Why there almost certainly is No God!!

[x11]

Yes, the quintessential arrogant atheist asshole hellbent on proving a negative

You seem angry cos a guy does not share your rather dubious beliefs.

Hitchens was honest, moral, fearless, high IQ, well studied and a very articulate speaker.

You got degenerate parasite con artists like ken hams, Kent hovind, and millionaire televangelist .....etc scammers to represent religion.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Iceland seems to be on its way to becoming an even more secular nation, according to a new poll. Less than half of Icelanders claim they are religious and more than 40% of young Icelanders identify as atheist. Remarkably the poll failed to find young Icelanders who accept the creation story of the Bible. 93.9% of Icelanders younger than 25 believed the world was created in the big bang, 6.1% either had no opinion or thought it had come into existence through some other means and 0.0% believed it had been created by God.

http://sidmennt.is/wp-content/uploads/L%C3%ADfssko%C3%B0anir-%C3%8Dslendinga-Si%C3%B0mennt.pdf, which was conducted by the polling firm Maskína on behalf of Siðmennt, The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association, an association of Icelandic atheists, found that 46.4% of Icelanders identify as religious, which is the lowest figure to date.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Why does the Bible so fail to meet this mark? One obvious answer, of course, is that neither the Bible nor any derivative work like the Quran or Book of Mormon was actually dictated by the Christian god or other celestial messengers. We humans may yearn for advice that is “god-breathed,” but in reality, our sacred texts were written by fallible human beings, who try as they might, fell short of perfection in the ways we all do.

But why is the Bible so badly written? Falling short of perfection is one thing, but the Bible has been the subject of literally thousands of follow-on books by people who were genuinely trying to figure out what it means. Despite best efforts, their conclusions don’t converge, which is one reason Christianity has fragmented into over 40,000 denominations and non-denominations.

Here are just a few of the reasons for this tangled web of disagreements and the generally terrible quality of much biblical writing (with some notable exceptions) by literary standards.

...

The Pig Collection

My friend Sandra had a collection of decorative pigs that started out small. As family and friends learned about it, the collection grew to the point that it began taking over the house. Birthdays, Christmas, vacations, thrift stores...when people saw a pig, they thought of Sandra. Some of the pigs were delightful; others, not so much. Finally, the move to a new house opened an opportunity to do some culling.

The texts of the Bible are a bit of a pig collection. Like Sandra’s pigs, they reflect a wide variety of styles, raw material and artistic vision. From creation stories to Easter stories to the book of Revelation, old collectibles got handed down and inspired new, and folks who gathered this type of material bundled them together into a single collection.

A good culling might do a lot to improve things. Imagine a version of the Bible containing only that which has enduring beauty or usefulness. Unfortunately, the collection in the Bible has been bound together for so long that Christian authorities (with a few exceptions) don’t trust themselves to unbind it. Maybe the thought of deciding what goes and stays feels overwhelming or even dangerous. Or maybe, deep down, Bible-believing evangelicals and other fundamentalists suspect that if they started culling, there wouldn’t be a whole lot left. So, they keep it all, in the process binding themselves to the worldview and very human imperfections of our Iron Age ancestors.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

—Karl Marx (1843)

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

So, on the issue of mainstream monotheistic religions and the irrationality behind many of religion's core tenets, scientists often set aside their skewers, their snark, and their impatient demand for proof, and instead don the calming cardigan of a a kiddie-show host on public television.

They reassure the public that religion and science are not at odds with one another, but rather that they represent separate "magisteria," in the words of the formerly alive and even more formerly scrappy Stephen Jay Gould.

Nobody is going to ask people to give up their faith, their belief in an everlasting soul accompanied by an immortal memory of every soccer game their kids won, every moment they spent playing fetch with the dog. Nobody is going to mock you for your religious beliefs.

Well, we might if you base your life decisions on the advice of a Ouija board; but if you want to believe that someday you'll be seated at a celestial banquet with your long-dead father to your right and Jane Austen to your left-and that she'll want to talk to you for another hundred million years or more—that's your private reliquary, and we're not here to jimmy the lock.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[hurricane]

I'm going to have to pick up his new book. Seems interesting even though you know where I stand. LOL.
Funny that Ayn Rand is mentioned. My favorite band is Rush and their album 2112 is based off of the Fountainhead. Needless to say I'm not a fan. But I will check this new book out. Hope all is well.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Zuckerman M, Li C, Diener E. Religion as an Exchange System: The Interchangeability of God and Government in a Provider Role. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2018. SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research

An exchange model of religion implies that if a secular entity such as government provides what people need, they will be less likely to seek help from supernatural entities.

Controlling for quality of life and income inequality (Gini), we found that better government services were related to lower religiosity among countries (Study 1) and states in the United States (Study 2).

Study 2 also showed that during 2008-2013, better government services in a specific year predicted lower religiosity 1 to 2 years later.

In both studies, a combination of better government services and quality of life was related to a particularly low level of religiosity.

