Why do so many peoples try to convince everybody that..

[Oh_My_Goth]

I can go with that

[taysteewonderbunny]

Yes I agree... the difference I think is that science is OK saying that it doesn't know everything, religion usually says it either does, or it provides all the answers you need.

Most of science is saying "I don't know" and then trying to find out. While most of religion (IMO) is saying "I don't know" making up something to explain it, and then never budging on your opinion.

Perhaps. But even though I'm an atheist, I can't say that spiritual beliefs don't have their benefits. Nor do I believe that they are entirely incongruous with a scientific approach to the physical universe. It isn't necessary to accept religious beliefs blindly, nor scientific hypotheses either. It's just that, even if it is all chemical and uniformly determined, what scientifically explains our experience is simply not equivalent to it. Qualia v. brain chemistry. How do you organize your world from inside (and throughout) the meat?

For, even as becomes evident in this thread, the argument for science seems rooted in some ethical longing for openness and tolerance. And while that may actually have a sound basis in evolutionary fitness and all, is that what you "feel" motivates you? I'm not saying that it's god. I'm just saying that a cold, impersonal evaluation of what strictly is in the ontological sense is not satisfactory to the emotive beings that we are. We SEE blue long before we understand that the objects are not themselves blue, but of a physical and chemical structure which reflects light waves of a particular range of frequencies. And the science behind color is not color. I think that science leaves gaps in our EXPERIENCE even if it does adequately explain the phenomena behind it. I don't know how to explain this well.

In case you think that I disagree with you, let me say that I don't. I don't much appreciate dogmatic inflexible thinking, no matter its source. Religions have long been the source of such. Let's just be careful that we don't, in the name of science, commit the same grievance.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

to answer the question raised in the topic's title: misery loves company.

[Reaper]

No, you are ALL wrong. You have no clue.

[Oh_My_Goth]

No, you are ALL wrong. You have no clue.

WHAT-EvEr

[Scary Guy]

I'm right because I'm logical about my arguments. OK maybe not right but "mostly correct" based on the given information at hand and building upon that with the most logical path things would take.

Sure I'm an Atheist, however I'm not willing to say I know everything because I don't. I COULD be wrong, but based on the given information at hand I'm not.

I'm also right because I'm willing to admit if and when I'm wrong, and that I don't know everything.

"The greatest enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, continued and dishonest -- but the myth -- present, persuasive, and unrealistic." - John F. Kennedy

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Logical does not equal correct, right, or even in the right ball park. Logic leads to fallacy as often as it leads to anything else.

[Scary Guy]

Logical does not equal correct, right, or even in the right ball park. Logic leads to fallacy as often as it leads to anything else.

No, no it doesn't, unless your logical thinking is being done by a (group of) mentally deficient individual(s).

[the eternal]

I think the majority of those just really enjoy heated debate, and don't seem to get that it irritates a lot of people, especially people that they don't know in real life. Too easy to get someone all upset and defensive over nothing more than a difference of opinion.

I also think that in the case of one or two, those individuals are incredibly insecure and badly need that reassurance that other people think that they're intelligent, but instead of outright showing their weakness, they try to cover it up by acting all cocky and arrogant, is if they know everything. These are the ones whose posts are a chore for me to read.

---------------

As for me, I think I prefer just being told I'm funny every once in a while.

If everyone erroneously assumed me to possess intelligence,

it would make me awfully depressed as to why I've been broke my whole life.

Sadly, one out of every three Americans suffers from CRD (Cranio-Rectal Disorder)..

Interesting. I suffer from restless ass syndrome. When the symptoms become too severe I take bean to City Club

and proceed to move it until they subside.

It's not always a picnic.

Side effects include: splashback from cigarette-filled urinals

mysterious stickiness that congregate in the Doc Martin region

drugged-out jackasses who think kicking people like half-assed Ninjas is called dancing

listening to douchebags in ballcaps talk about scoring with their first freaky chick

and having juiced bodyguards shine flashlights on your crotch

And on the other side of the coin...

*drumroll*

My faith is just that.

I've never been confronted by a godless faithless type in a truly desperate situation before. But I'll thank God that I have a gun to protect me and mine when I do. Sociopaths may not believe in a higher power until right before they draw their last breath from fuckin' with me and getting shot. Something that may not have happened to them if they had a value system instilled/backed by some form of "faith."

I hear what you're saying, and I am both a believer in science and g-d fearing as well.

And although faith can reinforce the belief in good values, being a Christian, Jew, etc does not necessarily guarantee sanity or stability. Hitler was g-d fearing. He even quizzed his officers on the new testament. And he was certifiable. A lot of desperate types use Jesus's name to justify their need for bloodlust or intolerance

or think he told them to open fire on a school. Again I'm talking about the desperate types here.

Religion can be a wonderful thing. A guiding force that provides an outlet for charity and goodwill.

But it won't undo crazy.

A good therapist and the right meds are needed for that.

[SaGa]

cause where all really lonely inside. and we have to fill our lives with attempting to have the right answer...

i donno, i took a shot at it, how did i do?

[StormKnight (1)]

cause where all really lonely inside. and we have to fill our lives with attempting to have the right answer...

i donno, i took a shot at it, how did i do?

Personally, pretty good.

[TitsMcGee]

I have faith, because if I didn't my world would be a much darker place than it already is. My faith leads me to believe that things are going to get better, and that means I will be truly okay someday.

[Scary Guy]

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." - Vladimir Lenin

[Homicidalheathen]

they are 'in'

In tollerant

in justice

in volnerable ect lol (only the 'saved' will be spared ect...I must save you for you know not the truth, for example))

in distructable

insane heehee

[prick]

I keep telling people I dont know what the hell Im talking about. They shouldnt come to me for advice but yet they do.

[Scary Guy]

I keep telling people I dont know what the hell Im talking about. They shouldnt come to me for advice but yet they do.

Feel free to send them my way.

[Enishi]

I think many people debate and try to convince others because they themselves subconsciously doubt their own beliefs, and convincing others helps to reinforce them. Looking back on my days as a former jehovah's witness, I think this was largely true in my own case.

[Scary Guy]

I think many people debate and try to convince others because they themselves subconsciously doubt their own beliefs, and convincing others helps to reinforce them. Looking back on my days as a former jehovah's witness, I think this was largely true in my own case.

That may be, however those that really know might just want to share that wealth of reality with the rest of the world too. I suppose it depends on your perspective though since I'm sure the religious think they're helping as well. After all the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I never said I was absolutely right, just that it is the best answer out there.

“I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure—that is all that agnosticism means.” — Clarence Darrow

[Slogo]

I don't know

Possibly the smartest words in the English language