Religion

tama

(9,137 posts)

3. Mental and social phenomena

Fri Dec 30, 2011, 07:17 AM

Dec 2011

are hard to separate. When a "religious" experience gets interpreted in a certain way and becomes a doctrine and dogma, enter the power games. AFAIK members of this group are in general agreement about that - and that also scientific theories and hypotheses can become paradigmatic doctrines and dogmas in human minds, they don't happen in social vacuum.

"Faith" does not imply, by necessity, belief in any doctrine, it can be as simple as self-confidence without setting any limits of potentiality to "self". The leap from considering something scientifically unproven (and unprovable) to believing that what is unproven is impossible, can be a self-fulfilling prediction, and thus setting individual limits of experience. Human potential and human limits have a lot to do with open mind.

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Setting human limitations... [View all] Humanist_Activist Dec 2011 OP

Thanks tama Dec 2011 #1

I view religion as a mental phenomenon... Humanist_Activist Dec 2011 #2

Mental and social phenomena tama Dec 2011 #3

The difference is that science is self correcting, to account for human fallibility... Humanist_Activist Dec 2011 #15

Self correcting tama Dec 2011 #20

And that's why I don't use faith to describe my confidence in those things... Humanist_Activist Dec 2011 #25

Based on previous experience tama Dec 2011 #27

Science can't answer everything... Eliminator Dec 2011 #4

Clearly religion can never replace science. rrneck Dec 2011 #6

I don't think science will replace religion... cleanhippie Dec 2011 #9

Absolutely. rrneck Dec 2011 #13

+1 cleanhippie Dec 2011 #8

which is why it's the God of the gaps deacon_sephiroth Dec 2011 #10

God of the gaps tama Dec 2011 #14

Glad to see the name Henry Drummond mentioned in this forum a quite amazing man. Leontius Dec 2011 #21

In your attempt to discuss human limitations you raise 2 spurious issues: fear and religion. Jim__ Dec 2011 #5

Plato's Sophist tama Dec 2011 #16

Well, apparently, we can understand the world we live in through "other ways of knowing" cleanhippie Dec 2011 #7

and I think that's the point of the day (week? month? century?) deacon_sephiroth Dec 2011 #11

Many examples have been given tama Dec 2011 #18

I am really confused here. cbayer Dec 2011 #19

Since we seem able to design machinery to significantly expand the ability of the brain rrneck Dec 2011 #12

I think the only limits on our capabilities are those imposed on us by the laws of physics... Humanist_Activist Dec 2011 #17

I'd like to join your "cautiously optimistic" view of the world, and MarkCharles Dec 2011 #22

I don't think religion will go away, rather I think its influence on society will steadily... Humanist_Activist Dec 2011 #23

Good thoughts there! I don't object to people getting together on Sundays MarkCharles Dec 2011 #24

I agree wholeheartedly how dare someone think they are right the arrogant bastards Leontius Dec 2011 #26