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So are many other things, not needed, neither are fleas, ticks or bedbugs or mites they are as needed as our appendix. There are many other food sources that contribute to nature other than just being food and annoying.
And no need for an attitude, I happen to know about biology and enviro science, way to assume though.
For all we know, we could have been another food source.
Sorry, no attitude intended. I forget sarcasm doesn't work o through type.
You think that if gnats died off there would be no effect. Well, science fears that certain bees are dying off and have fear the impact that could have on us and other animals and plants.
We are a food source for something. Other animals, we are just better at avoiding them and have better tools. If Lions and bears could shoot guns and think the way we do, we would be doomed.
Sorry, no attitude intended. I forget sarcasm doesn't work o through type.
You think that if gnats died off there would be no effect. Well, science fears that certain bees are dying off and have fear the impact that could have on us and other animals and plants.
We are a food source for something. Other animals, we are just better at avoiding them and have better tools. If Lions and bears could shoot guns and think the way we do, we would be doomed.
For sarcasm, do the roll eyes emotion thing.
No bees have a purpose, pollination, honey (which I love), gnats, nothing ( other than flying in our mouths when we are talking, holy crap, they are a food source for us! LOL).
Sometimes, I wonder if the tables were turned on us ( as far as animals hunting us), if we would think we were so special and high and mighty.
Seems, they can get along fine without us, but we need them for things.
All of human behavior is an attempt to deal with the world as one sees/understands it. This applies just as much to clinically abnormal behaviors (delusions, hallucinations, compulsions, obsessions, etc.) as it does to more "normal" behaviors.
The issues, then, are (a) whether or not the behavior is effective, and (b) who gets to determine what "effective" means or looks like.
Both can only be answered by the individual.
There is a documentary I suggest. Flight from death: The Quest for Immortality. It is a great documentary.
All of human behavior is an attempt to deal with the world as one sees/understands it. This applies just as much to clinically abnormal behaviors (delusions, hallucinations, compulsions, obsessions, etc.) as it does to more "normal" behaviors.
The issues, then, are (a) whether or not the behavior is effective, and (b) who gets to determine what "effective" means or looks like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fractured_kidult
Both can only be answered by the individual.
That was sort of my point. Guess I should have been more clear.
All of human behavior is an attempt to deal with the world as one sees/understands it. This applies just as much to clinically abnormal behaviors (delusions, hallucinations, compulsions, obsessions, etc.) as it does to more "normal" behaviors.
The issues, then, are (a) whether or not the behavior is effective, and (b) who gets to determine what "effective" means or looks like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fractured_kidult
Both can only be answered by the individual.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nighteyes
That was sort of my point. Guess I should have been more clear.
There seems to be an innate tendency to want to produce one-size-fits-all explanations . . . it simplifies reality for us, Nighteyes. You were very clear . . . but fractured seems to want to pursue his coping meme to undercut or discredit the religious impulse. We ALL sense our reality with more than our five senses . . . but to different degrees of sensitivity. The left brain dominance imposed by societal learning obscures the other information available. The holistic nature of the right brain information makes it difficult to deal with rationally . . . but it is for most of us hard to deny. It is the attempt to reconcile that "other" sensing and experiencing of our reality that seems to produce the diversity of religions, spirituality, mysticism, and other pseudo "explanatory" efforts.
The "spiritual fossil record" reveals a template built into our DNA for seeking and understanding God. Neuroscience has discovered the brain circuits designed to experience contact with God. Right brain adepts have developed the skills to turn on those circuits and turn down the sensory system noise to personally experience that contact. I am convinced that it is not so much a coping mechanism as the purpose of our spiritual evolution. Man made religions have largely retarded (even stagnated) that development and been a hindrance more than an aid in that evolution.
I've been thinking on this. It seems pretty clear to me that it's story-telling lies about God, or God's that has caused religions to die off completely. I believe the Greek God's of old, and the Norse God's of old started out very much like Hinduism with multible deities that personifies different aspects of the one God. Hinduism was able to avert any lies or soap opera fairytales being told about their deitis that doomed the Norse and Greek religions, wich we call mythology. Their once true religions became nothing but myths when people started telling soap-opera tales of the God's, distorting the true meaning of them forever.
A lot of people are teaching that Christianity is nothing but a myth, and Islam actually tells a false story of Jesus and God, so it is clearly happening to Christianity. People would just rather God be what they wish him to be instead of what he truly is.
Hinduism and Buddhism is so cool because it rationalized out the theory of reincarnation, and they understood the Holy Spirit, but they called it the Chakras. They understood and taught that the spirit would die, and be reborn. That is where the notion of reincarnation comes from. Jesus actually embodoies the whole phenomenon of dying and being reborn. A Hindu cannot reject the idea that Jesus is the deity that represents the whole idea of spiritual rebirth, or they will not be able to themselves. It's all very fascinating to me because you have a very ancient set of phylosophies that are derrived from 1000's of years of gathered wisdom, and then you have Jesus, who came from Judaism, which never taught anything about the Holy Spirit, Chakras, death-to-life inbetweens, or any shared terminology with the far East. Judaism is more of a document of what some of God's people did, and doesn't go into how they themselves were enlightened to God. God needed to send Jesus as a shephard to gather up those that had no means of education about the spirit, like Hindu and Buddhism had. Hindus started out asking God to embody their deities, and God ended up asking people to embody his deity of Christ to provide them the path towards enlightenment. It's really fascinating.
A lot of people are teaching that Christianity is nothing but a myth, and Islam actually tells a false story of Jesus and God, so it is clearly happening to Christianity. People would just rather God be what they wish him to be instead of what he truly is.
To comment on this bit. Both are myths as if one examines the historic origins we find plenty of evidence to question the "truth" of the gods.
Your last sentence suggest you know what god truly is but what are you going to offer as substantial proof?
If you use the bible, it is this document which has far more questionable content than a fiction novel. Much of the trying to prove it is real through modern science only has proven some cities and regions bear the same names today as in biblical times. I do not want to get into detail here.
If your offer of proof is the bible, then your bible god is the same as the other gods you alluded to that faded away because of the soap opera effect.
What about the soap opera effect we see of folk like TBN, all their preachers featured, nice homes, made up miracles? They use the same book and their proofs are equally not convincing.
I was just thinking about this tonight. Religion is a semi-natural coping mechanism for the stresses and worries of life. I'm not saying that religion or spiritualism is false or imaginary.
Think about it for a moment. Life can be terrifying, we are tiny compared to the world and universe we live in. Mental traits can be passed on generation to generation and even learned from observation.
Could belief in all things religious be the earliest form of a natural coping mechanism?
Yes, absolutely. And despite what the atheists and anti-religion crowd on here say, secular psychologists are finding that people who practice religion/spirituality on a regular basis have better physical and mental health than those who don't, although the specific reasons are not well understood.
BTW, I don't go to church myself, but I do see that religion has value.
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