Thank you for putting it so plainly out there.
The founders, i.e. the founders of the Constitution were men who had extensive knowledge of the enlightenment thinkers of Europe (such as Kant, Rousseau, Hume, Voltaire, Montesquieu & Locke) and the Greek/Roman Philosophy that had been...
I know wikipedia isn't great, but here are two wikipedia articles with either biblical references or book references given mentioning the plural number of god/goddess worship by the Israelites. I do have books that touch on the subject and I'll get back to this thread after giving them a look...
Historical evidence seems to show that the Jews originated as a group of mercenaries that the Egyptians employed where upon they eventually left to form their own territory in Palestine/Israel. The Jewish religion started as polytheistic with worship of such beings as El, Baal, Asherah, and...
I think we don't put enough focus on life. By life I mean quality in relation to quantity. Part of my problem with theism/supernaturalism is that it takes the focus of ones existence away from the fact the one is alive and places it upon notions of "after/post-life".
In regards to abortion...
For Opeth I'd suggest you get Blackwater Park. Best album they ever did, though the stuff from even earlier is pretty good.
As for Slayer, I saw them live two years ago and there's really nothing quite like them. One of the best shows ever. As for the whole satanic thing its interesting how...
Watched David Lynch's Lost Highway last night and I had the same reaction as I did with Blue Velvet.
"What the hell just happened? Did I even like this? Actually, yes, I do like it! But, what the hell exactly happened?"
Disturbed and Sevendust aren't my cup of Tea, but Opeth certainly is. A fantastic band in the studio and live!
Right now for me it's..... SLAYER- Haunting the Chapel
Track right now: Chemical Warfare
Christians would claim the same as well. Regardless, I think its safe to say even your faith establishes a sense of community and by doing so it defines those that are not within the community. The major difference for your belief of course is that it's a community that doesn't have much...
I'd really then suggest trying to get your hands on the Stewart Guthrie article I suggested. Though as I've mentioned before I view Religion as cultural, which means it can change and mutate far faster than genetic codes do. For example christian and islamic concepts of god I would say have a...
Right and there is the atheist/theist divide which cannot be proven one way or another (especially if arguments about materialism/dualism/idealism are thrown in). I perfectly respect anyone who thinks we evolve in a certain way so we can perceive something like God. I cannot find any proof...
Religion divides, like all culture does, those in the group and those outside of the group. So of course religions will often make a point of picking enemies because it helps keep the group inside more strongly connected.
A cultural example outside of religion is how war is great in causing...
Well, I don't really see where trances are an evolutionary adaptation/mechanism. Their relevance toward analytic study/psychology is obvious in how they can open up parts of the human mind that are repressed for one reason or another. Yet, I don't see how it provides any sort of difference in...
My original post on this thread (post # 14 I think) and I listed some texts from the course I took that touch on the matter. The three most important perhaps are:
David Lewis-Williams- The Mind in the Cave
Kevin Seybold- Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion: Ch. 6 Brain and...
As for my understands of neurotheology, it was part of my course work in my Senior level Methods and Theory course in Theology. So I think I have at least a fair to beginners understanding of it. I am one who takes the side that it's theology as there is cultural perception through religion...
Perhaps he means Materialist Atheists who deny any sort of dualism where such entities or places are supposed to exist. Although I suppose one could think of angels and demons as physical entities like ourselves, but I can't think of many people who still believe that.
Being an Atheist or...