@fmf saidOnly once . "Just covering all the bases in case I am wrong " was what he said when I asked why he had become a church goer in his later years.
Have you ever met any non-believers who actually and literally fear retribution and punishment at the hands of the Christian God?
If so, how did they explain it?
@moonbus saidThat leaves the question of what could possibly be the moral purpose of making unbelievable threats of retribution and punishment at the hands of the Christian God and aiming them at non-believers? "Divine" moral logic surely would not be so weak and half-baked ~ if there were to be such a thing.
Yes, you nailed it. Fear is not rational and belief is only sometimes so or only partially so. Sometimes fear and belief and reason jive, sometimes they don't. So, yes, some people are confused, and frightened, both at once.
@moonbus saidI call it the 'Inferno Tennis Ball Effect.' (I will sue anyone who copies that expression without written permission).
Yes, you nailed it. Fear is not rational and belief is only sometimes so or only partially so. Sometimes fear and belief and reason jive, sometimes they don't. So, yes, some people are confused, and frightened, both at once.
Imagine someone is going to throw you a tennis ball to catch from close range. (A gentle underarm throw). Now, you believe 100% that you will catch the ball. You are as confident as you could be that you would catch it. - But then you discover that if you were to drop the tennis ball (no matter how impossible that was) you 'COULD' as a direct consequence (as impossible as that sounded) spend all eternity burning in hell...
Would you still be as confident in your catch?
@fmf saidAt the time these ancient documents were written, 'fear' of such things was a bigger motivator. Fire and Brimstone preachers don't get so much traction in the modern age.
That leaves the question of what could possibly be the moral purpose of making unbelievable threats of retribution and punishment at the hands of the Christian God and aiming them at non-believers? "Divine" moral logic surely would not be so weak and half-baked ~ if there were to be such a thing.
@ghost-of-a-duke saidIn other words, it's a rather primitive take on morality.
At the time these ancient documents were written, 'fear' of such things was a bigger motivator. Fire and Brimstone preachers don't get so much traction in the modern age.
@FMF
For someone for whom it doesn't matter one way or the other you sure like to harp on the subject.
@suzianne saidCertain tunes, if sung, hummed, or whistled, are also effective in warding off monsters. Even if they are deaf. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down..." is one of them.
Rather than a specific, like vampires, when I was a little kid (6 or 7, by adolescence I was pretty comfortable in the dark in my room) the thing to be afraid of at night was more along the lines of generic 'monsters'. And yes, word among my friends and I was that there was indeed something magical about bedcovers, the monsters couldn't touch them, so as long as you were under them, you were safe. 🙂
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@ghost-of-a-duke saidI call this the 'don't look down effect' and I copyright it.
I call it the 'Inferno Tennis Ball Effect.' (I will sue anyone who copies that expression without written permission).
Imagine someone is going to throw you a tennis ball to catch from close range. (A gentle underarm throw). Now, you believe 100% that you will catch the ball. You are as confident as you could be that you would catch it. - But then you discover that ...[text shortened]... hat sounded) spend all eternity burning in hell...
Would you still be as confident in your catch?
You learn to walk a tightrope two inches above ground until you can do it blindfolded. Now try it across the Grand Canyon. Even on a windless day, it's the same but it's not the same.
The salient difference is that one imagines different possible consequences of getting it wrong. Imagination is quite sufficient to engender fear, even if the likelihood of the consequences is improbable or remote in time.
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@moonbus saidI have a salient fear of jelly. (And the many possible consequences of getting it wrong).
I call this the 'don't look down effect' and I copyright it.
You learn to walk a tightrope two inches above ground until you can do it blindfolded. Now try it across the Grand Canyon. Even on a windless day, it's the same but it's not the same.
The salient difference is that one imagines different possible consequences of getting it wrong. Imagination is quite sufficient to engender fear, even if the likelihood of the consequences is improbable or remote in time.
Am I alone in this?
Speak now...
