God

[Rob Tucker]

Tom, here's a suggestion for you to consider.

Next time you hear someone making a statement that you disagree with and you feel compelled to say something try this response.

Say, "good idea".

[TomK]

Why on earth would I do that if I thought it was a terrible idea? That's nuts.  Science and our understanding of our island, the planet, and the universe have progressed by questioning ideas and hypotheses, and you just want someone to say "good idea"? What's the point of a forum like this if people can't disagree and explain why they don't?

You probably won't like this. I don't know if you watched Inherit the Wind, but religion or supernatural beings do not explain how the Islands came to be, how Earth formed, or the Solar System it's in, or the Galaxy of the billions of other galaxies we observe and why distant galaxies are moving away from us. There is no testable religious answer to that, but you want someone to say "good idea" when they post nonsense.

https://youtu.be/-EdmF4OyoKI?si=K9_RmF1-4ed0RZ0Y

"The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion and politics, but it is not the path to knowledge, and there is no place for it in the endeavor of science." - Carl Sagan

[Rob Tucker]

Good idea.

[TomK]

What good idea? Can you discuss the idea, or just post a mantra that makes you look mindless? What if I told you that god tells people to commit murder?

---

The Placebo Effect is an awesome example of the power of focusing the mind, the power of our mind’s ability to influence an outcome. Of course in the sacred halls of the church it’s not referred to with as mundane a word, but still in the scientific world it has been studied far beyond most other subjects in that it is the silent star of countless studies. The baseline, the control group, the folks that get the fake one so as to test the efficacy of the thing being studied. The silent partner in all kinds of scientifically based studies ends up proving that our minds have powers science has yet to grok.

From Harvard Medical School at.. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newslette...ebo-effect

Your mind can be a powerful healing tool when given the chance. The idea that your brain can convince your body a fake treatment is the real thing - the so-called placebo effect - and thus stimulate healing has been around for millennia. Now science has found that under the right circumstances, a placebo can be just as effective as traditional treatments 

And this study published on MDPI at.. https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6320/12/1/5

The placebo effect has been widely documented across various medical conditions, demonstrating its ability to influence both subjective and objective outcomes. Placebo responses can significantly improve symptoms in these different conditions, such as pain, Parkinson’s disease, depression, anxiety, and addiction. Psychological mechanisms, particularly the power of patient expectations, appear to play a central role, with neurobiological evidence supporting the activation of dopamine, endogenous opioids, and endocannabinoids in response to placebo interventions.

I have trouble understanding how any of this is evidence of supernatural beings, gods, that need to be worshipped and have control or watch over us. Neither article mentions a god, so how do they support the existence of Pele or any other god? It's just posting a couple of articles you think help hide the guff you post.

[TomK]

I've been involved in science and skepticism for around 40 years now. My job involves being a skeptic; it's essentially a requirement. What I have learned is that those who have various beliefs, including aliens visiting us, psychics, astrologers, tarot card readers, chemtrail believers, flat-earthers, we-didn't-land-on-the-moon conspiracists, and probably a bunch of other groups that haven't come to mind, go silent when presented with evidence contradictory to their beliefs or asked a question they cannot answer. The silence goes on for a while, and then they start posting the same ridiculous claims again.

Among the groups I mentioned are those that believe in religion and all-powerful gods. It's their right to believe whatever they want; there's no problem with that. However, it becomes a problem when science is misused, and we've seen that in this thread. It's been pointed out so what do we get? 

Silence.

The cycle will start again, but hopefully one or two people here now understand how people, so set in their ways and beliefs, will not accept criticism, evidence, contradictory ideas, or the scientific method. Rob might suggest you respond by saying "Good idea", but that's just a cop out to avoid answering questions that challenge your beliefs.

[MyManao]

good idea

[Punatang]

Silence.


Silence is where one, who is open, may find that which some call "God".




That is all I will say about that.  Silence.

[TomK]

good idea

Instead of posting a meme, which you seem to suggest is a good idea, how about actually addressing my points? In the meantime, for those who want a more intellectual experience, I suggest watching https://youtu.be/xSYhdZqr0DM?si=E7F3SGCL7xLfjdMm and, in particular, https://youtu.be/Y6HW9ByndtU?si=pOA1bHtEb59E8m09, which I think is a better idea than simply saying "good idea" to avoid answering difficult and awkward questions.

[Rob Tucker]

Good idea.

[TomK]

That's great, you've now given me permission to post more stuff I'd like to share about the nonsense some believe in. Thanks, Rob, good idea indeed! I hope you or your moderator friend doesn't delete or edit further posts in this thread. You've given it the go-ahead, and it would be extremely unethical of you to start interfering with people's postss