Worship is normal
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Billions in human history have believed in God or gods, supernatural powers, or have worshipped something or other.
Funny, that. Why would so many people do those things. We don't see animals do those things. Why would so many people do those things if there wasn't anything in it.
[This includes people who understand and are working in science and other intellectual pursuits so lack of intellect or understanding of science is not an explanation.]
35 comments
Lack of common sense and the lack to accept that this life is all you'll have and nothing is there to constantly "comfort" you is an explanation.
Billions in human history have believed in imaginary friends as children, including but not limited to Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and any friends they create to keep themselves company. Are those real, too?
Retard.
They do that cause they were raised by retarded fucks like yourself.
Just like what Hitler said:
"If you tell a lie long enough, and loud enough the people would believe it."
Funny, that. Why would so many people do those things. We don't see animals do those things. bad light to fundies. Funny how that's suddenly reversed when it comes to religion.
To answer the question, though, animals don't pray (glad you realized that - there are people who do actually believe that animals pray!) because their brains aren't complex enough to comprehend the possibility of higher powers.
Why would so many people do those things if there wasn't anything in it.
Oh, I don't know... for the same reason the Soviets and Chinese participated in Communism, perhaps? For the same reason so many alchemists tried to make gold out of other materials? For the same reason everyone back in the days thought the Earth was flat?
Because they are wrong ?
You do not know whether or not animals have activities and mindsets that are rough equivalents for human worship. Why so many people believe in the supernatural and worship, I cannot answer...probably has something to do with fear of the unknown, willingness to submit to higher authorities for protection, and a good dosage of guillibility. But, that's just my guess.
Okay, I'll take this at face value for the moment and throw out my thoughts:
Who's to say that your god, as opposed to all those other gods, is the right one to worship?
19. ARGUMENT FROM NUMBERS
197. ARGUMENT FROM SCIENTISTS
http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm
"Billions in human history have believed in God or gods, supernatural powers, or have worshipped something or other."
Argumentum ad Populum
"Funny, that. Why would so many people do those things. We don't see animals do those things. Why would so many people do those things if there wasn't anything in it."
Because there is something in it. They get emotional fulfillment of some sort or other, acceptance by society and socialization with other believers.
Why would people think the world is flat if it wasn't?
"(glad you realized that - there are people who do actually believe that animals pray!)"
In the muslim religion, plants also pray.
Animals don't do it because they don't give a crap about the meaning of life or where they came from. They function on instinct. They don't think further ahead than where the next meal is coming from.
Humans create gods as a way to explain the unexplainable. Men create religion as a way to control other men. It's about power.
God is the answer to great cosmic question "why". Rather than accepting that there isn't an answer or reason, humans create deities to explain what they can't explain themselves. It's easier on them that way. Eventually, other people caught on to how easily man could be manipulated by other men, so religion was born and control and power stood on top.
Superstitious peoples have always invested their collective psyche in a strong and helpful sky fairy to protect them from the wind and storm and wild creatures.
You don't see animals do these things, but you don't speak their languages, so you have not interviewed them, and thus you are not qualified to speak with any certainty on the matter.
Enlightened peoples do not need a supernatural protector. It seems, however, that in our quest for total knowledge, certain metaphysical questions arise [dualism for example], and a paranormal agent can be hypothetically accepted as a cause. Anything beyond that, belief-wise, is simply a familiar and sentimental tribal tradition.
I don't think this one is stupid at all. Why do people worship things when it doesn't benefit them? Sometimes it even costs them. It is an interesting question and "because they're stupid" is not a satisfactory answer. In The God Delusion, Dawkins covers some theories about why people form and join religions. I think it's a pretty good answer to Scarlets79's post.
"Billions in human history have believed in God or gods, supernatural powers, or have worshipped something or other."
And nearly all of them, I suspect Scarlet79 included, also believed that anyone who worshipped something other than what they worshipped was wrong, misguided and/or evil.
So if 9/10ths of those billions of people were worshipping the wrong thing, what possible support could they be to any argument that the remaining 1/10th are worshipping the right one?
Congratulations, Scarlet79, you have just proven that you are, in all likelihood, mistaken in your beliefs!
This article may interest you:
http://www.holysmoke.org/hs02/survey99.htm
Since the dawn of storytelling, the human race has needed explanations for everything that happens. Once our minds evolved beyond seeing and comprehending only the immediate, that is; something which other animals have yet to develop.
When things happen which could not be explained, it was given to the gods. When it was bad, it was either a bad god or the people had done something to displease their otherwise beneficial gods.
Evolving needs of society led to what we have now, a few completely insane fascist blood gods being worshiped by half the population of the earth.
I happen to consider buddhist, shinto, hindu, et al. beliefs to be largely benign.
There is a nice German saying for this sort of argument: translated, it is something like: "Eat shit: millions if flies can't be wrong!"
@#623097: You're too funny!
#623316...
Belief in God(s), ironically enough, might have been an evolutionary advantage. Widespread belief and worship of deities would facilitate social order through the divine right of kings, emperors, and priests. Religion is a manmade tool to control people; those humans that learned how to use this power would become the ones that founded civilizations.
That [good point btw] is tailor made for feudal societies, indeed the only necessary civil framework. Mix in a charismatic warlord or two, and you're all set for a good old medieval time!
I suppose there were plenty enough responsible, sensitive, and humanistic priest-lords over the centuries, but these are historic nonentities.
The ones that make the news though, are everyone's problem.
I defer to Opus of Bloom County. (paraphrased)
"When I was in Antarctica, every day an airplane would fly overhead and millions of penguins would raise their heads and watch it fly over. As it passed, all those penguins would raise their heads so far back that they would all fall flat on their backs."
The point?
"If a million people do a stupid thing, it's still a stupid thing."
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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