if GOD exists... Question.

[bc2310]

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

Originally Posted by BC2310

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey



Atheists aren't the only ones who preach proof and evidence, religious people do as well....they choose to throw it out the window when it is convenient. If I tell a religious person I saw a 50 foot giraffe fly toward me and tell me it was God I guarantee they are going to ask for proof.

Religious people have something called 'Faith' though. I don't knock em' for that. You didn't answer my question about love.

Yes, ironically they call atheists out for denying their faith yet they deny other faiths.

Your question about love is not as profound as you're attempting to make it to be

-Why does a mother "love" its child? Love is a human emotion governed by a complex interplay between brain chemistry, familiarity and other factors. Not sure what did has to do with religion.  In the same way hate is a complex emotion that can be wired into our psyche. I can teach my offspring to hate a certain group of people. Not sure what you're getting at. Atheists believe in emotions....I don't see why they wouldn't.

Ok, I just thought that Atheists needed proof for everything including love. 
I'm really not getting at anything, one of my buddies brought it up during  a convo, and I wondered about it. 

I mean you can't really 'prove' that you love someone. You just love them. Same goes for any emotion. 

Some mothers don't love their kids. In fact some mothers despise their own seeds.

Obviously everyone on both sides gets somewhat emotional when these kind've threads come up.

So maybe all beliefs come with an emotional attachment?

 And people can't objectively see both sides.

I mean someone knocks someone else because they don't agree with it and how they were raised. When really it has no effect on them whatsoever.

People think they're educating others, when really they're just preaching themselves, and sounding just as dumb (not in their own mind obviously) as who they're arguing with.

Sorry I'm being difficult I just can't wrap my head around people getting so worked up and putting each other down when these subjects come up.

It's like arguing over a poorly written math problem 

 

[bc2310]

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

Originally Posted by BC2310

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey



Atheists aren't the only ones who preach proof and evidence, religious people do as well....they choose to throw it out the window when it is convenient. If I tell a religious person I saw a 50 foot giraffe fly toward me and tell me it was God I guarantee they are going to ask for proof.

Religious people have something called 'Faith' though. I don't knock em' for that. You didn't answer my question about love.

Yes, ironically they call atheists out for denying their faith yet they deny other faiths.

Your question about love is not as profound as you're attempting to make it to be

-Why does a mother "love" its child? Love is a human emotion governed by a complex interplay between brain chemistry, familiarity and other factors. Not sure what did has to do with religion.  In the same way hate is a complex emotion that can be wired into our psyche. I can teach my offspring to hate a certain group of people. Not sure what you're getting at. Atheists believe in emotions....I don't see why they wouldn't.

Ok, I just thought that Atheists needed proof for everything including love. 
I'm really not getting at anything, one of my buddies brought it up during  a convo, and I wondered about it. 

I mean you can't really 'prove' that you love someone. You just love them. Same goes for any emotion. 

Some mothers don't love their kids. In fact some mothers despise their own seeds.

Obviously everyone on both sides gets somewhat emotional when these kind've threads come up.

So maybe all beliefs come with an emotional attachment?

 And people can't objectively see both sides.

I mean someone knocks someone else because they don't agree with it and how they were raised. When really it has no effect on them whatsoever.

People think they're educating others, when really they're just preaching themselves, and sounding just as dumb (not in their own mind obviously) as who they're arguing with.

Sorry I'm being difficult I just can't wrap my head around people getting so worked up and putting each other down when these subjects come up.

It's like arguing over a poorly written math problem 

 

[its that dude]

Originally Posted by BC2310

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

Originally Posted by BC2310

Religious people have something called 'Faith' though. I don't knock em' for that. You didn't answer my question about love.

Yes, ironically they call atheists out for denying their faith yet they deny other faiths.

Your question about love is not as profound as you're attempting to make it to be

-Why does a mother "love" its child? Love is a human emotion governed by a complex interplay between brain chemistry, familiarity and other factors. Not sure what did has to do with religion.  In the same way hate is a complex emotion that can be wired into our psyche. I can teach my offspring to hate a certain group of people. Not sure what you're getting at. Atheists believe in emotions....I don't see why they wouldn't.

Ok, I just thought that Atheists needed proof for everything including love. 
I'm really not getting at anything, one of my buddies brought it up during  a convo, and I wondered about it. 

