Arab Spring

[randolph]

Originally Posted by smc

Jehovah and Allah: same god, different names. More important, randolph, is whether acknowledge that the god of each and every religion is "created" -- or do you reserve that designation only for certain religions with which you (presumably) disagree or that are not part of your own personal cultural heritage and upbringing?

Apparently, you are posing the question whether I believe all God based religions are created be prophets or I have a bias against some religions and believe they are created by prophets. Personally, I believe all Gods, pagan or Christian or any other organized religion are created by man (prophets). There is not one shred of physical evidence in the real world for Gods, humans just seem to enjoy having them around. Buddha got tired of all this and created a religious system without a "God".

Darwin, on the other hand spent years carefully documenting evidence in the real world for the concept of evolution. I do believe, however, there is still alot of mystery regarding life. there is more to it than just molecules somehow managing to replicate. The ability of subatomic particles to communicate instantly, at a distance, offers a clue. Also, some animals seem to have amazing abilities to communicate (telepathic?).

Anyway, this is drifting away from the Arab Spring discussion.

[smc]

Originally Posted by randolph

You are right but Mohammed "created" a god named Allah based on Jehovah.

Originally Posted by smc

Jehovah and Allah: same god, different names. More important, randolph, is whether acknowledge that the god of each and every religion is "created" -- or do you reserve that designation only for certain religions with which you (presumably) disagree or that are not part of your own personal cultural heritage and upbringing?

Originally Posted by randolph

Apparently, you are posing the question whether I believe all God based religions are created be prophets or I have a bias against some religions and believe they are created by prophets. Personally, I believe all Gods, pagan or Christian or any other organized religion are created by man (prophets). There is not one shred of physical evidence in the real world for Gods, humans just seem to enjoy having them around. Buddha got tired of all this and created a religious system without a "God".

Darwin, on the other hand spent years carefully documenting evidence in the real world for the concept of evolution. I do believe, however, there is still alot of mystery regarding life. there is more to it than just molecules somehow managing to replicate. The ability of subatomic particles to communicate instantly, at a distance, offers a clue. Also, some animals seem to have amazing abilities to communicate (telepathic?).

Anyway, this is drifting away from the Arab Spring discussion.

Just to clarify, my point was to question why you would describe Islam as a religion for which a god was "created," while not similarly calling Judaism or Christianity or any other religion one for which a god was "created." The way in which you wrote that originally (see above) could be construed as a negative statement about Islam exclusively. I am glad to see that you have clarified your view and now state that all gods are creations of the human imagination.

As for your statement that the reason humans create gods is because "humans just seem to enjoy having them around": well, I think this speaks to a lack of perspective and historical understanding. Gods were created by humans to explain phenomena that science had not yet explained. The endurance of these creations (gods) is part of a socio-political system in which some people saw how much they could manipulate other humans via this god belief. That is the basis for organized religion.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by smc

Just to clarify, my point was to question why you would describe Islam as a religion for which a god was "created," while not similarly calling Judaism or Christianity or any other religion one for which a god was "created." The way in which you wrote that originally (see above) could be construed as a negative statement about Islam exclusively. I am glad to see that you have clarified your view and now state that all gods are creations of the human imagination.

As for your statement that the reason humans create gods is because "humans just seem to enjoy having them around": well, I think this speaks to a lack of perspective and historical understanding. Gods were created by humans to explain phenomena that science had not yet explained. The endurance of these creations (gods) is part of a socio-political system in which some people saw how much they could manipulate other humans via this god belief. That is the basis for organized religion.

"humans just seem to enjoy having them around": I made that comment in jest, but actually, in the absence of science, rational thought is difficult. Consequently, humans construct a system of explanations based on imaginations fostered by witch doctors, prophets and gurus. I think people who are sincerely religious have a feeling of well being and that there is a God that cares about them and their behavior. These people just ignore scientific rationality when it comes to what they want to believe.
God bless America.--- We are always right --- Right?.

[smc]

Originally Posted by randolph

"humans just seem to enjoy having them around": I made that comment in jest, but actually, in the absence of science, rational thought is difficult. Consequently, humans construct a system of explanations based on imaginations fostered by witch doctors, prophets and gurus. I think people who are sincerely religious have a feeling of well being and that there is a God that cares about them and their behavior. These people just ignore scientific rationality when it comes to what they want to believe.
God bless America.--- We are always right --- Right?.

There is a significant, and highly important difference, between an individual's belief in god and the existence of organized religions to promote that belief. The former is irrational; the latter is manipulatively rational.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by smc

There is a significant, and highly important difference, between an individual's belief in god and the existence of organized religions to promote that belief. The former is irrational; the latter is manipulatively rational.

So are you saying an individuals irrational belief somehow becomes rational in a religious context?

[smc]

Originally Posted by randolph

So are you saying an individuals irrational belief somehow becomes rational in a religious context?

The individual's belief in god is irrational. Those who create religions do so to manipulate that irrational belief for a rational purpose (e.g., to accrue wealth and power, to conquer, to influence policy, etc.).

[randolph]

Originally Posted by smc

The individual's belief in god is irrational. Those who create religions do so to manipulate that irrational belief for a rational purpose (e.g., to accrue wealth and power, to conquer, to influence policy, etc.).

It is interesting to speculate that if Constantine had not made Christianity the state religion,paganism would have continued, Christianity would have remained an obscure sect and Islam would not have happened.

[ila]

Originally Posted by randolph

...Personally, I believe all Gods, pagan or Christian or any other organized religion are created by man (prophets). There is not one shred of physical evidence in the real world for Gods, humans just seem to enjoy having them around...

It's called Faith, for a reason.

[randolph]

Originally Posted by ila

It's called Faith, for a reason.

For a reason? Can you elaborate?