"...a God based on willful acceptance of unsubstantiated ideas is indistinguishable from a god which exists only in fantasy."
Most religious folks would insist that a divine being is using all his awesome power to remain undetected. Factor in a bit of psychological deception, and presto, we understand why so many people believe in false religious ideas. The question becomes, why do they assume that they are NOT under any psychological deception with regards to their religious views?
For Mormons to consider:
Theres no evidence that God exists, and there IS evidence that religious adherents are employing documented psychological biases! If you are open to this possiblity, watch AntiCitizenX's videos on "Psychology of Belief" on his youtube channel. Very eye opening.
Many people have retained their beliefs by looking for evidence to support it. Creationists believe the world is under 10,000 years old and have found what they believe is evidence to support this idea. What they have really found though, is not evidence at all, but have found ways to IGNORE evidence by focusing on certain aspects of the evidence (or even focusing on complete falsehoods) in order to retain their belief. When in pursuit of knowledge, the scientific method was a way in which we could be rid of our ignorance and bias, and get at what is ACTUALLY true. The more details (his teachings, his plan, his form etc) someone claims to know about God, the more unlikely and irrational this unprovable divine being becomes, simply because there is no basis for which to make these detailed claims aside from spiritual experiences, which are known to give opposing truth claims and therefore unreliable.
For every Mormon that gains strength and happiness through their beliefs, there are hundreds of equally happy Catholics or Muslims. For every Latter-day Saint that feels the presence of God, there are hundreds of others with equally valid and powerful spiritual experiences that confirm opposing truths. I wonder if you doubt that this is true.
For mormons to consider:
I'm sure you don't believe that Mormons have a monopoly on spiritually constructed truth claims. Do you simply believe that any truth claim in opposition to your own was the result of an invisible evil being? Have you thoroughly considered that it could just be a natural psychological phenomenon?
Take evolution as an illustration of how humanity used to believe that "God did it" to explain the variety of life on earth simply because they did not know the natural process by which life evolved. The notion that God must exist because we have certain evidences or feelings, negates the perfectly plausible explanation that we are here by simply natural means, as yet unexplainable by the scientific method. We already have evolution as an example of how we need to be humble when approaching truth claims attributed to God. There is no need for divine power to be involved with evolution. We have not proven or dis proven God's existence based on evidence, but we cannot simply rely on faulty methods to give us an answer that generally make us feel good and quenches our desire for answers. It is honorable to admit "I don't know".
People have debated this topic for centuries. The difference is that now, in the age of reason and science, one side is beginning to lose.
For Mormons to consider:
You may think that the church is growing rapidly, but ask yourlself where? Is it growing in the developed and educated world? The mental gymnastics that come naturally to those who trust their feelings above science, are carefully being stripped away by the advance of the information age.
Mormon missionaries can now knock on someones door, and after 30 seconds the potential convert can search online and find information that the church only recently allowed black members to hold certain priveleges. These and other red flags allow the rational person of today who is not deeply indoctrinated with documented psychological manipulation techniques and biases (that the church blatantly employs), to say to themselves in all honesty, "this simply doesn't add up."
It matters what we believe. If everyone in the world believes there is a divine plan in place, then how could we possibly thwart God's plan? We could not. Therefore, if we destroy our environment, then in the end we can all be rest assured that this was God's plan all along. Or we might believe that the earth will be renewed as the LDS church teaches, and this places less significance on the environment.
For Mormons to consider:
Sometimes people will say "the church is still a good way to live even if it isn't true". I ask you which is most important to a member of the church: the environment, or missionary work? Then ask yourself if your beliefs have an impact on everyone's future if the church is not true.
We can ignore certain aspects of scientific discovery, rationalizing away our pursuit of longer life spans for example, because it is not God's plan for us humans to live forever. What a shame that would be! These important questions all have significant repercussions when we believe that God is in control of our destiny, or that we humans alone are in control. Without a divine plan, it can be our plan. We can have hope that we can reduce suffering, end war, be rid of disease and increase happiness here in this life, all without feeling like we are going against God's plan. I am grateful that I do not live in anticipation of the next life, which helps me to emphasize the importance of this life.