I mean you can't really 'prove' that you love someone. You just love them. Same goes for any emotion. 

Some mothers don't love their kids. In fact some mothers despise their own seeds.

Obviously everyone on both sides gets somewhat emotional when these kind've threads come up.

So maybe all beliefs come with an emotional attachment?

 And people can't objectively see both sides.

I mean someone knocks someone else because they don't agree with it and how they were raised. When really it has no effect on them whatsoever.

People think they're educating others, when really they're just preaching themselves, and sounding just as dumb (not in their own mind obviously) as who they're arguing with.

Sorry I'm being difficult I just can't wrap my head around people getting so worked up and putting each other down when these subjects come up.

It's like arguing over a poorly written math problem 

Why do we argue about anything on NT then?

and just for the record, there have been NTers who turned atheists because of these religious threads on NT.

 

[its that dude]

Originally Posted by BC2310

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

Originally Posted by BC2310

Religious people have something called 'Faith' though. I don't knock em' for that. You didn't answer my question about love.

Yes, ironically they call atheists out for denying their faith yet they deny other faiths.

Your question about love is not as profound as you're attempting to make it to be

-Why does a mother "love" its child? Love is a human emotion governed by a complex interplay between brain chemistry, familiarity and other factors. Not sure what did has to do with religion.  In the same way hate is a complex emotion that can be wired into our psyche. I can teach my offspring to hate a certain group of people. Not sure what you're getting at. Atheists believe in emotions....I don't see why they wouldn't.

Ok, I just thought that Atheists needed proof for everything including love. 
I'm really not getting at anything, one of my buddies brought it up during  a convo, and I wondered about it. 

I mean you can't really 'prove' that you love someone. You just love them. Same goes for any emotion. 

Some mothers don't love their kids. In fact some mothers despise their own seeds.

Obviously everyone on both sides gets somewhat emotional when these kind've threads come up.

So maybe all beliefs come with an emotional attachment?

 And people can't objectively see both sides.

I mean someone knocks someone else because they don't agree with it and how they were raised. When really it has no effect on them whatsoever.

People think they're educating others, when really they're just preaching themselves, and sounding just as dumb (not in their own mind obviously) as who they're arguing with.

Sorry I'm being difficult I just can't wrap my head around people getting so worked up and putting each other down when these subjects come up.

It's like arguing over a poorly written math problem 

Why do we argue about anything on NT then?

and just for the record, there have been NTers who turned atheists because of these religious threads on NT.

 

[vatech733]

The human instinct at first is to say an omnipotent complex force or (GOD) created everything but when you actually start to think and break it down everything on earth started off simple and THEN gets more complex, just like the universe. If there was a GOD why wouldn't he just create everything instantly, why take literally billions of years to create everything? When you come to the realization that everything started off simple the idea of GOD becomes improbable and obsolete.

 

[vatech733]

The human instinct at first is to say an omnipotent complex force or (GOD) created everything but when you actually start to think and break it down everything on earth started off simple and THEN gets more complex, just like the universe. If there was a GOD why wouldn't he just create everything instantly, why take literally billions of years to create everything? When you come to the realization that everything started off simple the idea of GOD becomes improbable and obsolete.

 

[its that dude]

Originally Posted by Wr

Originally Posted by Its That Dude

Originally Posted by Wr

Wrong. It was only a popular idea in Europe and to say otherwise was death from the European church empire. The rest of the world knew it was round shape and that the earth was not the center of the universe. These ideas where later suppressed by the church to fit in with their propaganda and destroy peoples orientation to spirituality and the world around them.  
we are hardwired for the afterlife. 

I'll move it back 5-10 thousand years ago (I was too lazy to look up the info).  Or I'll change the flat earth to the geocentric earth.  It doesn't change the point.  Even if the majority or ALL people believe in something, it does not make it true.

Belief in a religion is a recent occurrence. Before Christianity was hi-jacked, the concept of spirituality and union with God was based on gnosis or knowledge. Believing in something is only relevant in the proximity of persuasive language and was identified as a sin in the bible.    

I was going to say, it doesn't change the point at all. In fact he may have inadvertently helped you make the point. A great number of people can be made to believe ANYTHING.

imagine someone in a debate, trying to MAKE A POINT?? 

beyond that, you didn't say much at all.

