Quote:Your car analogy, as I have previously stated is deeply flawed I elucidated this in my last post in regards to tools and reinforcement mechanisms. While Occams razor must be kept sharp, simple analogies will not always work for complex constructions. I understand your desire for a simple analogy, but having an accurate one is far better. Would your cousin be alive if there were no cars? Perhaps perhaps not, while cars take lives, they also serve as a convenient receptacle in which to conceive them lacking that convenience he might not have even been.
You seem to not understand the answer. Blaming all religion for these three actions is the same thing as my car analogy.
It is not my fault you refuse to understand it.
Quote:
Does it? I'd love to see a study done to see if that is true but
since you allready beleive that those that practice religion are
allready being duped it would be useless. And for the record
there are religious people that do the same delelopment on the capacity for analysis observation, and iquiry to expand
their horizons as athiests.
Well you can start with direct observation; one that has been made already. Exorcism. Not a lot of atheists doing exorcisms. Why? Simply put there is no proof or even evidence for the existence of demons; therefore no need to cast them out. As for studies - A survey of the National Academy of Science shows 72% atheists, 21% agnostic, and 7% believing in a personal god. How about Franzblaus study of religiosity and honesty (negative correlation)? As to religion and IQ, check out Burnham Beckwiths article The effect of Intelligence on Religious Faith. The studies are out there you are just too lazy to go look them up. While some religious people and religions do get into the habits of analysis, observation and inquiry methodology; you will find (as you dig) that they are more deist than theist, moving away from a personal god (one that actively fucks with the universe.)
Unlike the religious, atheists are not subject to unchanging beliefs I keep repeating this, but it doesnt seem to sink into your head. If you want to change my belief that there is no god prove there is a god. While you are at it, prove a bunch of gods, fairies and the celestial teapot. If you dont have proof you dont have game. Disbelief in all things temporal and especially spiritual should be the default position.
Quote:Well I did read a number of articles on the story, including the depositions taken by the law enforcement officials concerning the attack, the timeline, etc. I also looked at the home where the attack took place; and did several other searches concerning the parties involved. All available evidence points to Fundamentalism driven wish thinking, rather than desperation driven actions; I expect this to be further buttressed when laughing boy goes to trial shortly. The information is there, you just have to go look for it.
The first part of this sentence is the only thing that
was 'true'. the rest was just opinion on your, or whichever
source you got it from if it wasn't yours, part.
Quote:All religions make it up as they go along. They are entirely created by humans. The moment that you choose faith over fact in anything, you leave yourself open to the dangers of wish thinking. It can and as demonstrated here, does create an intellectual blind spot. The three protagonists in this sad tale were personally responsible for their actions but their actions absolutely required the presence of fundamentalist religion in order to reach fruition. If they had not been religious they would not have attempted the exorcism. Would they have tried something else equally destructive? Unlikely. There is not the psychological reinforcement associated with quackery as there is with religion. Come on, if you believe that a cosmic Jewish zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in all humanity because a rib-woman was convinced to eat from a magical tree by a talking snake with legs then you can certainly believe in a beating casting out demons while at the same time denying the mountains of evidence that you share common ancestry with apes.
So you are blaming the their religion, the church they belonged to AND all religion in general for the actions of
three people that could have been making it up as they
went along. Gee.. so much for free will and personal responsiblity huh? *sarcasm off*
Quote:Wow, theres wrong, theres wrong, and then there is you. Observation and prediction are great tools they are used all the time; by scientists, psychologists, law enforcement officials and even cold reading charlatans. Given even small clues you can readily predict what people will do. You dont need to be Mentok and perhaps you should not be it is not easy being green. When a prisoner is placed on suicide watch there is a reason previous observations of homo sapiens animal in the situation have demonstrated a strong correlation between the situation and suicide attempts. There is a whole list of demonstrated correlations when dealing with premeditated murder. There is guessing, there is hoping, but of much greater importance and use there is empirical evidence. To deny such is to show willful ignorance, and Fidhooki, your ignorance is showing.
Are they? How do you know this? Can you read minds!?? Did
Mentok train you?! DO you "oooOOOOooo EeeeEEE oooOOOO'
when you read them?! *sarcasm off*
The point is that you don't know. You are guessing at best..
That is your main problem is that you think you know what
other people will do given the same information you have. Just like you think you know all about religion and how
people should worship. Well you don't because these are
people and the only sure thing about people is that they will
die someday. That's it. Everything else is guessing and
hoping. Who would have guessed these three would have
done this? Answer? no one. How about that?