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Would the world be a better place without religion?


Itoero

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This might help to advance the evolution discussion a bit.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandrel_%28biology%29


 


In evolutionary biology, a spandrel is a phenotypic characteristic that is a byproduct of the evolution of some other characteristic, rather than a direct product of adaptive selection.

The term originated during the Roman era as an architectural word for the roughly triangular space between the tops of two adjacent arches and the ceiling. These spaces were not actually utilized until later on, when artists realized they could make designs and paint in these small areas, enhancing the overall design of the building. Stephen Jay Gould, a paleontologist at Harvard, and Richard Lewontin, a population geneticist, borrowed the word to apply to secondary byproducts of adaptations that were not necessarily adaptive in themselves.

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Because I was left speechless by the speed and distance you were able to move the goalposts from one post to the next, while failing to provide any support or meaningful arguments.

 

You started with:

 

"I don't think a world without religion would be possible... A world without religion would be a world without life..."

 

After being trivially proved wrong you completely changed direction and claimed that the earliest life had certain properties that evolved into religion:

 

"...but there was never life without the properties that evolved into religion..."

 

Finally, after being asked to provide a list of those properties in bacteria you moved onto a complete dodge and another utterly meaningless claim:

 

"I have no idea.

Evolution works via cause and effect and is a continuous process so there must have been properties which enabled the evolution/development of that what we call 'religion'."

 

You may as well have claimed that at approximately 1,000,000 years after the Big Bang the universe contained properties that enabled Chopin to one day compose The Minute Waltz while scratching his ass with his left hand. It may be true but it tells us absolutely nothing and has nothing to do with whether or not life is possible without religion.

lol Another dude that does not understand much and that misrepresent things.

The first bacteria had properties which evolved into religion. If they hadn't then they were not part of the evolution that let to humans....which is what young earth creationists think...

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The first bacteria had properties which evolved into religion. If they hadn't then they were not part of the evolution that let to humans....

 

The only property it had, that relates to humans, is the ability to evolve; bacteria doesn't think (in the way we understand it) so it doesn't believe.

 

It's like suggesting concrete believes in buildings.

Edited by dimreepr
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The only property it had, that relates to humans, is the ability to evolve; bacteria doesn't think (in the way we understand it) so it doesn't believe.

 

It's like suggesting concrete believes in buildings.

You are again putting words in my mouth. I never said bacteria could/can think or believe. I said there were properties of the first bacteria which evolved into religion. Edited by Itoero
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My post about the possible relevance of oxytocin is now a few pages back, but I have now learned that this oxytocin-religion hypothesis has received some testing and preliminary support.

Sex, the cuddle chemical, and religion (Kate Stockly-Myerdirk)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scienceonreligion/2014/10/sex-the-cuddle-chemical-and-religion/

Oxytocin, Spirituality, and the Biology of Feeling Connected (Christopher Bergland)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201609/oxytocin-spirituality-and-the-biology-feeling-connected

I find it pertinent to this thread because it could explain why so many priests and pastors have molested children. Psychologists now acknowledge pedophilia as a distinct sexual orientation, although not all molesters suffer form it. You basically have hebephiles, who like pubescent kids; non-exclusive type pedophilies, who have some hebephilic attractions; and exclusive-type pedophiles. Some research suggests that the pedophile's brain is cross-wired such that the nurturing instincts and sexual instincts become confused.

Pedophiles' Brain Differences Make Researchers Reconsider Treatment (Sarah Barness, Huffingtonpost)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/science-explains-pedophiles-brain-video_n_4640067.html

 

What did he find? Pedophiles’ brains tend to have significantly less white matter. That’s the brain’s cabling tissue, which connects different parts of the brain together, and enables us to react appropriately to people and situations.

“Instead of evoking the responses that come with perceiving a kid, it’s as if it’s cross-wired, and when it sees a kid... it’s triggering the sex response system instead of the parental nurturing system,” Cantor says in the video.


IMO it is not unreasonable to postulate that oxytocin, a neuropeptide involved in nurturing instincts and sexual instincts, could be problematic for anyone with a pedophilic preference.

Edited by MonDie
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Would the world be a better place without religion? A 100% yes is my answer.

Screw christian charity and missions to africa and building wells and the salvation army and all those good people who believe in Gods.

Just kill them all and the world will be a better place.

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Screw christian charity and missions to africa and building wells and the salvation army and all those good people who believe in Gods.

Just kill them all and the world will be a better place.

Take away religion and do you not think humanity would still continue in world aid?

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Screw christian charity and missions to africa and building wells and the salvation army and all those good people who believe in Gods.

Just kill them all and the world will be a better place.

You seem to be taking this personally. I suspect that people who run missions and provide help to the needy would do so whether religion existed or not. I for one know many people who are charitable to others and are not religious. Saying that the world would be better off without religion is not the same as saying religion is all bad; only that on net it is a negative.

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You seem to be taking this personally. I suspect that people who run missions and provide help to the needy would do so whether religion existed or not. I for one know many people who are charitable to others and are not religious. Saying that the world would be better off without religion is not the same as saying religion is all bad; only that on net it is a negative.

I'm not sure the net is negative.

I think it's positive.

Take away religion and do you not think humanity would still continue in world aid?

Yes.

I'm fairly certain a lot of it would stop.

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I'm not sure the net is negative.

I think it's positive.

I'm not sure it would be negative either. I just want to make the point that most people don't find religious charity to be a bad thing. I don't think anyone was suggesting that killing people who practice Christian charity is appropriate.

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Yes.

I'm fairly certain a lot of it would stop.

People who are only practicing charity for fear of retribution if they don't would almost certainly stop if religion ended. Although in my mind that doesn't say much for those people.

Edited by zapatos
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People who are only practicing charity for fear of retribution if they don't would almost certainly stop if religion ended. Although in my mind that doesn't say much for those people.

Religion never lost a war and even today they still ''own'' our Earth.

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