 

[its that dude]

Originally Posted by Wr

Originally Posted by Its That Dude

Originally Posted by Wr

Wrong. It was only a popular idea in Europe and to say otherwise was death from the European church empire. The rest of the world knew it was round shape and that the earth was not the center of the universe. These ideas where later suppressed by the church to fit in with their propaganda and destroy peoples orientation to spirituality and the world around them.  
we are hardwired for the afterlife. 

I'll move it back 5-10 thousand years ago (I was too lazy to look up the info).  Or I'll change the flat earth to the geocentric earth.  It doesn't change the point.  Even if the majority or ALL people believe in something, it does not make it true.

Belief in a religion is a recent occurrence. Before Christianity was hi-jacked, the concept of spirituality and union with God was based on gnosis or knowledge. Believing in something is only relevant in the proximity of persuasive language and was identified as a sin in the bible.    

I was going to say, it doesn't change the point at all. In fact he may have inadvertently helped you make the point. A great number of people can be made to believe ANYTHING.

imagine someone in a debate, trying to MAKE A POINT?? 

beyond that, you didn't say much at all.

 

[gambit215]

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

First off, I rarely start religious threads but I do comment in most of them. I suppose that's understandable...comes with the territory of being NTs resident hedon. I get credit for creating damn near every religious thread on NT

Hmm so to become an atheist one must go through a traumatic experience that lead them to reject their God? Did every child who stopped believing in Santa clause and the their imaginary friend go through a traumatic experience? Is it at all plausible that a lot of converted atheists become that way because the question the infallibility of their religion from a logical standpoint? Of course not.

5 billion people CAN be crazy, there's a reason why it's called the "Opium of the masses".


There are societies that are "Godless" who have a good concept of right from wrong. On the other hand throughout history there have been extremely religious societies who encourage a culture of inhumanity, hatred, war etc in the name of mythical creatures. You can't pray to God to take you to heaven when you own slaves and sacrifice your enemies. The concept of morality is actually very simple, religion seems to have this notion that the idea is exclusive to them which is far from the truth. All you have to do for proof of this is to look at history objectively. Many religions throughout history have preached positive consequences/reinforcement for immoral behaviors.

Not only good "deeds" are rewarded by religion, anybody who thinks so is naive.




Lastly, if you're too insecure in your "faith" to have these discussions stay out of the damn thread.

Aint nobody insecure. There is a God out there, but like I said before every week some of you seem to get off on starting a thread, having us defend ourselves and put up smileys, memes and pictures to play people, like any of YOU have the answer yourselves. The life is full of mystery, instead of trying to prove people wrong or make them look stupid, just go on with your life. I doubt anyone on this board  are killing or raping people in the name of God. Are we all hypocrites most Definitely, do I sit and question God's existence sometimes?, I would have to be a mindless slug not to, but thats the beauty of life, you have the freedom to think for yourself without having all the answers, there isnt  a cosmic power out there ready to punish on some Minority report !!%. There are rational  believers who do not let their religion determine how they think or live.  God isnt a magic genie who conjures up things in the snap of a finger.  Religious societies have been violent due to the immense POWER/CONTROL religions have, We created religions not God, and with everything we COMPLICATE the hell out everything. The same way you shake your heads at us, we look at you the same way. We pity you the same way you pity us, we think you are crazy the same you think we are crazy. The fact you are even typing a response with your nose in the air is a miracle upon itself. This is going NOWHERE, if some of you were successful in changing someones mind about God, good for you, just more company in hell.......


-Whoever brought up the whole we all thought the earth was flat thing is STUPID. WE thought the earth was Flat and the earth was the center of the Universe because we had NO IDEA.With knowledge we got our minds right.  We still have NO IDEA when it comes to God.

BTW, if you think theres no afterlife and the rest of your existence is rotting away in the ground getting eaten by maggots than I really dont have any other word to call you  but a miserable human being, like why just not off yourself and get the process started early as you are contributing NOTHING to the rest of the world.

 

[gambit215]

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

First off, I rarely start religious threads but I do comment in most of them. I suppose that's understandable...comes with the territory of being NTs resident hedon. I get credit for creating damn near every religious thread on NT

Hmm so to become an atheist one must go through a traumatic experience that lead them to reject their God? Did every child who stopped believing in Santa clause and the their imaginary friend go through a traumatic experience? Is it at all plausible that a lot of converted atheists become that way because the question the infallibility of their religion from a logical standpoint? Of course not.

