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[majikero]

Why do the USA have a two party system when both party are crap?

In a perfect world, everyone is happy but no the world is not perfect.

[Reelya]

@Micro

Do you honestly believe that the pope did it because God said so? Your more religious than I thought. Did it ever occur to you that the church has other reasons?

It did. But what could their intentions be? The death of africans? Are all of their intentions not religious regarding this? If that is the case, shouldn't such a system simply be removed? If religion doesn't benefit people but provides a way to hurt them, then why have it?

Outbreeding all the other religions is a good motive.

[Micro102]

Wont the only ones who get aids be the Christians who listen to the Pope?

[fqllve]

It did. But what could their intentions be? The death of africans? Are all of their intentions not religious regarding this? If that is the case, shouldn't such a system simply be removed? If religion doesn't benefit people but provides a way to hurt them, then why have it?

Religion has been a motivating force for some great discoveries and beautiful works of art. Have you ever felt complete awe and astonishment about the world? Religion, while not necessary for it, has given many people the gift of that experience. To say that it does no benefit is to ignore that religion is a tool and like all tools it has been used for both good and bad throughout history.

But really I think the issue is that we're not likely to excise religious belief because the manners of thought that lead to those beliefs are particularly natural for humans. People like to feel important, they like to have the answers to questions, they like to feel secure, and they like a subject without ambiguity. If we can't eradicate those things from human thought, and I don't think we can, then it doesn't seem likely we'll have better luck with religion.

[Darvi]

No, because abstinence etc.

[majikero]

Without protection, having humpy times with anyone not your wife will have actual consequences. So think with your head, not the other one.

[Reelya]

Psychologically, religion could stem from the evolved social-animal mental ability to "get inside" another persons head, i.e. to try and model and predict their behavior as being due to the same mental processes of consciousness that govern ourselves.

In a nutshell empathy allows us to "anthropomorphize" other humans (we really have no direct proof they're not just human-shaped automata). That same mental faculty for ascribing volition to another person can just as easily imagine there being a "brain" in a tree, a volcano, the sun, or the moon.

btw, there's a really good argument that the god of Moses was a volcano.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtI-lSvS028

[Mlamlah]

Even if i was catholic, i would have a hard time believing anything the pope says. The Pope is supposed to be the very voice of god... and yet... throughout history the popes have had wildly different opinions on various issues, and occasionally have backed things that are factually *wrong*. Either the God whispering in their ear is fickle, the Popes have been liars at various parts of history or... dare i say it... the Popes have *not* had a phone line with God.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

we should really be having an 'eastern question' type situation with catholicism, it's an aged and dying structure. I have trouble believing anyone representing the church says, they are just ridiculous now.

@micro: before, the 'EDIT:' was directed a maj

[Micro102]

It did. But what could their intentions be? The death of africans? Are all of their intentions not religious regarding this? If that is the case, shouldn't such a system simply be removed? If religion doesn't benefit people but provides a way to hurt them, then why have it?

Religion has been a motivating force for some great discoveries and beautiful works of art. Have you ever felt complete awe and astonishment about the world? Religion, while not necessary for it, has given many people the gift of that experience. To say that it does no benefit is to ignore that religion is a tool and like all tools it has been used for both good and bad throughout history.

But really I think the issue is that we're not likely to excise religious belief because the manners of thought that lead to those beliefs are particularly natural for humans. People like to feel important, they like to have the answers to questions, they like to feel secure, and they like a subject without ambiguity. If we can't eradicate those things from human thought, and I don't think we can, then it doesn't seem likely we'll have better luck with religion.

Please provide evidence that religion was a force that led to an important discovery that might of not been discovered earlier without religion. And I would take any amount of advancement over works of art, even if the artists weren't able to get inspiration from anything else.

[majikero]

Albert Einstein was said to be religious and his discoveries are "God's work in action".

I can't remember where I read/heard that though.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

In retrospect the thing that religon has given to the scientific community is that early on, monastic communities had alot of time to study and observe due to their lifestlye. In fact early genetics research was conducted by monks.

Was religion the driving force? No, another circumstance would have arisen, but... ya.

[Darvi]

Argh, so many temptations to post more SMBC strips!

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Soul Mattocks Burning Company? Because honestly those sound like terrible bacon strips...

[10ebbor10]

Albert Einstein was said to be religious and his discoveries are "God's work in action".

I can't remember where I read/heard that though.

Albert was a jew, Newton was Catholic, the inventor of the Big Bang theory was a priest. There's a bloody lot to choose from.
Most large empires were kept together by a single religion, and would have fallen apart otherwise.

Please provide evidence that [Insert anything you want here] was a force that led to an important discovery that might of not been discovered earlier without [Insert anything here]. And I would take any amount of advancement over works of art, even if the artists weren't able to get inspiration from anything else.

Really, give a thousand monkeys a thousand typewriters and they will eventually produce the complete works of shakespeare. Doesn't mean he wasn't a good playwright though.

Even if i was catholic, i would have a hard time believing anything the pope says. The Pope is supposed to be the very voice of god... and yet... throughout history the popes have had wildly different opinions on various issues, and occasionally have backed things that are factually *wrong*. Either the God whispering in their ear is fickle, the Popes have been liars at various parts of history or... dare i say it... the Popes have *not* had a phone line with God.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure if the Pope is even referenced to in the Bible. I believe he isn't.

As for bible related sciences:
Bible intrepretation
Religious studies

In retrospect the thing that religon has given to the scientific community is that early on, monastic communities had alot of time to study and observe due to their lifestlye. In fact early genetics research was conducted by monks.

Was religion the driving force? No, another circumstance would have arisen, but... ya.

Nothing is caused by a single factor. If someone went back in time and shot Einstein, we would still have discovered the theory of relativity. Only later.