For Mormons to consider:
As a believer in many things, I will change my beliefs anytime I am given sufficient evidence to support new ideas. I hope you can resolve to do the same, and remove the special protected status of your testimony that acts as a wall in the mind that usually sits between ones religious views and reality. I am being blunt because I believe in the importance of truth, and the impact it has on everyones future.
“I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its Churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.”
-Bertrand Russell
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Google vs Prayer
My brother just conducted an experiment, LOL:
I just conducted an experiment to see how Google and Prayer compare. After praying I only got my own thoughts, so after a LONG pause I concluded the answer is in the scriptures and I resorted to Moses on this one. Here is my question:
"What should we do for women that survive war?"
-----------
Prayer Method: (Search time: 8 mins)
Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, ...which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?...Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him (ie the virgins), keep alive for yourselves. (Num 31:14-18)
-----------
-----------
Google Method: (Search time: 0.5 mins)
#1 Search Result:
As each woman engages in a multi-phase process of recovery and rehabilitation, she opens a window of opportunity presented by the end of conflict to help improve the rights, freedoms and status of women in her country. As women who go through our program assume leadership positions in their villages, actively participate in the reconstruction of their communities, build civil society, start businesses, train other women and serve as role models, they become active citizens who can help to establish lasting peace and stability.
-----------
What do you think? Which method wins here?
I just conducted an experiment to see how Google and Prayer compare. After praying I only got my own thoughts, so after a LONG pause I concluded the answer is in the scriptures and I resorted to Moses on this one. Here is my question:
"What should we do for women that survive war?"
-----------
Prayer Method: (Search time: 8 mins)
Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, ...which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?...Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him (ie the virgins), keep alive for yourselves. (Num 31:14-18)
-----------
-----------
Google Method: (Search time: 0.5 mins)
#1 Search Result:
As each woman engages in a multi-phase process of recovery and rehabilitation, she opens a window of opportunity presented by the end of conflict to help improve the rights, freedoms and status of women in her country. As women who go through our program assume leadership positions in their villages, actively participate in the reconstruction of their communities, build civil society, start businesses, train other women and serve as role models, they become active citizens who can help to establish lasting peace and stability.
-----------
What do you think? Which method wins here?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
This guy knows where its at!
Not everything applies to the LDS faith in this video, but most of it does! This video shares a lot with my views!
Two thumbs up!
Two thumbs up!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tim Minchin is My Hero.
Best line in the poem below:
"Science adjusts its beliefs based on what's observed
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Our intuition leading to truth.
Does an idea have validity when it is confirmed by your intuition (or "the spirit")?
I think so. Our subconscious mind picks up on all sorts of things we are not aware of. This is a must see in understanding how impressionable our minds are. Click here to watch.
When it comes to our subconscious mind aiding us in our day to day decisions, I have no argument. But when it comes to explaining our existence and God's will? Our mind picks up on so much we don't understand, and therefore we cannot assume our intuition gets it right every time. If we are going to trust our intuition enough to base our entire lives around "feelings" or "spiritual experiences", we need to have a good idea about how our subconscious mind works, including the many biases and logical fallacies many humans fall into because of it.
I think so. Our subconscious mind picks up on all sorts of things we are not aware of. This is a must see in understanding how impressionable our minds are. Click here to watch.
When it comes to our subconscious mind aiding us in our day to day decisions, I have no argument. But when it comes to explaining our existence and God's will? Our mind picks up on so much we don't understand, and therefore we cannot assume our intuition gets it right every time. If we are going to trust our intuition enough to base our entire lives around "feelings" or "spiritual experiences", we need to have a good idea about how our subconscious mind works, including the many biases and logical fallacies many humans fall into because of it.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
When scientific evidence meets a strong belief, the evidence usually loses.
