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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ScatterShot who wrote (95949)	10/27/2012 7:20:27 PM
From: Robin Plunder	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 218785

really a great essay, I have seen this one before, but still wonderful to go through it again...so concise and on point throughout.. There are many passages worth commenting on, but I will restrict myself to one.. "When the theist sets the Bible down, they revert to their "everyday mode" - with a slight difference. Most of us suspend our disbelief purely for the purposes of the story; when we set the latest fantasy novel down, we don't rush out to cast spells or invoke demons. We know that it's just fiction. Yet the theists continue to believe, on some level, that things like this can actually happen. In a sense, their suspension-of-disbelief mechanism is stuck in the "on" position. They actually believe this stuff - though, again, the compartmentalization of their mind and the knowledge that miracles don't really happen allows them to function in the real world. This is yet another reason why religion is a mechanism of mind control, and it also explains why people who are intelligent and rational in every other respect often completely lose it when the topic of God comes up. They have switched to the "religion" compartment of their brains. In this mode of thought, no arguments can convince them, no evidence can sway them, because in this mode of thought things are not required to make sense. Maybe it's God testing my faith; maybe it's Satan tempting me. Who knows? Who cares? All bets are off. But when dealing with anything else - including the holy books of other faiths - they are in "logical" mode and can rationally examine them and describe the faults therein. It is only dealing with their own religion that prompts the suspension of disbelief and logic. " This is really an interesting point. I work in technology, and I have had a number of co-workers that are brilliant, honest, focussed people that are a joy to work with....and yet they are sincerely and completely attached to the viewpoint described in these couple of paragraphs. I have had conversations with them on alternative views, and actually had one simply say 'I cant talk to you about this...', not in a nasty way, but just as a matter of observation that it was simply impossible for her to continue...although occassionally her curiosity gets the better of her and she brings up the topic. She will actually pray for our projects to be successful, and is convinced that it works.....and then she will painstakingly look through our data to find the trends and relationships....A is A.... In her mind, religion offers her a successful way of life, and by adhering to the ten commandments, she is keeping on the 'strait and narrow' road of life....and when I have difficulties, such as with my teenage kids being too irresponsible and getting into trouble, she says, 'see...they need religion...and you do too...' rp

To: ScatterShot who wrote (95949)	10/27/2012 10:11:01 PM
From: THE ANT	2 Recommendations Respond to of 218785

Most studies show atheists as being the least happy of people .As Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said there are no atheists at the bed of a dying child cmellc.com