The Faith FAQ

[iCraig]

Are you going to talk about how religion has changed through the ages, and has adapted to fit in with culture and social evolution through the ages?

 

[cleanbluesky]

Are you going to talk about how religion has changed through the ages, and has adapted to fit in with culture and social evolution through the ages?

My essay deals with archetypes within mythology, specifically heros

I was thinking something along the lines of commonalities and explanation of reigious doctrine - although I would say that it would be a length due to the size of the subject read so perhaps not best for an FAQ

 

[InsomniaCalls]

I'm no expert (so your FAQ should be helpful!) but isn't there some sort of Islamic belief regarding Virgins in the afterlife?
Where do all the Virgins come from?
Surely they'd all be munters if they didn't hook up at least once prior to dying?

 

[cleanbluesky]

Where do all the Virgins come from?

Virginia

 

[semi-pro waster]

There are contradictions within the individual texts themselves. Then there is the concept of taking the most obvious explanation. Then there is also the idea that if God were to 'alter' carbon dating, it would contradict what has been said within the bible or make the bible's information inspecific. If the bible is proven inspecific then the only information we have of God is inspecific, therefore we have no reason to believe.

Just noticed this, I don't know enough about specific texts to really comment on the contradictions or what context they appear in since my knowledge is very much just a broad outline of what various religions offer. Some contradictions could probably be explained as incorrected transposition of god's word to written form but others are no doubt more difficult to explain.

There are also a few psycholgoical theories that describe religion, and a few that have arisen from psychotherapy that describe the value of personal religion

Just a guess but the value of personal religion wouldn't have been compared to the oft-vaunted placebo effect would it? In that it would matter little whether your god exists or not because the mind is so powerful that in many cases it can overcome the problems it faces like illness etc.

Also would you and Dolph collaborate on a section about Paganism? That could be a very interesting chapter.

 

[Surfer]

[other religions]

im not sure i would say that hinduism and the various chinese religions (confucianism, buddhism etc) are minority religions.

Also what kind of religion is something where someone believes that god exists (through fact) but doesnt want anything to do with him/it/her/them?

Does God make individual interventions in peoples lives?
Or does he just start the hamster wheel and let us do what we like?

thank you kindly for answering my questions

 

[Raz]

[other religions]

im not sure i would say that hinduism and the various chinese religions (confucianism, buddhism etc) are minority religions.

Also what kind of religion is something where someone believes that god exists (through fact) but doesnt want anything to do with him/it/her/them?

Does God make individual interventions in peoples lives?
Or does he just start the hamster wheel and let us do what we like?

thank you kindly for answering my questions

I think you're the only one who used my format

ok, have added the above.

 

[Raz]

My essay deals with archetypes within mythology, specifically heros

I was thinking something along the lines of commonalities and explanation of reigious doctrine - although I would say that it would be a length due to the size of the subject read so perhaps not best for an FAQ

I would be interested in reading your essay when complete, or if possible looking at your source material.

 

[Raz]

Also would you and Dolph collaborate on a section about Paganism? That could be a very interesting chapter.

Exactly, that would be helpful. I haven't studied paganism to a great degree, but keep in mind I will be asking others too.

I'm pretty sure there were a few more besides Dolph and CBS here.

 

[Raz]

Well, if you wanted to decribe each religion - probably the most obvious way to describe it would be to do so in the way that it would like to be described.

I'd also wonder whether you would have trouble incorporating reasoned criticism of Islam, in the same way a Christian might refuse to criticise Christianity

Simply put, ask a sensible question get a sensible answer.

 

[Raz]

I'm no expert (so your FAQ should be helpful!) but isn't there some sort of Islamic belief regarding Virgins in the afterlife?
Where do all the Virgins come from?
Surely they'd all be munters if they didn't hook up at least once prior to dying?

As CBS said, Virginia, but I'll cover that too...one for the Muslim guys

 

[Beren]

CBS - Sorry, but I completely disagree that science and religion are incompatible - if that is what you are arguing.
Science is often used by atheists to attack religions that believe in God(s) however any tool can be used for multiple purposes.
Science is purely the search to understand the world in which we live and to apply rules to that world so we can predict it. If God created the world then science will just explain what he has created.

Questions that I would like -
Religion:
What is the difference between religion and faith?
Christianity:
Why do catholics pray to Mary?
Religion:
Why does God allow Satan to exist?
Are science and Religion mutually exclusive?
Why did the religions that belived in many gods die out? (evolution of religion could be a fun argument... sorry discussion )
Is materialism a religion? Is celebrity it's priesthood?
Why when faith is about a person and his god do Priests/Immams etc have any official status?

 

[cleanbluesky]

Simply put, ask a sensible question get a sensible answer.

And to whose ears will the answer be sensible?

I am tired of reading "Buddhists believe" style answers, I want a history of where they get their beliefs from, what motivates them and how those 'beliefs' translate amongst their followers

 

[cleanbluesky]

CBS - Sorry, but I completely disagree that science and religion are incompatible - if that is what you are arguing.

Science and creed are incompatible, science and religions are incompatible, religion and religions are incompatible.

 

[Beren]

Science and creed are incompatible, science and religions are incompatible, religion and religions are incompatible.

I disagree. Science is only incompatiable with religion if science IS your religion.
It's definition is "The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena."
Why would that have to be mutually exclusive from religion?

 

[titchard]

I disagree. Science is only incompatiable with religion if science IS your religion.
It's definition is "The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena."
Why would that have to be mutually exclusive from religion?

Because science is the proof that X causes Y, while Religion is faith that X causes Y without proof.

Rich

 

[cleanbluesky]

I disagree. Science is only incompatiable with religion if science IS your religion.
It's definition is "The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena."
Why would that have to be mutually exclusive from religion?

I said that science is incompatible with religions.

 

[semi-pro waster]

Because science is the proof that X causes Y, while Religion is faith that X causes Y without proof.

Rich

Not quite, science uses the simplest possible explanation for the phenomena that covers all the circumstances, after all what discussion of religion and science is complete without a mention of Occam's Razor. That doesn't mean the theory is right so much as meaning we haven't yet found a circumstance that it doesn't cover, there is a difference here.

Science is based on theories that fit with the observed circumstances but in effect it doesn't matter what causes them to fit. If 2 million pixies all concentrating very hard in the centre of the Earth caused mavity-like effects it wouldn't make a difference what caused it provided the theory of mavity held for all observed circumstances. Poor analogy but perhaps you get the point.

 

[Beren]

I said that science is incompatible with religions.

Ok, why is science incompatible with religions?

Rich - No, science is defined as "The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena."
You are causing a conflict where there does not need to be one.
My theoretical explanation for the universe is that God created it. Science is our attempt to understand how he made it and what makes it work.

 

[Arcade Fire]

Because science is the proof that X causes Y, while Religion is faith that X causes Y without proof.

Rich

Science doesn't 'prove' anything, and nor does it claim to. I'm tired of reading crap from people like you: people who don't understand science, or the scientific method, and yet make claims about what science does and does not do.

Science tries to explain and predict. It makes models of the physical world, and test those models against previous observations. It makes predictions about future observations from those models, and then tests the models again. If they give poor predictions, they are discarded or modified. If not, they are used to make other predictions which can be used to test them.

At no point does anyone (except for incredibly stupid people who don't know the first thing about science anyway) say that science has proved that X causes Y. Argh!