When I was Mormon I developed a wonderful talent of explaining away every criticism that might sabotage my beliefs. Any piece of evidence that might weaken my theological position was immediately scrutinized more than anything else in my life. For those who were not members of the church you may not quite be grasping the literalness of what I am saying. When I say immediately, that is what I mean. When I mean everything, I mean everything. This kind of behavior is important in order to support a world view that is unsupported. Lets give a few examples shall we?
I am living the gospel and not happy. Step one: Tell yourself you are not really living the gospel well enough, because it is a perfect divine system that brings happiness. I am OBVIOUSLY the problem here!!
I heard that wine is actually beneficial for those who drink it. Step one: Ask yourself how you can make this new discovery wrong. Step two: If unable to make this wrong, ignore it, and find ways to disprove it as you go along in life. Step three: One day I came across an article saying that drinking daily alcoholic beverages such as wine, etc, may increase the risk of throat cancer or breast cancer! PERFECT! I had my new information to completely dismiss this worrisome and 'threatening' knowledge that might weaken my religious views. I should point out that I am illustrating the process I used to retain my beliefs, not that wine is good or bad.
I heard that Utah uses the most anti depressants of any other state in the US. Step one: Ask yourself how you can make this new discovery mean that the church is true. Step two: Convince yourself that, since the church is true and people are tempted by the devil, you would expect the GREATEST amount of temptation to occur in Utah! Thus the greater instances of depressed people, account for the truthfulness of the church! PERFECT!
Someone left the church. Step one: Ask yourself 'what was their bad reason for leaving the truth?' Step two: Identify the most likely sinful behavior this person may have been involved with, or which doctrine they misunderstood etc. Step three: Once identified, laugh at their ridiculousness of leaving the church for such unfounded reasons and commit to never losing your testimony for similar wickedness.
Unfavorable church history: Step one: go to fairlds.org and see what they have to say about it. Accept their answer as the most correct, since they are obviously honest Mormons defending the truth. Step two: If the answer is unsatisfactory, try to ignore it by reminding yourself that the church had many enemies in its infancy and that the history of the church could have been altered to make the church look bad, and that it is really difficult to have solid information about what REALLY happened way back then. Step three: Remind yourself that the church is true not based on solid facts, but because you had an amazing feeling directly from God. Try to ignore that this mental process could be duplicated with any religious doctrine, and confirm any belief desired.
Learning that the temple endowments were ripped off of the masonic rituals. Step one: Recover from the shock. Why has no one told me this until my mission?? Step two: Frantically try to figure out how the church can still be true. Step three: Convince yourself that either the masonic rituals were based off of the original temple endowment from Jesus Christ's ministry, or that the temple endowment specifics ceremony) were not that important, just the covenants themselves were important (anotherwords allowing the all powerful God to rip off the masonic rituals just for for the sake of having a ceremony mixed in with the covenants). Funny how two unfounded answers is better than one true one. It always felt like when I can find more than one "answer" on fairlds.org it was a more solid answer, which makes no sense whatsoever- unless of course you factor in the REASON you are looking for an answer, (any answer) which is to "retain your belief system."
I watched a creationist video showing the "evidence" that the earth was not millions of years old, it was only thousands! Step one: Thats so cool! Just like the bible says!? Accept new belief as probably true. (to my credit I did wonder about it and didn't completely accept it as truth but I look back on how silly it was that I took it without really thinking for myself, it was just something I thought held validity because it supported my belief system)
Do any other members remember thinking in these ways? Give me some other examples in the comments!
Oh! And just for good measure, here is the best one, because it was the one that finally broke me out of this unreasonable cycle of convincing myself of something that wasn't true.
There are plausible explanations for spiritual experiences that do not require the existence of a divine being. Step one: Whatever, I believe anyway. Step two: Hmmmmm. Step three: Crap.
Here is a great video I recently saw, and if you think about patriarchal blessings while watching it, you will probably enjoy it more.
