But I have said enough to make clear what sorts of problems religion addresses. It follows that the salvation religion promises is not to be understood in some crass physical sense the way the typical superficial and benighted atheist-materialist would take it but as salvation from meaninglessness, anomie, spiritual desolation, Unheimlichkeit, existential insecurity, Angst, ignorance and delusion, false value-prioritizations, moral corruption irremediable by any human effort, failure to live up to ideals, the vanity and transience of our lives, meaningless sufferings and cravings and attachments, the ultimate pointlessness of all efforts at moral and intellectual improvement in the face of death . . . .
I should add that anyone who doesn’t feel these problems to be genuine problems will have no understanding of religion at all. And I remind the reader that I do not assume that any religion can deliver on its promises of salvation from the above litany of problems. My point is that natural science and its resulting technologies are powerless to solve these problems…
So if you reject religion, then you ought to honestly face the problems without evasion and without cultivating ‘pie-in-the-future’ illusions. Companion post: Can Belief in Man Substitute for Belief in God?
Thanks for the links, which I read. I note that only some, not all, radiometric decay rates were seen to fluctuate, and that the team had not yet investigated isotopes used in dating ancient artifacts. However, I can almost see the young-earth crowd salivating. Ah, well.No it doesn’t. If I remember it was a fraction of a percent. It had always been thought to be a constant, but now we know it is not. What we do not know is what it was in the past. We will have to wait and see what they come up with.
Radioactive decay rates vary with the sun’s rotation: research
**Laws of physics must be rewritten: Mysterious sun particles alter radioactive decay on Earth **
Thanks for an interesting link. I, for one, have never deluded myself so far as to think that science will ever replace religion, or even make serious inroads into its popularity. Too many people are too uncomfortable with the implications of a Godless universe. Most people prefer to believe comforting things even if they have insufficient evidence; others will rationalize problems away. Truth is a harsh mistress, and offers, not comfort, but reality – as much as we can stand, which is generally not much. Those who follow her up the narrow, boulder-strewn path she leads us on find thorns and briers along the way, and near the summit, the air gets thin and hard to breathe, but we cannot help it. We would rather be with the cold and tired few on the mountaintop, seeing into the distance, than warm and cozy with the crowds at the bottom and their comfortable faith.Why Science Will Never Put Religion Out of Business
maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2011/10/why-science-will-never-put-religion-out-of-business.html
But maybe religion will replace religion. By that I mean that new religions will replace the previous ones just like Christianity and Islam replaced many pagan religions. Islam is a “spin-off” of Christianity and has almost as many followers. Christianity is a “spin-off” of Judaism and has more than 100 times the followers. Judaism is the “spin-off” of ancient religions that vanished.Thanks for an interesting link. I, for one, have never deluded myself so far as to think that science will ever replace religion, or even make serious inroads into its popularity.
Christianity is much more than a spin off. It is a fulfillment.But maybe religion will replace religion. By that I mean that new religions will replace the previous ones just like Christianity and Islam replaced many pagan religions. Islam is a “spin-off” of Christianity and has almost as many followers. Christianity is a “spin-off” of Judaism and has more than 100 times the followers. Judaism is the “spin-off” of ancient religions that vanished.
Oddly 1.5 million Muslims think the same about their religion.Christianity is much more than a spin off. It is a fulfillment.
If one cares to do the work they will find that Catholicism possesses the “fullness of truth”.Oddly 1.5 million Muslims think the same about their religion.
.Erm… You’re out by three orders of magnitude there. 1.5 billion Muslims.Oddly 1.5 million Muslims think the same about their religion.
That’s what people of all regions claim. Specific faith has less to do if a person does “the work” but rather where he is born. If a person is born in Istanbul, he will most likely be a Muslim. If a person is born in Bombay he will probably be a Hindu and if a person is born in the US to a Protestant family he will most likely be a protestant.If one cares to do the work they will find that Catholicism possesses the “fullness of truth”.
Sorry, that was a typo/mix-up. I earlier wroteErm… You’re out by three orders of magnitude there. 1.5 billion Muslims.
which meant 1.5 billion compared to 2 billion.Islam is a “spin-off” of Christianity and has almost as many followers. .
It has its compensations!Too many people are too uncomfortable with the implications of a Godless universe.
You are assuming it is an ascent rather than a descent! I regard God as the summit and matter as the substratum of reality.Most people prefer to believe comforting things even if they have insufficient evidence; others will rationalize problems away. Truth is a harsh mistress, and offers, not comfort, but reality – as much as we can stand, which is generally not much. Those who follow her up the narrow, boulder-strewn path she leads us on find thorns and briers along the way, and near the summit, the air gets thin and hard to breathe, but we cannot help it. We would rather be with the cold and tired few on the mountaintop, seeing into the distance, than warm and cozy with the crowds at the bottom and their comfortable faith.
Your notion of evidence is that which is valueless, purposeless and meaningless…And yes, I know the crowds think they have the truth too, but look at the way they describe what it’s like to be a naturalist; who in their right mind would want all that angst? Then look at how often they take refuge in faith, mystery, God’s incomprehensibility freezing our puny little minds, and so forth. It’s obvious that reason and unflinching acceptance of whatever the evidence says is not at the heart of Christianity, or any other religion, and that is why they’re so popular.
It’s certainly icy in a universe devoid of love… :yukonjoe: :winter::dts:People love mystery and the impenetrable because they offer the same kind of awe as a distant mountain range; but only those who laboriously climb to the top get to see the view. I’m not claiming that I’m anywhere near that point, but allow me my small and chilly consolation; it’s too cold up here without it.
Actually, God is the substratum of reality if God is the ground of all being.You are assuming it is an ascent rather than a descent! I regard God as the summit and matter as the substratum of reality.
How do you know religion isn’t the truth?…Truth is a harsh mistress, …
Which religion? There are many of them.How do you know religion isn’t the truth?
Not as far as the materialist is concerned!Actually, God is the substratum of reality if God is the ground of all being.
Any of them.Which religion? There are many of them.
rossum
The materialist doesn’t realize that there must be a ground.Not as far as the materialist is concerned!
Precisely as I was saying - this is the panentheist metaphysic.It would be more accurate to say God “encompasses” reality: “In Him we live, move and have our being”.
Well, no one knows if any religion is the truth or if all are just fabrications based on wishful thinking. Some Catholics here claim that there is 100% evidence that Catholicism is the truth and you just have to do the work. I think if that were the case then science would acknowledge Christianity as a fact.Any of them.
Koreshanity is incorrect because the Earth is not a hollow sphere. There is at least one religion that is not completely true.Any of them.