Do you believe in God?

[billvon 3,049]

>Anyone describing a spherical earth or the big bang theory would
>hardly be understood.

And a typical american who was exposed to the many-worlds theory suggested first by Heisenberg wouldn't understand it either. "What do you mean, the cat's half dead?"

>All the people who believe that being a 1st century goatherd is a
>complex job, raise your hand...

All the people who have lived in a tiny substience-farming village, raise your hand.

What's that? No takers? Hmm. I spent a month in one such village. And I'm sure you would describe them as simple people who need simple parables to understand the world. After all, their work consists of pulling water up from wells, planting millet, and tending chickens. How smart can they be?

Yet Ali (15) knew what electricity was and how basic DC motors worked. Anabo (11) knew about skydiving - even pantomined a skydive, complete with pull, when I told him what I did. Most of them spoke three languages - their native tounge (Zarma) French and English. In other words, these kids in a remote part of Africa were considerably better educated than most American children of the same age.

Their family lives were incredibly rich, and everyone knew everyone else out to third removed cousins. They had as much (if not more) intrigue, social order and social mores as we do. Family was central; children were raised by two parents and a host of uncles, cousins and friends. If I were to use your logic, I could claim that american religions have to avoid mentioning family matters since americans, who all have shattered ineffective families, can not possibly understand things that pertain to families.

People who live in the 'first world' get pretty conceited sometimes, thinking that they live in the real, complex world and lesser people like goatherds, substienance farmers and other simpletons can't possibly understand this real world. I have found that's not true, but you have to actually get out and see the rest of the world to understand that.

[turtlespeed 221]

I heard a little phrase that actually was so profound in my mind that it altered the way I percieve religion and has allowed me to think on this matter without as much bias as I would have had...

God created man, and, only then, did man create God.

I haven't taken the time to read all of the posts up till now, so pardon me if this has been covered before.

I also ask this question...on orginized religion...if god exists...why is it that the people that run the upper eschelon of the orginized religions can be so corrupt? If God doesn't exist...wouldn't this be the biggest case of fraud ever...

Not kidding...I am surprised that someone hasn't tried to sue under fraud laws saying that they want thier "Tieths" back.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[happythoughts 0]

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Yet Ali (15) knew what electricity was and how basic DC motors worked

Let me understand this. You are saying that since 21st century goatherds understand the complexities of electricity, then 1st century ones did? Using your logic, they must have been too lazy to implement it. I may refer to them as simple, but I would never call them lazy. I feel that they were really industrious workers and am outraged at your comment.

[Zennie 0]

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God created man, and, only then, did man create God.

And Man created God in his own image....

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

[billvon 3,049]

>You are saying that since 21st century goatherds understand the
>complexities of electricity, then 1st century ones did?

No.

21st century goatherds (chickenherds in this case) are not simpletons just because they are goatherds. 1st century goatherds were not simpletons just because they were goatherds. You can be brilliant and be a goatherd; you can be an idiot and operate a computer at the DMV. If anything, you have to simplify things more for the computer operator than the goatherd. One knows how the real world works, the other one may not.

If your argument is that not knowing how DC motors work makes one a simpleton, then that's a pretty silly statement. Someone from the year 2200 might claim that we're all simpletons who can barely read because we don't understand quantumn-entanglement mass translation systems - and he'd be just as wrong.

[happythoughts 0]

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you can be an idiot and operate a computer

Sure, how do think I got this job?

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Someone from the year 2200 might claim that we're all simpletons who can barely read because we don't understand quantumn-entanglement mass translation systems - and he'd be just as wrong.

Not sure whether I'm a simpleton now, but compared to 200 years from now, I'd have a simpler lifestyle. Maybe it's my goats.

[turtlespeed 221]

No...you just can't read....

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[billvon 3,049]

>Not sure whether I'm a simpleton now, but compared to 200 years
>from now, I'd have a simpler lifestyle.

A 20 year old who lives in a city apartment and works at McDonald's, and has all his water and power trucked in and his wastes trucked out, has a much simpler lifestyle than a 20 year old from 1000 years ago who had to maintain his own home, compost his own wastes, dig wells for his water, and plant and harvest his own food.

Technology has provided us with simpler lifestyles. It does a lot of things for us that we use to do ourselves.

[pds 0]

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Ha! So much for that, eh???

hehaw! how do you sell a deaf man a duck?

namaste, motherfucker.

[digurman 0]

Technology has provided us with simpler lifestyles. It does a lot of things for us that we use to do ourselves.