But think about those who are sincerely convinced that psychic powers are real. Just like in this video, they might be amazed and totally convinced because they actually experienced it! But the experience was misinterpreted! Luckily the video was made in order to EDUCATE people on this matter. But what if there was no education. The person continues on with their life amazed at the psychic abilities of Darren brown. How can you convince this person they were duped? It would be very difficult. And when it comes to a personal feeling that you attribute to God himself?? The difficulty level in convincing someone of more plausible alternative explanations increases dramatically (especially when coupled with weekly/daily "strengthening your testimony" exercises, a community of like minded friends, the habitual demonizing of those who have left the faith and a multitude of other practices that will aid you in retaining a completely unfounded belief).
A friend of mine said this:
"Which path is likely to be more deceived. The one that claims absolute truth and must make evidence conform to it, or the one that is open to the possibility of being wrong, and willing to incorporate compelling evidence into the belief set."
I am living the gospel and not happy. Step one: Tell yourself you are not really living the gospel well enough, because it is a perfect divine system that brings happiness. I am OBVIOUSLY the problem here!!
I heard that wine is actually beneficial for those who drink it. Step one: Ask yourself how you can make this new discovery wrong. Step two: If unable to make this wrong, ignore it, and find ways to disprove it as you go along in life. Step three: One day I came across an article saying that drinking daily alcoholic beverages such as wine, etc, may increase the risk of throat cancer or breast cancer! PERFECT! I had my new information to completely dismiss this worrisome and 'threatening' knowledge that might weaken my religious views. I should point out that I am illustrating the process I used to retain my beliefs, not that wine is good or bad.
I heard that Utah uses the most anti depressants of any other state in the US. Step one: Ask yourself how you can make this new discovery mean that the church is true. Step two: Convince yourself that, since the church is true and people are tempted by the devil, you would expect the GREATEST amount of temptation to occur in Utah! Thus the greater instances of depressed people, account for the truthfulness of the church! PERFECT!
Someone left the church. Step one: Ask yourself 'what was their bad reason for leaving the truth?' Step two: Identify the most likely sinful behavior this person may have been involved with, or which doctrine they misunderstood etc. Step three: Once identified, laugh at their ridiculousness of leaving the church for such unfounded reasons and commit to never losing your testimony for similar wickedness.
Unfavorable church history: Step one: go to fairlds.org and see what they have to say about it. Accept their answer as the most correct, since they are obviously honest Mormons defending the truth. Step two: If the answer is unsatisfactory, try to ignore it by reminding yourself that the church had many enemies in its infancy and that the history of the church could have been altered to make the church look bad, and that it is really difficult to have solid information about what REALLY happened way back then. Step three: Remind yourself that the church is true not based on solid facts, but because you had an amazing feeling directly from God. Try to ignore that this mental process could be duplicated with any religious doctrine, and confirm any belief desired.
Learning that the temple endowments were ripped off of the masonic rituals. Step one: Recover from the shock. Why has no one told me this until my mission?? Step two: Frantically try to figure out how the church can still be true. Step three: Convince yourself that either the masonic rituals were based off of the original temple endowment from Jesus Christ's ministry, or that the temple endowment specifics ceremony) were not that important, just the covenants themselves were important (anotherwords allowing the all powerful God to rip off the masonic rituals just for for the sake of having a ceremony mixed in with the covenants). Funny how two unfounded answers is better than one true one. It always felt like when I can find more than one "answer" on fairlds.org it was a more solid answer, which makes no sense whatsoever- unless of course you factor in the REASON you are looking for an answer, (any answer) which is to "retain your belief system."
I watched a creationist video showing the "evidence" that the earth was not millions of years old, it was only thousands! Step one: Thats so cool! Just like the bible says!? Accept new belief as probably true. (to my credit I did wonder about it and didn't completely accept it as truth but I look back on how silly it was that I took it without really thinking for myself, it was just something I thought held validity because it supported my belief system)
Do any other members remember thinking in these ways? Give me some other examples in the comments!
Oh! And just for good measure, here is the best one, because it was the one that finally broke me out of this unreasonable cycle of convincing myself of something that wasn't true.