5 billion people CAN be crazy, there's a reason why it's called the "Opium of the masses".


There are societies that are "Godless" who have a good concept of right from wrong. On the other hand throughout history there have been extremely religious societies who encourage a culture of inhumanity, hatred, war etc in the name of mythical creatures. You can't pray to God to take you to heaven when you own slaves and sacrifice your enemies. The concept of morality is actually very simple, religion seems to have this notion that the idea is exclusive to them which is far from the truth. All you have to do for proof of this is to look at history objectively. Many religions throughout history have preached positive consequences/reinforcement for immoral behaviors.

Not only good "deeds" are rewarded by religion, anybody who thinks so is naive.




Lastly, if you're too insecure in your "faith" to have these discussions stay out of the damn thread.

Aint nobody insecure. There is a God out there, but like I said before every week some of you seem to get off on starting a thread, having us defend ourselves and put up smileys, memes and pictures to play people, like any of YOU have the answer yourselves. The life is full of mystery, instead of trying to prove people wrong or make them look stupid, just go on with your life. I doubt anyone on this board  are killing or raping people in the name of God. Are we all hypocrites most Definitely, do I sit and question God's existence sometimes?, I would have to be a mindless slug not to, but thats the beauty of life, you have the freedom to think for yourself without having all the answers, there isnt  a cosmic power out there ready to punish on some Minority report !!%. There are rational  believers who do not let their religion determine how they think or live.  God isnt a magic genie who conjures up things in the snap of a finger.  Religious societies have been violent due to the immense POWER/CONTROL religions have, We created religions not God, and with everything we COMPLICATE the hell out everything. The same way you shake your heads at us, we look at you the same way. We pity you the same way you pity us, we think you are crazy the same you think we are crazy. The fact you are even typing a response with your nose in the air is a miracle upon itself. This is going NOWHERE, if some of you were successful in changing someones mind about God, good for you, just more company in hell.......


-Whoever brought up the whole we all thought the earth was flat thing is STUPID. WE thought the earth was Flat and the earth was the center of the Universe because we had NO IDEA.With knowledge we got our minds right.  We still have NO IDEA when it comes to God.

BTW, if you think theres no afterlife and the rest of your existence is rotting away in the ground getting eaten by maggots than I really dont have any other word to call you  but a miserable human being, like why just not off yourself and get the process started early as you are contributing NOTHING to the rest of the world.

 

[its that dude]

Originally Posted by gambit215


-Whoever brought up the whole we all thought the earth was flat thing is STUPID. WE thought the earth was Flat and the earth was the center of the Universe because we had NO IDEA.With knowledge we got our minds right.  We still have NO IDEA when it comes to God.

BTW, if you think theres no afterlife and the rest of your existence is rotting away in the ground getting eaten by maggots than I really dont have any other word to call you  but a miserable human being, like why just not off yourself and get the process started early as you are contributing NOTHING to the rest of the world.

So do you understand what I'm trying to say?  No one knows if there is a God.  WE HAVE NO IDEA.  So just because 5 billion people believe in a god, it doesn't mean that they're right. 

You keep mentioning this afterlife, ANYTHING to support it AT ALL???  ANYTHING?  Why do you continue to believe in things that in NO WAY have been proven real at all?  Is this not the equivalent of a crazy person who sees imaginary people? 

How does me believing in an afterlife contribute to this world?  Explain???  Wouldn't I contribute more if I was alive, rather than dead?? 

 

[its that dude]

Originally Posted by gambit215


-Whoever brought up the whole we all thought the earth was flat thing is STUPID. WE thought the earth was Flat and the earth was the center of the Universe because we had NO IDEA.With knowledge we got our minds right.  We still have NO IDEA when it comes to God.

BTW, if you think theres no afterlife and the rest of your existence is rotting away in the ground getting eaten by maggots than I really dont have any other word to call you  but a miserable human being, like why just not off yourself and get the process started early as you are contributing NOTHING to the rest of the world.

So do you understand what I'm trying to say?  No one knows if there is a God.  WE HAVE NO IDEA.  So just because 5 billion people believe in a god, it doesn't mean that they're right. 

You keep mentioning this afterlife, ANYTHING to support it AT ALL???  ANYTHING?  Why do you continue to believe in things that in NO WAY have been proven real at all?  Is this not the equivalent of a crazy person who sees imaginary people? 

