People choose to unquestioningly believe books written thousands of years ago.
Be it the Koran or the bible, religious books were written when mankind was still trying to make sense of everything around him....
...and getting it spectacularly wrong:
Man thought that the world was flat.
Man thought that every thing revolved around the earth.
If a doctor was using surgical techniques from a book even a few hundred years old, then you would be mad to have him operate on you! (Bottle of whiskey for anaesthetic, butcher's saw for amputation, etc).
It is irrational to suppose that articles written thousands of years ago are anything other than inaccurate attempts to explain the unknown.
Originally posted by howardgee It is irrational to suppose that articles written thousands of years ago are anything other than inaccurate attempts to explain the unknown.
Necessarily? Does this include the writings of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle?
Originally posted by howardgee People choose to unquestioningly believe books written thousands of years ago.
Be it the Koran or the bible, religious books were written when mankind was still trying to make sense of everything around him....
...and getting it spectacularly wrong:
Man thought that the world was flat.
Man thought that every thing revolved around the earth.
If a ...[text shortened]... itten thousands of years ago are anything other than inaccurate attempts to explain the unknown.
Man thought that the world was flat.
Er ... not really.
Man thought that every thing revolved around the earth.
Can you blame him?
If a doctor was using surgical techniques from a book even a few hundred years old, then you would be mad to have him operate on you!
Not necessarily.
It is irrational to suppose that articles written thousands of years ago are anything other than inaccurate attempts to explain the unknown.
Actually, it is irrational to suppose anything about articles beforehand. To suppose what you've said simply substitutes one supposition for another.
Oh yes, and we have it ALL figured out now, don't we?
You are conflating together scientific knowledge - which has advanced - with knowledge about human nature - which hasn't advanced anywhere near as much. Do you seriously believe that the ancients were some kind of backwards inbred idiots who didn't understand anything about people's inner motivations and thoughts and 'heart' and all the things that religion is really interested in?
Or how about running a society? Do you think we know how to do that any better now?
I'd say that we get a hell of a lot of things 'spectacularly wrong' right now. And it is the HEIGHT of arrogance to assume that our current understanding of science is correct anyway! It's improved, but in another few hundred years people might point at our understanding of physics and laugh their genetically engineered heads off.
Originally posted by lucifershammer [b]If a doctor was using surgical techniques from a book even a few hundred years old, then you would be mad to have him operate on you!
Not necessarily.
[/b]
yeah, you could be just unbelievably stupid. A few hundred years ago they didn't even think about antiseptics or even washing off surgical tools from one patient to another.
The germ theory of disease didn't even come along until 1857.
Ignaz Semmelweis in 1848 was the actual hand washing pioneer. He was at a teaching hospital in Vienna. Lister, Nightengale, and others did important work, but he was the first european to demostrate higher survival rates in patients when doctors and nurses washed their hands. That is my trivia lesson for the day children.
Originally posted by howardgee People choose to unquestioningly believe books written thousands of years ago.
Be it the Koran or the bible, religious books were written when mankind was still trying to make sense of everything around him....
...and getting it spectacularly wrong:
Man thought that the world was flat.
Man thought that every thing revolved around the earth.
If a ...[text shortened]... itten thousands of years ago are anything other than inaccurate attempts to explain the unknown.
Originally posted by orfeo Oh yes, and we have it ALL figured out now, don't we?
You are conflating together scientific knowledge - which has advanced - with knowledge about human nature - which hasn't advanced anywhere near as much. Do you seriously believe that the ancients were some kind of backwards inbred idiots who didn't understand anything about people's inner motivation ...[text shortened]... le might point at our understanding of physics and laugh their genetically engineered heads off.
Thanks for a very intelligent and to-the-point post. Rec-ed.
Originally posted by howardgee People choose to unquestioningly believe books written thousands of years ago.
Be it the Koran or the bible, religious books were written when mankind was still trying to make sense of everything around him....
...and getting it spectacularly wrong:
Man thought that the world was flat.
Man thought that every thing revolved around the earth.
If a ...[text shortened]... itten thousands of years ago are anything other than inaccurate attempts to explain the unknown.
What if someone chooses to questioningly believe a book written thousands of years ago? 😀
I got a good belly laugh with your examples of the world being flat and that everything revolved around the earth. I use the same examples in a different context for belief. I suppose this shows the value of perception, eh? 😉
Why religion is dumb - reason 2 (old books)
22 Sep '05 23:33
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