There are plausible explanations for spiritual experiences that do not require the existence of a divine being. Step one: Whatever, I believe anyway. Step two: Hmmmmm. Step three: Crap.
Here is a great video I recently saw, and if you think about patriarchal blessings while watching it, you will probably enjoy it more.
But think about those who are sincerely convinced that psychic powers are real. Just like in this video, they might be amazed and totally convinced because they actually experienced it! But the experience was misinterpreted! Luckily the video was made in order to EDUCATE people on this matter. But what if there was no education. The person continues on with their life amazed at the psychic abilities of Darren brown. How can you convince this person they were duped? It would be very difficult. And when it comes to a personal feeling that you attribute to God himself?? The difficulty level in convincing someone of more plausible alternative explanations increases dramatically (especially when coupled with weekly/daily "strengthening your testimony" exercises, a community of like minded friends, the habitual demonizing of those who have left the faith and a multitude of other practices that will aid you in retaining a completely unfounded belief).
A friend of mine said this:
"Which path is likely to be more deceived. The one that claims absolute truth and must make evidence conform to it, or the one that is open to the possibility of being wrong, and willing to incorporate compelling evidence into the belief set."
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
I am free.
We live in a free country. I may disagree with Mormons, or with religion in general. But this is simply barbaric. I can hardly believe the intolerance! I am grateful to be free from this type of oppression. I am grateful to be free from religion.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Only lies need monthly testimonial reminders to stay true.
I don't need to "strengthen my testimony" about gravity. It's just true. I don't need to "protect my testimony" of 1 + 1= 2. It's just a fact. If something were untrue, then I can see how "strengthening your testimony" or "protecting" that falsehood would be important in order to maintain that belief. Monthly testimony meeting to reinforce beliefs? Oh what a great idea!
The topic of religion is a very touchy subject. Feelings get hurt so easily, because they want to hold onto this false idea so badly that it is annoying to have it challenged.
"We are offending people but we are also telling them that they are wrong to be offended. Physicists aren't offended when their view of physics is disproved or challenged, thats not the way rational minds operate when they are really trying to get at whats true in the world. Religions purport to be representing reality and yet there is this peevish and tribal and ultimately dangerous reflexive response to having these ideas challenged."
-Sam Harris
The topic of religion is a very touchy subject. Feelings get hurt so easily, because they want to hold onto this false idea so badly that it is annoying to have it challenged.
"We are offending people but we are also telling them that they are wrong to be offended. Physicists aren't offended when their view of physics is disproved or challenged, thats not the way rational minds operate when they are really trying to get at whats true in the world. Religions purport to be representing reality and yet there is this peevish and tribal and ultimately dangerous reflexive response to having these ideas challenged."
-Sam Harris
Monday, May 10, 2010
Alternative Medicine.
It's very interesting how many false ideas I had of the world growing up. I recently found a website http://www.quackwatch.org/ and it describes why so many practices of alternative medicine have no basis for reality. I browsed the website quickly, and I certainly didn't critically examine every claim- but that is the wonderful thing about the world today! We can carefully analyze any idea we find and come to a greater understanding of its truth. One of the saddest problems the world faces today is the lack of teaching our growing generations the simple process of critical thinking. Here is a wonderful video I came across on the subject:
Great video.
"Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons."
-Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer, founder and editor of Skeptic magazine
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Christ committed suicide?
If I were sitting on a bench, and heavy rain started pouring, and a flood commences.. I would say anyone who sits there and drowns without trying to save themselves is committing suicide. Especially if they had a button that could be pressed that magically stopped the flood from happening. I guess I just want to hear your thoughts: if Christ did nothing to stop his death, but had the power to do so, was he not committing suicide? And if he did commit suicide, wouldn't this be considered a sin, and thus make Christs final moments no longer sinless and nullify the doctrine of atonement? Even if you don't consider it suicide, I would still contend that INACTION is considered a sin in LDS doctrine, and Christ is clearly guilty of this in the Biblical narrative. Anyway just some thoughts... what do you think?
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