Among countries, government services moderated the relation between religiosity and two measures of well-being, such that religiosity was related to greater well-being only when government services were low.

We discuss the relation between the exchange model and other theoretical approaches to religion.

 

[hurricane]

Zuckerman M, Li C, Diener E. Religion as an Exchange System: The Interchangeability of God and Government in a Provider Role. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2018. SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research

An exchange model of religion implies that if a secular entity such as government provides what people need, they will be less likely to seek help from supernatural entities.

Controlling for quality of life and income inequality (Gini), we found that better government services were related to lower religiosity among countries (Study 1) and states in the United States (Study 2).

Study 2 also showed that during 2008-2013, better government services in a specific year predicted lower religiosity 1 to 2 years later.

In both studies, a combination of better government services and quality of life was related to a particularly low level of religiosity.

Among countries, government services moderated the relation between religiosity and two measures of well-being, such that religiosity was related to greater well-being only when government services were low.

We discuss the relation between the exchange model and other theoretical approaches to religion.

Geez Doc that is eye opening and very depressing to myself.
So when the poor have the govt supporting them they turn their backs on God.
But when times are tough they all of a sudden "see the light" and return for His help.
Don't think it works that way. But I'm a mere mortal and how could I fathom what God really wants?
As always Doc you give me great articles to debate with friends.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Evolution wording removed from draft of Arizona school science standards
https://www.azcentral.com/story/new...n-diane-douglas-intelligent-design/628941002/

The Arizona Department of Education hopes to make changes to science standards, which will affect K-12 districts and charter schools. The changes include removing the word "evolution" in some areas and describing it as a "theory" in others.

…

In the draft, the word "evolution" is crossed out multiple times and replaced with different phrases which were in bold, underlined or written in the color green.

In one area of the draft focusing on life science essential standards for high school students, "evolution" is replaced with the words "biological diversity." This section reads: "Obtain, evaluate, and communicate evidence that describes how inherited traits in a population can lead to [evolution] biological diversity."

…

Roberg believes Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas pushed her religious beliefs during the process. Douglas spoke on her religious beliefs during a political event last year.

"Especially now, knowing that Superintendent Douglas believes that intelligent design should be taught next to evolution, it is particularly alarming," Roberg said. "Intelligent design is a religious ideology and has no place in science class."

Douglas released a statement after being accused of pushing her personal beliefs during the draft process.

"I would like to clear up the misinformation that was reported regarding our upcoming Arizona Science Standards. Evolution is still a standard that will be taught under the Arizona Science Standards," Douglas said in an email sent to The Republic. "In addition, you will not find creationism or Intelligent Design included anywhere in the Arizona Science Standards.

The recording of me talking about Intelligent Design was taken at a political function where I expressed my personal belief that Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of evolution. Although that is my personal belief, my belief is not included in the Arizona Science Standards."

 

[staynattybruh]

Awesome books. I'm currently reading The Moral Landscape, Harris rapid fires ansswers to my questions that I've often asked myself. Especially on the parameters of a debate. Next will be the infamous The God Delusion and after that The Triumph of Christianity by Bart D. Ehrman. Heard him on one of Harris's podcasts and it blew my mind on how this relgion is straight up based on gossip and rumor.

Appreciate you keeping the thread alive doc!

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[staynattybruh]

Seeing Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris Monday! To excited.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

You seem angry cos a guy does not share your rather dubious beliefs.

Hitchens was honest, moral, fearless, high IQ, well studied and a very articulate speaker.

You got degenerate parasite con artists like ken hams, Kent hovind, and millionaire televangelist .....etc scammers to represent religion.

Yes, Hitchens was all of that AND an arrogant atheist asshole hellbent on proving a negative.

I'm very high IQ too, and well educated - to the point that I know what I don't know, and I certainly know that only an idiot would try to prove a negative. Which is why Hitchens, for all his qualities, failed.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

Iceland seems to be on its way to becoming an even more secular nation, according to a new poll. Less than half of Icelanders claim they are religious and more than 40% of young Icelanders identify as atheist. Remarkably the poll failed to find young Icelanders who accept the creation story of the Bible. 93.9% of Icelanders younger than 25 believed the world was created in the big bang, 6.1% either had no opinion or thought it had come into existence through some other means and 0.0% believed it had been created by God.

http://sidmennt.is/wp-content/uploads/L%C3%ADfssko%C3%B0anir-%C3%8Dslendinga-Si%C3%B0mennt.pdf, which was conducted by the polling firm Maskína on behalf of Siðmennt, The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association, an association of Icelandic atheists, found that 46.4% of Icelanders identify as religious, which is the lowest figure to date.

We used to be Norse, until the Catholics came to town.

Statistically speaking, the majority is always wrong.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

—Karl Marx (1843)

Great guy to have on your side in a quote that... /sarcasm

How's this abbreviated reinterpetation:

"Liberalism is the opium of the people."

Marx is usually full of shit no matter how your flip him, but I guess some nuggets can be squeezed out of the turd.