Comments on: Religion makes everything better

By: caveat bettor

caveat bettor — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:05:17 +0000

I think what Bill James said in answering questions at Freakonomics is closer to reality (empirical and unmeasurable):

Scientists donâ€™t know anything more about whether there is a God than morons do, because itâ€™s not a scientific issue. This isnâ€™t something I can measure. Itâ€™s a matter of faith.

By: Al Swearengen

Al Swearengen — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:50:34 +0000

What I was saying in #3 is that there are plenty of people who believe in heaven, but would still not be selfish enough to let their child die like these people did.

I guess my point is that it’s not so much religious/agnostic as it is a matter of degree. For me it’s when people choose prayer over science/reality and people end up getting hurt because of it. That’s where I draw the line.

By: caveat bettor

caveat bettor — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:07:28 +0000

I don’t get #3.

Many of the great universities and hospitals were built by people of faith. Sure, in the secular trending of American society, they are being run by agnotheists and being subsidized more by taxpayers instead of charitable donations.

Why the hatred then?

By: Al Swearengen

Al Swearengen — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:46:17 +0000

Refer to comment #3

By: caveat bettor

caveat bettor — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:52:01 +0000

So you are rounding up all religious people, regardless of creed or capacity for responsible decision-making, and putting us all in the Idiot’s Camp?

Does that mean I can put all agnotheists into the Friends of Stalinist & Unabomber Camp?

C’mon, you can do better than this.

By: John Rove

John Rove — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:41:33 +0000

the thing about a story like this is most times the person does get better, our immune systems are wonderful things. In those cases the faithful can say “look prayer works” sure it was probably just a common cold but that wont stop them from claiming success.

I remember someone tried to see if prayer really helped the sick, I think found that thier was no effect or possibly even worse outcomes, maybe due to infections that people gave to the sick while they were praying for them.

By: Al Swearengen

Al Swearengen — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:58:25 +0000

“Faith” is so revered in our culture…at least that’s what I am told. Many people have faith in something that might not be possible (heaven, angels, etc), yet their common sense is not driven by these concepts when other people count on them for support.

This story is the epitome of that slice of American Faithful who feel it is their job to make people believe what they believe. Assuming that the adults in their life weren’t buying their shtick, an idea to create another human being who would have no choice in the matter…

How tragically selfish!

By: John Rove

John Rove — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:39:45 +0000

Good point!! It is silly to think that if god exists he is going to help someone who is too lazy to help themselves when thousands if not millions of people are praying for god to bring a loved ones back to life or make a soldier whole again after a roadside bomb. All these people had to do was go to the doctor, god gave them the means to help themselves, they chose not to use it.

By: Al Swearengen

Al Swearengen — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:04:05 +0000

They need to be prosecuted…if they were stupid enough to believe that God was paying extra special attention to them, then maybe it’s justified to charge them with involuntary manslaughter. Criminal negligence is a slam dunk…

I find it easy to compare people like this with those who watch 24 and think that’s how the real world is. The tendency to release one’s mind permanently to the realm of make believe is a symptom of how ineffective our education system has been for so long now.