How does me believing in an afterlife contribute to this world?  Explain???  Wouldn't I contribute more if I was alive, rather than dead?? 

 

[whiterails]

Did this guy actually suggest that if you believe in some kind of afterlife you are a better human being than someone who looks to enjoy life while they're alive?
And you claim that atheists have their noses in the air?

 

[whiterails]

Did this guy actually suggest that if you believe in some kind of afterlife you are a better human being than someone who looks to enjoy life while they're alive?
And you claim that atheists have their noses in the air?

 

[Gill Baka Esq. LLC.]

Anton while I can respect your approach to this discussion I still don't understand how your able to quantify love w/ science?

while there may be a basic physical answer for the manifestation of love I still feel these types of emotions are unquantifiable, and using science to discuss intangible things like emotions, ideas, an creativity are not leaving room for things outside of our own 5 senses to come into play.

 

[Gill Baka Esq. LLC.]

Anton while I can respect your approach to this discussion I still don't understand how your able to quantify love w/ science?

while there may be a basic physical answer for the manifestation of love I still feel these types of emotions are unquantifiable, and using science to discuss intangible things like emotions, ideas, an creativity are not leaving room for things outside of our own 5 senses to come into play.

 

[antonlavey]

Originally Posted by BC2310

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

Originally Posted by BC2310

Religious people have something called 'Faith' though. I don't knock em' for that. You didn't answer my question about love.

Yes, ironically they call atheists out for denying their faith yet they deny other faiths.

Your question about love is not as profound as you're attempting to make it to be

-Why does a mother "love" its child? Love is a human emotion governed by a complex interplay between brain chemistry, familiarity and other factors. Not sure what did has to do with religion.  In the same way hate is a complex emotion that can be wired into our psyche. I can teach my offspring to hate a certain group of people. Not sure what you're getting at. Atheists believe in emotions....I don't see why they wouldn't.

Ok, I just thought that Atheists needed proof for everything including love. 
I'm really not getting at anything, one of my buddies brought it up during  a convo, and I wondered about it. 

I mean you can't really 'prove' that you love someone. You just love them. Same goes for any emotion. 

Some mothers don't love their kids. In fact some mothers despise their own seeds.

Obviously everyone on both sides gets somewhat emotional when these kind've threads come up.

So maybe all beliefs come with an emotional attachment?

 And people can't objectively see both sides.

I mean someone knocks someone else because they don't agree with it and how they were raised. When really it has no effect on them whatsoever.

People think they're educating others, when really they're just preaching themselves, and sounding just as dumb (not in their own mind obviously) as who they're arguing with.

Sorry I'm being difficult I just can't wrap my head around people getting so worked up and putting each other down when these subjects come up.

It's like arguing over a poorly written math problem 

You're not being difficult, you just chose a really bad example

This isn't a poorly written "math" problem. An argument similar to the one religious people are making would never ever hold up in a court of law. Refer to where I brought up the irony of religious people being "logical" and needing proof except when it comes to their religion. I can't go to court and tell an elaborate tale about dragons, witches, zombies being nailed to two by fours and virgin births in an attempt to absolve myself of any wrong doing without being looked at as insane.

So no the argument of "evidence vs. lack thereof" in most cases is not seen as a poorly written math problem.

 

[antonlavey]

Originally Posted by BC2310

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

Originally Posted by BC2310

Religious people have something called 'Faith' though. I don't knock em' for that. You didn't answer my question about love.

Yes, ironically they call atheists out for denying their faith yet they deny other faiths.

Your question about love is not as profound as you're attempting to make it to be

-Why does a mother "love" its child? Love is a human emotion governed by a complex interplay between brain chemistry, familiarity and other factors. Not sure what did has to do with religion.  In the same way hate is a complex emotion that can be wired into our psyche. I can teach my offspring to hate a certain group of people. Not sure what you're getting at. Atheists believe in emotions....I don't see why they wouldn't.

Ok, I just thought that Atheists needed proof for everything including love. 
I'm really not getting at anything, one of my buddies brought it up during  a convo, and I wondered about it. 

I mean you can't really 'prove' that you love someone. You just love them. Same goes for any emotion. 

Some mothers don't love their kids. In fact some mothers despise their own seeds.

Obviously everyone on both sides gets somewhat emotional when these kind've threads come up.

So maybe all beliefs come with an emotional attachment?

