mb note: …divide this into sections. — make it a place for all kinds of musings on various topics.
i need a sniglet — i have the definition… it’s verb; the act of polling
the classroom for opinions on the “true” meaning of an otherwise clear phrase
of scripture, in order to make it “fit” with the beliefs of those present. (transrighting?)
SPACE / TIME / ET LIFE– (this one is a little off the subject) Think about
space and time and extra-terrestrial life. First about space. The moon is 440,000
miles away from the earth. And yet it seems so close. There are hundreds of
thousands of asteroids that orbit the earth, and yet, very few ever hit our
man-made satellites. The reason is that there is soooo much space out there,
that the odds are low that the satellites will be hit. Yea, satellites do get
hit, but then you get into the space between, say, earth and the closest planet,
and you’re talking serious empty space! — Now about time. If you think about
how many millions of years it took for the earth to form, and for life to flourish,
and so on, …we’re talking a lot of time. — Now think about how relatively
small is the time that man has understood radio waves, and how (relatively)
short a time we have been “listening” for extraterrestrial signals.
It’s likely that there is life out there. However, it seems unlikely that a
life form out somewhere in the vastness of space is (#1) advanced enough to
send radio waves, and (#2) is doing it in our time frame. The universe is millions
of years old. And the star systems that have the potential to support life are
probably many. However, the question of timing makes it a long-shot that we’ll
ever discover life. — Again, an understanding of the numbers is key to understanding
here… like asteroids in space, missing our satellites, it boggles the mind
how insignificant we are in the true spectrum of time and space.
on religion:
the smile on a dogma
I like the one where abraham (or isaac was it?) tricked his blind dad to ace
his brother out of his birthright… and hence be the father of isreal — nice
move dude! and god went along with it!
And if you’re not really a direct descendent to the 12 tribes, you get to be
“adopted” into it thru your patriarchal blessing! yes! (literal scewing)
“I’d like to believe in something higher, but I can’t get a grip on all
the little things.”
— Oingo Boingo / Danny Elfman
If religion were the only explanation for the feelings that I have, and for
the things that happen, then it would be easy. My problem with the religious
folks is that they don’t evaluate any alternative explanations, when in fact,
very reasonable alternative explanations abound for the “spiritual”
things that happen to us.
From what I know about __________ (see below) _____________, it’s hard to believe
all I’ve been taught.
BIOLOGY – we share 99% of the same genes as the animals, yet we’re taught that
man didn’t evolve. We share the same anatomical structure as the animals (see
the backbone of a whale). …yet we’re in a different (preferred) “class”
than them.
THE BIBLE — the Creation; Adam and Eve; Noah’s ark; Jesus feeding the multitudes;
Jonah & the whale; the walls of Jericho; Moses & the Red Sea;
INSPIRATION — God intervenes to help us find our keys when we lose them —
yep he does. The unexplained is often attributed to god. Examples: the weather,
earthquakes, sickness/recovery, inspiration, finding our lost keys, success,
failure, etc. — One simple example is our lack of understanding about how “human
thought” works. Therefore, when a great thought comes to us, we often attribute
it to “inspiration from god”. Thinking is unexplainable, but does
that mean that god plants all good or useful thoughts in our head?
PRAYER — …is meditation. It is useful to that end.
MIRACLES / ODDS — Of the million random things happen every day that are NOT
noteworthy, the odds dictate that a few of those things will be remarkable.
When these remarkable occurences are examined, they are often called “inspired”
or “answers to prayer” or “miraculous” — when in fact,
they are expected, given the number of things that actually happen. Every once
in a while, the planets line up. And for those whom are affected, it is often
called a miracle.
THE SPIRIT / SPIRITUALITY — …is a part of the human experience. It goes
along with intelligence, and a lack of complete understanding of everything
that happens to us.
GEOGRAPHY — god doesn’t cause the rain, though he is often given credit for
it; but he’s less often blamed for when it doesn’t rain.
ANATOMY — Evolution used to be seen (by the religious) as a farce…
SATAN — The whole Satan concept doesn’t make sense. Why do we attribute so
much power to someone who was never given any power by God? Where did Satan
get any “real” power? Why am I even talking about Satan? If Satan
doesn’t exist, then does God?
MANKIND — we’re at the top of the heap in intelligence. Our arrogance comes
with the territory. Was the whole earth created for man’s use? (see D&C
…all created for the benefit of man”)
WATER — Water is cyclical and finite….it’s unlikely that a 40 day rainstorm
could cover the earth with water.
THE EARTH / THE COSMOS – …The earth wasn’t created in 7 days. It wasn’t created
out of nothing.
TIME — The belief in Christ and in his imminent second coming makes little
sense when examined from the perspective of time. If the earth is millions of
years old, then the amount of time between when Christ was born and now is almost
insignificant. It means that 99.9999999% of the earth’s history was without
purpose, and the only time that matters is the .00000001% of time that Christ’s
church is on the earth. Quite a big project to harvest several thousand humans
into gods.
RELIGION — …is a social and societal phenomenon. It’s a means of organizing
like-minded people, and serves to make the members stronger through cooperation
and team work. It has aided man in survival during hard times, and was a key
factor in the formation of modern civilization. It was a catalyst to forming
civilized society. However, it is not necessarily a key to future civilization.
GOD — Most civilizations have believed in some sort of diety. The indians
have gods. The Egyptians had gods. The differences in beliefs are not as telling
as the similarities. Specifically, belief in one or many gods has been a constant
throughout history. Most of the powers attributed to the gods are natural occurences
that are unexplainable by man. People need for their lives to have meaning.
If a child dies, or if a crop fails, there is comfort found in believing that
it’s all part of “god’s plan”.
POWER / MAN / MEN — (see also GOD) One very effective means of getting people
to do things en mass, is to have them believe that what they are doing serves
some greater purpose. Enter religion. As an example: The mormons are a patriarchal
group, which wouldn’t last long for the men in power if the women didn’t believe
in the religion.
SECURITY — As an example, women are usually more spiritual than men. Religion
works in their favor because it tames men and man’s tendency to be cruel and
overbearing to women. In modern civilization, specifically in developed countries,
the law helps to protect women. But not so long ago, when the laws didn’t protect
women, they had only social norms to rely on, and the decency of men; …which
was encouraged by religious laws.
HISTORY — a Sting song: “sooner or later we’re willing to throw the past
away. … without the voice of reason, every faith is its own curse; without
freedom from the past, things can only get worse. and history will teach us
nothing.” — …not exactly the lyrics, but the idea is that “history”
will uncover many of the errors of our ways, if we will only learn from it…
but we won’t (don’t) use it…; “history will teach us nothing”
SOCIOLOGY — …survival of the fittest. It’s possible that belonging to a
society or social group gave a crucial advantage to individuals for pure survival
over many centuries. Those who didn’t belong to social groups were at a disadvantage.
Therefore, those who survived, in other words, the gene pool that exists today,
is weighted on the side of people who are predisposed to things like team work,
and group behaviors, which likely includes spirituality and the predisposition
to believe in a god or gods. If the strongest social groups were based on religion
or a belief system, then the “godless” never survived over the long
run to make it to the modern world.
PSYCHOLOGY —
CIVILIZATION
It all comes down to intelligence and power.