Quote Originally Posted by Oneironaut
Scientific breakthroughs happen when there is something we observe that we just can't explain with our current body of knowledge, and upon closer examination we were able to determine its origin. In every case in all of history, this origin has been something very real, some kind of matter and/or energy which has been shown to cause whatever physical phenomenon we were previously unable to explain. However, there isn't the slightest shred of evidence for things like leprechauns, unicorns, fairies, Santa Claus, souls or gods, and there just isn't anything that we can observe that would necessitate their existence. That is to say, there is no phenomenon in the universe which we can't explain but that we could if we postulated the existence of such creatures.


You know very well that people don't always operate logically. Often people choose to believe in something because it is comforting to them, or because the idea has been drilled in their minds from birth, and they later come up with rationalizations for why they believe it even when there was no original logical reason for believing in it. The reason so many people have faith is pretty simple to see, when you consider why children almost always have the same religion as their parents or their culture. Most people just accept whatever beliefs their parents had or whatever their society believes, which explains, for example, why nearly all Iranians are Muslims but practically nobody in Hawaii is.
1. i think you probably copy and paste the same argument in different boards, but the difference between God or a higher power and faeries or santa is that people feel it in their souls. you don't believe in a spirit or soul, but i feel it. i don't see how you can't feel the energy of other people and then deny it because it's referred to as a soul which is connected to religion. i can feel a reaction with people, and a spiritual idea that is much more complex than a creature like a faerie. i'm just trying to figure out who or what exactly God is, but i feel a strong connection that wasn't always there, and you probably don't comprehend.

2. that's everyone's argument against religion. and that argument is good when people are saying their religion is the right one. no fucking shit people make their religious beliefs based on their culture and upbringing, so obviously people will all have different interperatations of spirituality. religion came around when language did, so it was a communication of ideas. but it's not about religion, because i think God or the higher power has ways of connecting us to positive energy which is benefitial to our lives.