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inja
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Joined: Sep 28, 2001
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Location: USA
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 Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:27 am Post subject: The God Delusion |
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Has anyone read the book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins or watched the 5 part documentation.
He makes some very compelling points about our society and the influence of religion. I find myself agreeing with a whole slew of points he makes. I find myself also disagreeing on several points since I am not an atheist.
His argument isn't about whether God exists or not but on the probability or non probability of a designer(or God) of the universe existing. To me that pretty much sounds the same as saying God does or does not exist he is just leaving a .0000000000000000000001 % chance of him as well as some other atheist being wrong.
He hits on a lot of truths such as religion should have no influence on what type of President a country has. Religious institutions should not determine what is taught in biology. An atheist should not loose his job simply because he doesn't share the "faith" with others. Theologians are not experts or are not the only ones who can try and answer the deeper questions asked when it comes to the origins of the universe, the meaning of life, why are we here etc.
So far I have only watched the first part of this 5 part documentation and am reading his book which I find thought provoking.
I myself think he goes too far in believing religion should be wiped out entirely (even though at times I feel that way as well). To me such a statement is the same as those who feel the need and drive to assimilate those cultures into the Christian net or Muslim faith or the Jewish belief.
Religion, your faith, your believe, your non belief is a personal issue and should stop at your doorstep. When the door closes behind you and you enter the world there should be no pushing of ones faith on to another.
And here I have to agree with him as well a large part of the world is turning to a fundamentalist view of religion which only provokes violences and what we have termed as "ethnic cleansing" in reality is "religious cleansing" in many geographic regions.
So I am just wondering if any of our BV Christians (or of other faiths) have read his book or watched the documentary he made or are open minded enough to listen to part 1 and give their input.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9002284641446868316&ei=MwamSP-KL4i24AKMnNUl&q=root+of+all+evil&hl=en |
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First, it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
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Bear23
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Joined: Aug 16, 2008
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| Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with..... well........ everything you just said. However the problem is people dont do what they should. They dont leave their beliefs at home, people who have different beliefs get fired, and religion sometimes does determine public officials.
I also think people take religion too far. Most every Religion is basically just a guide to live a happy life. Dont kill, dont steal, dont hurt, ect. and i dont think religion should be wiped out. i just think some people should just tone it down and stop hurting people in the name of a god. |
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fortwynt
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Joined: Mar 05, 2008
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| Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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Agreed.
I think PERSONAL religion is ONE thing, but organized religion is possibly the most destructive psychological force that there is....of course it is only human nature to organize like minds together I suppose, but I think if one scrutinizes the words of jesus carefully they would realize that he, if the bible is to be believed at face value, was one of the most staunchest opponents of organized ritualistic empty religion.
It was always my impression that the message of Christ was more about taking the power of communion with God out of the hands of religious "officials" and putting it back into the hands of the individual.
So much has been lost on politics and "tradition", though, that this message is all but lost. |
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humphreys
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| Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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I read the book, amd enjoyed it.
Dawkins does get a little carried away with his strong atheism, he is best when he discusses evolution. |
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NCC1701
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| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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I don't need to read that book!
God and religion are 2 different things..its between you and God!
GOD DOES EXIST!
I go to the yoga centre and God wants you to go in a +ve direction
Dawkins is DELUDED!
there are the physical and spiritual aspects lf life,there is another reality beyond this |
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screamzero
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| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”
Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick
"......even to the point of the square root of pi the probability of even the imagining of God cannot be completely obliterated, much less completely delude the possibility. Where do the numbers end?"
C. H. Arts |
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event_horizon
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:53 am Post subject: |
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Yes, I read it. And found myself amazed at how many of his ideas I had thought of before. It's almost as if he downloaded my thoughts.  |
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horizon
The mixed breed three-eyed half grey alien half cyclops mutant from a galaxy so far away you can't even get there if you folded space.
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screamzero
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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| ...and this bright bird says faith is the act of "nonthinking" ? He implies nonthinking is not a function you ought to do...you might go nuts and forget to kill in defense only...or you might go mad being so still that you conclude it is better to fast track it to Heaven and blow someone up w/ you. Cute. No G-d. No nuts. Ya, right. Nuts that kill for G-d are nuts as well. Godless nuts abound too. Period. People that kill in self-defense are G-dless because they killed? oh, right; turn the other cheek, even if some religious zealot wants to cream you....but then that's not the point, is it? You don't have to believe in G-d to do something right...if you know its right, yours is the credit. Wonderful. You have found your purpose. Lets explain how all this is a happy accident w/ out a reason... I guess you can't have G-d and peace at the same time. Why should anyone assume the elegance of the universe is credited to G-d? ...it just happened...no damn good reason...no purpose. Good. My opinion can always be right.. I like it. |
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humphreys
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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Calm down SZ, just relax. That mean old Dawkins isn't here right now, so you're safe.
If you read Dawkins, you'll see he's very much against the idea of things happening for no damn good reason, for nothing. He tries to find explanations, and I'm sure he would do the same for the beginning of the Universe. However, he is also not in the habit of filling in the blanks with God every damn time we get a little stuck and can't be arsed to figure something out. |
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screamzero
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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| ...thats nice Humphrys. Hawkin's imagination now has no source. Perfect....wonder what he has to say about that. |
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event_horizon
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:48 am Post subject: |
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| screamzero wrote: |
| Lets explain how all this is a happy accident w/ out a reason... |
Sure...after you explain to us how an omniscient/omnipotent/omnipreset being can come into existence by accident. |
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horizon
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humphreys
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:10 am Post subject: |
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| screamzero wrote: |
| ...thats nice Humphrys. Hawkin's imagination now has no source. Perfect....wonder what he has to say about that. |
The source is called his brain. |
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fortwynt
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 11:15 am Post subject: |
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So we are really going to argue that the brain produces thought?
In my opinion the brain is nothing more than a biological device the acts as the interface for thought to manifest in the physical world....also the brain is the interface or machine which manifests thought as a physical body.
The body and all the organs are, after all, nothing more than a life support system for the brain....even the reproductive organs serve no other "true" purpose than providing an "eternal" mechanism for the brain to reproduce itself (more or less) through genetic replication, to ensure it "extends" indefinitely. |
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Questioner101
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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| In actuality, all the particles of a body think...on some level have consciousness. Therefore, the brain cannot function well without it's parts...even after amputation of a body part...the "ghost" still lurks... |
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fortwynt
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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That's interesting, because I feel the same way.
For instance....in my job I am required to have like fifty thousand passwords.
I "remember" these passwords, yet when someone asks me what it is, I can't mentally "remember", yet I can sit down at a keyboard and readily type it out....
almost as if my fingers "remember" even though my "brain" doesn't.
I truly believe that body parts possess an individualized memory. |
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You can't comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable.
--Princess Diana of Wales |
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