 And people can't objectively see both sides.

I mean someone knocks someone else because they don't agree with it and how they were raised. When really it has no effect on them whatsoever.

People think they're educating others, when really they're just preaching themselves, and sounding just as dumb (not in their own mind obviously) as who they're arguing with.

Sorry I'm being difficult I just can't wrap my head around people getting so worked up and putting each other down when these subjects come up.

It's like arguing over a poorly written math problem 

You're not being difficult, you just chose a really bad example

This isn't a poorly written "math" problem. An argument similar to the one religious people are making would never ever hold up in a court of law. Refer to where I brought up the irony of religious people being "logical" and needing proof except when it comes to their religion. I can't go to court and tell an elaborate tale about dragons, witches, zombies being nailed to two by fours and virgin births in an attempt to absolve myself of any wrong doing without being looked at as insane.

So no the argument of "evidence vs. lack thereof" in most cases is not seen as a poorly written math problem.

 

[antonlavey]

Originally Posted by GrimlocK

Anton while I can respect your approach to this discussion I still don't understand how your able to quantify love w/ science?

while there may be a basic physical answer for the manifestation of love I still feel these types of emotions are unquantifiable, and using science to discuss intangible things like emotions, ideas, an creativity are not leaving room for things outside of our own 5 senses to come into play.

I said it was a complex interplay between a lot of factors, genetics, science, physiological and neural mechanisms play a huge role in behavior and emotions, learning, creativity etc. I wasn't trying to "quantify" emotions. I was simply saying that emotions exist and all the proof we need is what we experience everyday. Emotions are traits universal to all human beings regardless of race, class, religion etc.

I don't believe there is a "physical" answer to everything. You're talking to someone who believes in the possibility of worm holes, alternate universes and superior races of alien beings-I have never gone out of my way to say any of these things are true and infallible. Many of the physical laws that govern existence barely have any "physical" evidence but we do have ways of testing and manipulating them. There is so much we don't understand about existence and it is my natural inclination as a "scientist" to continue to ask questions.

I fail to see what "love" has to do with me rejecting the rejecting organized religion (s).


More on emotions and science

The "Limbic system"-I put it in quotation cause there its an ill defined anatomical location. But the point is injuries to certain parts of you brain can drastically change human behaviors including human emotions. You can' t separate emotions from "scientific mechanisms"-but like I pointed out its very complex and there are other factors that come into play.

The limbic system is the set of brain structures that forms the inner border of the cortex. In an abstract topological sense, each cortical hemisphere can be thought of as a sphere of gray matter, with a hole punched through it in the area where nerve fibers connect it to the subcortical structures of the basal forebrain. The hole is surrounded by a ring of cortical and noncortical areas that combine to make up the limbic system. The cortical components generally have fewer layers than the classical 6-layered neocortex, and are usually classified as allocortex or archicortex.

The limbic system includes many structures in the cerebral pre-cortex and sub-cortex of the brain. The term has been used within psychiatry and neurology, although its exact role and definition have been revised considerably since the term was introduced.[sup][3][/sup] The following structures are, or have been considered to be, part of the limbic system:

• Amygdala:[sup][4][/sup][sup][5][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Involved in signaling the cortex of motivationally significant stimuli such as those related to reward and fear in addition to social functions such as mating.
• Hippocampus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][5][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Required for the formation of long-term memories and implicated in maintenance of cognitive maps for navigation.
• Parahippocampal gyrus:[sup][5][/sup] Plays a role in the formation of spatial memory
• Cingulate gyrus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][5][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Autonomic functions regulating heart rate, blood pressure and cognitive and attentional processing
• Fornix:[sup][4][/sup][sup][6][/sup] carries signals from the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies and septal nuclei.
• Hypothalamus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Regulates the autonomic nervous system via hormone production and release. Affects and regulates body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, hunger, thirst, sexual arousal, and the sleep/wake cycle
• Thalamus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][6][/sup] The "relay station" to the cerebral cortex.

In addition, these structures are sometimes also considered to be part of the limbic system:

• Mammillary body:[sup][4][/sup] Important for the formation of memory
• Pituitary gland:[sup][4][/sup] secretes hormones regulating homeostasis
• Dentate gyrus:[sup][5][/sup] thought to contribute to new memories and to regulate happiness.
• Entorhinal cortex: Important memory and associative components.
• Piriform cortex:[sup][6][/sup] The function of which relates to the olfactory system.
• Fornicate gyrus: Region encompassing the cingulate, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus
• Olfactory bulb: Olfactory sensory input
• Nucleus accumbens: Involved in reward, pleasure, and addiction
• Orbitofrontal cortex: Required for decision making.

