.
 
Gillythedilf said:
I agree 100%. However as I said to my son earlier you one day will pray when you’re desperate.
Someone said that to me over 20 year ago and I said “ I’ll not” but he was right. When the boy had meningitis last year and I was beside his bead willing him to wake up and be better I put my hands together and prayed to the heavens. That’s what desperation is like I suppose.
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I wont ever pray as it's pointless. Ok if you believe, I suppose.
 
JonMc said:
I'd say that it's the other way around.

A male beaver will take a female's kit hostage as ransom in return for food. That's just animal behaviour but if a male human did that he'd be considered as being evil. He's not. He's simply using a base animal behaviour to get food. Of course in a complex society this needs to be corrected but we attribute notions like good and evil to actions that are neither.

It is just as much a part of humanity to put millions of people into ovens as it is to help and protect them. The bad guys didn't use animal nature as any excuse, they saw themselves as being intelligent and logical in their actions. More highly evolved than the millions they justified killing.
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I understand your argument, but it's very "moral relativist", and that's the part I object to. We are smart enough to know better, and that's why we have laws that prohibit certain behaviours.

That's absolutely true - humans are capable of the worst evil, and it's part of our nature as much as anything else. As much as the Nazis saw themselves as intelligent and logical, nobody in their right mind would agree in hindsight.
 
AndrewP said:
It's a strange one. I don't see the point in praying to someone who doesn't exist.
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Neither did SHEEPS but it gave him comfort. People can find comfort in the illogical and people are always going to be people. I don't think we'll ever change that kind of behaviour completely no matter how logical we aspire to be..
 
JonMc said:
Are you sure you understand evolution? Yes, we'll continue to evolve but that won't have anything to do with religion or logic.

Good luck in your Utopian ideals. Yesterday you were talking about how we're only successful because we're adaptable and now you're predicting an evolution of thought which will make us logical creatures rather than being driven by emotions like we are now. That's not biological evolution. I think you have your facts tangled up.
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I don't think you understand evolution, environmental pressures drive evolution and I'm not really talking about physical evolution, we do things today to circumvent some parts of evolution. How we think going forward will decide where we (as a species) are in 300 - 3000 years and we know emotions are nonsense for the most part, don't act on just your emotions, that would be stupid, we all know better than this don't we ?

Yes, I spoke about being successful because we are adaptable but you seem to think we're just gonna sit still now and continue as we are, fixing and mending (whatever that means) I think it's you who doesn't understand evolution.
 
High Entropy said:
Yes, I spoke about being successful because we are adaptable but you seem to think we're just gonna sit still now and continue as we are, fixing and mending (whatever that means) I think it's you who doesn't understand evolution.
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As a species we try to fix and mend as the situation arises. If not we get violent and confrontational and then we try to fix and mend. We try to plan but mostly we are a very reactionary species. That's what we do and human evolution isn't going change that.
 
JonMc said:
Neither did SHEEPS but it gave him comfort. People can find comfort in the illogical and people are always going to be people. I don't think we'll ever change that kind of behaviour completely no matter how logical we aspire to be..
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Yeah, I just find it to be a bit odd. I've been in that situation myself and didn't pray as I don't believe in God.
 

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