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Dear George,

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Thanks for the link to the BBC transcript of the “God on the Brain” report (which, perhaps, may have been more appropriately entitled: “God in the brain”).

It seems to me that if, indeed, we human beings somehow acquired a biological religious predisposition since we broke away from our common ancestor with the chimpanzees some five to seven million years ago (chimpanzees do not appear to inherited the same disposition), it must be due to our subsequent (Darwinian)evolution.

We know that primeval man invented animist gods as an explanation of the violent manifestations of nature which terrorized him (ferocious deluges, floods, lightning, thunder, hurricanes, snow storms, bush fires, earthquakes, volcanos, devastating meteorites, etc.), humbly submitting himself to them as their subject, worshiping them and imploring their mercy, offering animal and human sacrifices ultimately epitomized by the elevation of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth as the saviour (scapegoat) of mankind.

The god concept seems to have been made possible thanks to the development of our superior intelligence. We elaborated a survival strategy based on the concept.

Examples are legion where faith saves lives. It produces miracles which science and technology are incapable of producing.

From what you have written here, George, I understand that science is barely scratching the surface of what we should need to acquire in order for the god concept to become redundant. Even then (on the cosmic time scale) if it could still save just one single life, why bother to make it redundant.

Provided it is accompanied by compassion for others as well as respect for their liberty and their right to be different, faith is a virtue.

Having said that, there is no doubt in my mind that there is no god and it is of great personal satisfaction to me to have been able to settle such an important question during my lifetime.

So many brilliant minds have said so much to the contrary that I feel quite privileged by the revelation.

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Dear Banjo,

Thanks for the nice and sincere post.

>>Having said that, there is no doubt in my mind that there is no god and it is of great personal satisfaction to me to have been able to settle such an important question during my lifetime.

So many brilliant minds have said so much to the contrary that I feel quite privileged by the revelation.<<

Many a deeply religious person would say exactly the same thing, except that he/she would write “revelation” with a capital “R” (and, of course, use “a God” instead of “no god”).

This illustrates that it is not so important (for humanity to have a future) whether one is a theist or an atheist (or sits on the fence) - I believe there will always be people of both kinds, a belief I expressed in the last paragraph of my previous post to you - as long as one is sincere in one’s own beliefs (even if one calls them unbeliefs) and not only tolerant but also respectful towards those sincere and honest from the other side of this worldview divide.

Bhagavad Gita the incarnate god Krishna says, ‘Whatever god a man worships, it is I who answer the prayer.” Maybe something similar could be said about revelations and Revelations: “Whatever a man believes is the source of his revelation, it is what he makes of it, rather than what he believes about it, that counts”.

banjo/quote..<<..we human beings..somehow
acquired a bio-logical..religious predisposition>>

thats a big 'clue'..
see how far..from the beasts..we are
not one other..'beast'..has writing..speech
to voice..what the inner mind's eye..is seeing..hearing feeling
let alone cast it..into intelligible abstract forms..like words/works

then..recognizing..
the inner light..illuminating..our inner brain..with imagery..
that we some-how are seeing..via our minds eye..manifested..into speech/word/work/deed/..

interacting..the abstract emotive inner imagery..
with the perceived to be real..external fact..as our animal senses report.

for a beast..only what they perceive..is real..for them
but we go..,much further..by huge leaps..

much bigger than..'evolution'..
theoretically could 'evolve'/resolve

when..its the inner light..
*allowing the inner seeing..that is the true miracle..

all outside..can only be reasoned..[made sense of]..
from/via..the inner reagent..emoting upon the external..[darkness]

<<since we broke away..from our common ancestor..with the chimpanzees some five to seven million years ago>>

i must take that on faith
i understand humans*..are only 100,000 years old...at best?

KEY*..<<(chimpanzees do not appear
to inherited..the same disposition),>>..

NOR ANY OTHER..beast..be-for..*us!
..OF THE MILLIONS OF SPECIES..OF BEASTS!

[for who we are..called
charged..'to be our brrr-others..keeper']

<<it must be due to..our subsequent(Darwinian)evolution.>>

but*
its such a hugely divergent..'evolution'
it needs a new name..that reflects..the huge..leap..away from beast-hood.

ITS A MIRAcle

..<<We know..that primeval man...*in-vented>>

YET fail to allow..FOR
the inner miracle..light.life/logic
doing the..*in-spir-ing..

making real..
the...*in-vent-ing

THE INNER MIND...invented*...the <<animist gods..
as an explanation..of the..EDITED..man*-ifest-ations..*of nature..>>

see the greatness..in thyself..

to the beast..your as close
as they will get..to seeing...the great inner unseen..

UNSEEABLE..TO THE BEAST/LEAST*
yet we ALONE..are allowed to see/con-sieve..him..
ever present/omnipotant/omnipresent...ifr only..in our minds eye

Dear csteele,

Considering King David I consulted the Bible and found:

Kings 1 1:1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. 1:2 Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. 1:3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 1:4 And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

I will be 88 on October 31. I certainly would like to get heat from a young virgin. Unfortunately I would have to seek one out. The Queensland police would probably be after me if I advertised for her. My wife would probably object to her joining us in bed. My carnal capacity is pretty limited so I don’t think I would be able to know her, but it’s a nice thought. However, if any young virgins see this and are interested in giving heat to an old man I can be reached. Just send an email to Graham Young and ask him to forward it to me. I shall await with worms in my mouth (baited breath).

Dear platypus1900: I ask you again: Can you cite any verifiable evidence of God holding anybody accountable for anything?

If not will you reconsider your statement: i believe God will hold us all accountable as a country on the way we kill our unborn,

One problem with religious belief of what I think is your type is that you never really examine your statements or positions. Your statement above is clearly without any substance, but I doubt that you will think about it. What will God do? Will he send a tsunami to Australia or make Tony Abbott PM?

Oops, posted previous to wrong thread. Sorry.

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Dear George,

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« Many a deeply religious person would say exactly the same thing, except that he/she would write “revelation” with a capital “R” (and, of course, use “a God” instead of “no god”). »

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I agree.

From my perspective, the existence of a god is not a prerequisite for spirituality, holiness, the sense of the sacred, piety, sanctity, devoutness, devotion, morality, goodness, generosity, altruism, self-sacrifice, religiosity, etc. Otherwise there would be none in the world today.

The fact that some people do demonstrate these qualities cannot, in my opinion, be attributed to the existence of a god.

Also, just as light produces shadow, the god concept inevitably comes with its corollary as two sides of the same coin. Impossible to have one without the other.

From my perspective, faith without god is what we have today.

It’s a perspective worth meditating upon as a source of inspiration for the best way forward ... beyond the god concept and its inevitable corollary.

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