[h2] [/h2]

 

[antonlavey]

Originally Posted by GrimlocK

Anton while I can respect your approach to this discussion I still don't understand how your able to quantify love w/ science?

while there may be a basic physical answer for the manifestation of love I still feel these types of emotions are unquantifiable, and using science to discuss intangible things like emotions, ideas, an creativity are not leaving room for things outside of our own 5 senses to come into play.

I said it was a complex interplay between a lot of factors, genetics, science, physiological and neural mechanisms play a huge role in behavior and emotions, learning, creativity etc. I wasn't trying to "quantify" emotions. I was simply saying that emotions exist and all the proof we need is what we experience everyday. Emotions are traits universal to all human beings regardless of race, class, religion etc.

I don't believe there is a "physical" answer to everything. You're talking to someone who believes in the possibility of worm holes, alternate universes and superior races of alien beings-I have never gone out of my way to say any of these things are true and infallible. Many of the physical laws that govern existence barely have any "physical" evidence but we do have ways of testing and manipulating them. There is so much we don't understand about existence and it is my natural inclination as a "scientist" to continue to ask questions.

I fail to see what "love" has to do with me rejecting the rejecting organized religion (s).


More on emotions and science

The "Limbic system"-I put it in quotation cause there its an ill defined anatomical location. But the point is injuries to certain parts of you brain can drastically change human behaviors including human emotions. You can' t separate emotions from "scientific mechanisms"-but like I pointed out its very complex and there are other factors that come into play.

The limbic system is the set of brain structures that forms the inner border of the cortex. In an abstract topological sense, each cortical hemisphere can be thought of as a sphere of gray matter, with a hole punched through it in the area where nerve fibers connect it to the subcortical structures of the basal forebrain. The hole is surrounded by a ring of cortical and noncortical areas that combine to make up the limbic system. The cortical components generally have fewer layers than the classical 6-layered neocortex, and are usually classified as allocortex or archicortex.

The limbic system includes many structures in the cerebral pre-cortex and sub-cortex of the brain. The term has been used within psychiatry and neurology, although its exact role and definition have been revised considerably since the term was introduced.[sup][3][/sup] The following structures are, or have been considered to be, part of the limbic system:

• Amygdala:[sup][4][/sup][sup][5][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Involved in signaling the cortex of motivationally significant stimuli such as those related to reward and fear in addition to social functions such as mating.
• Hippocampus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][5][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Required for the formation of long-term memories and implicated in maintenance of cognitive maps for navigation.
• Parahippocampal gyrus:[sup][5][/sup] Plays a role in the formation of spatial memory
• Cingulate gyrus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][5][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Autonomic functions regulating heart rate, blood pressure and cognitive and attentional processing
• Fornix:[sup][4][/sup][sup][6][/sup] carries signals from the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies and septal nuclei.
• Hypothalamus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][6][/sup] Regulates the autonomic nervous system via hormone production and release. Affects and regulates body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, hunger, thirst, sexual arousal, and the sleep/wake cycle
• Thalamus:[sup][4][/sup][sup][6][/sup] The "relay station" to the cerebral cortex.

In addition, these structures are sometimes also considered to be part of the limbic system:

• Mammillary body:[sup][4][/sup] Important for the formation of memory
• Pituitary gland:[sup][4][/sup] secretes hormones regulating homeostasis
• Dentate gyrus:[sup][5][/sup] thought to contribute to new memories and to regulate happiness.
• Entorhinal cortex: Important memory and associative components.
• Piriform cortex:[sup][6][/sup] The function of which relates to the olfactory system.
• Fornicate gyrus: Region encompassing the cingulate, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus
• Olfactory bulb: Olfactory sensory input
• Nucleus accumbens: Involved in reward, pleasure, and addiction
• Orbitofrontal cortex: Required for decision making.

[h2] [/h2]

 

[northmiamiboi]

Originally Posted by lokiD40

sure looks like Virgin Mary exists.� Just happened in Africa. Go 1:30min in :

thats the blue beam project

 

[northmiamiboi]

Originally Posted by lokiD40

sure looks like Virgin Mary exists.� Just happened in Africa. Go 1:30min in :

thats the blue beam project

 

[Kobekobe]

no because god said he forgives all sinners.

 

[Kobekobe]

no because god said he forgives all sinners.

 

[boys noize]

Originally Posted by gambit215

Originally Posted by AntonLaVey

First off, I rarely start religious threads but I do comment in most of them. I suppose that's understandable...comes with the territory of being NTs resident hedon. I get credit for creating damn near every religious thread on NT

Hmm so to become an atheist one must go through a traumatic experience that lead them to reject their God? Did every child who stopped believing in Santa clause and the their imaginary friend go through a traumatic experience? Is it at all plausible that a lot of converted atheists become that way because the question the infallibility of their religion from a logical standpoint? Of course not.

5 billion people CAN be crazy, there's a reason why it's called the "Opium of the masses".


There are societies that are "Godless" who have a good concept of right from wrong. On the other hand throughout history there have been extremely religious societies who encourage a culture of inhumanity, hatred, war etc in the name of mythical creatures. You can't pray to God to take you to heaven when you own slaves and sacrifice your enemies. The concept of morality is actually very simple, religion seems to have this notion that the idea is exclusive to them which is far from the truth. All you have to do for proof of this is to look at history objectively. Many religions throughout history have preached positive consequences/reinforcement for immoral behaviors.

Not only good "deeds" are rewarded by religion, anybody who thinks so is naive.




Lastly, if you're too insecure in your "faith" to have these discussions stay out of the damn thread.

Aint nobody insecure. There is a God out there, but like I said before every week some of you seem to get off on starting a thread, having us defend ourselves and put up smileys, memes and pictures to play people, like any of YOU have the answer yourselves. The life is full of mystery, instead of trying to prove people wrong or make them look stupid, just go on with your life. I doubt anyone on this board  are killing or raping people in the name of God. Are we all hypocrites most Definitely, do I sit and question God's existence sometimes?, I would have to be a mindless slug not to, but thats the beauty of life, you have the freedom to think for yourself without having all the answers, there isnt  a cosmic power out there ready to punish on some Minority report !!%. There are rational  believers who do not let their religion determine how they think or live.  God isnt a magic genie who conjures up things in the snap of a finger.  Religious societies have been violent due to the immense POWER/CONTROL religions have, We created religions not God, and with everything we COMPLICATE the hell out everything. The same way you shake your heads at us, we look at you the same way. We pity you the same way you pity us, we think you are crazy the same you think we are crazy. The fact you are even typing a response with your nose in the air is a miracle upon itself. This is going NOWHERE, if some of you were successful in changing someones mind about God, good for you, just more company in hell.......


-Whoever brought up the whole we all thought the earth was flat thing is STUPID. WE thought the earth was Flat and the earth was the center of the Universe because we had NO IDEA.With knowledge we got our minds right.  We still have NO IDEA when it comes to God.

BTW, if you think theres no afterlife and the rest of your existence is rotting away in the ground getting eaten by maggots than I really dont have any other word to call you  but a miserable human being, like why just not off yourself and get the process started early as you are contributing NOTHING to the rest of the world.

This entire response reeks of ignorance and, ironically, pretention. 
Answer this, what's a rational believer? Actually, before we get ahead of ourselves, what is the definition of rational? For one to be rational, one must be agreeable to reason. A belief in a supernatural god requires one to suspend their ability to be reasonable. Does believing in something that is invisible and has no evidence of ever being fall under being rational? I think not.

And wow, you really think because you believe in an afterlife that we're just wasting our time on this world? And you have the nerve to call out atheists for having their noses in the air? Please.

I'd argue that atheists cherish life more than those that believe in an afterlife. Why? Because this is the only life we're ever going to experience! We're not busy worrying about following some archaic rules in a book. I'd also contend that atheists care more about the world we live on since this is going to be the only world we'll ever experience. I've heard too many religious folk spout off about how this world is a hollow shell doomed to damnation and that sustaining the environment is a futile effort. We're not going to be "rotting away in the ground getting eaten by maggots" as you so eloquently put it because we'll be dead. We will have ceased to exist. I don't see a problem with life ending just like that. The idea of a lifeless body underground being used by other organisms to continue the cycle of life is not scary. It's actually rather beautiful.