Religion is Darwinian

Discuss philosophical questions regarding theism (and atheism), and discuss religion as it relates to philosophy. This includes any philosophical discussions that happen to be about god, gods, or a 'higher power' or the belief of them. This also generally includes philosophical topics about organized or ritualistic mysticism or about organized, common or ritualistic beliefs in the existence of supernatural phenomenon.
Alias
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

Post by Alias »

Mlw wrote: July 22nd, 2018, 12:47 pm Mythology is symbolic. The long neck of the swan is obviously phallic.
Look at the linked picture. He's not using his neck to make those babies.
It is a majestic white bird. It is thus symbolic of a potent spiritual and unconscious content that comes down from "heaven" to impregnate the temporal realm.
You mean like the Xtian dove? Not in the Leda story. In that story, Zeus takes the form of a swan, because Leda finds them attractive.
We do not produce every content in our mind deliberately and consciously, but it comes flying into our head, like a divine thought or idea
They were not thoughts she produced: they were Castor and Pollux, who grew up to be heroes and Helen and Clytaemnestra, who grew up to make a world lot of trouble for their menfolk.
In Christian theology this concept is continued in the spiritual impregnation of Mary--the Mother of God.
In which case, maybe we should also bring up Oedipus and Jocasta, but let's not. The ancient Greeks were familiar with, and frank about, the facts of life. Zeus did his fructifying in the flesh - some kind of flesh, except for the shower of gold, that was a tricky locked-room mystery - and not by proxy: "Hi. I am an angel sent of the Lord. Congratulations, you're gonna have a baby!"
It is the same theme as the concept of the Holy Spirit entering our heart, where he whispers to us the thoughts of Jesus--what he is thinking right now
What Zeus was thinking, Jesus, poor lamb, never got a chance to discover.
Burning Ghost -- All content no exception seems a tad extreme to me. At the same time it does appear you’re willing to except that religious mythos expresses something human though - I call that sort of content serious not silly.
Everything humans say expresses something human - what else could it express? I have no problem with mythology or poetry or fiction. Telling stories is fun and instructive. Holding such stories up it up for awe and reverence, thousand of years past their expiration date, is silly.
I mean, consider that blather just above here.
An example would be in how various fables appear as superstituous nonsense only if you wish to look upon all the content as being superstitious nonsense. Stories that express human emotions and talk of sacrifice don’t really seem “supernatural” to me either.
Okay, bring your example of a fable, or as many as you like, involving the supernatural, and I'll show you what I mean by separating the superstition from the reality-content.
Unless it would try your fragile patience too far.
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Burning ghost
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

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Alias -

Say something worthwhile, pick any fable or religion you like and argue with yourself. If you exhibit some kind of balanced opinion maybe I’ll bite.
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Mlw
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

Post by Mlw »

Alias wrote: July 22nd, 2018, 4:28 pm
Mlw wrote: July 22nd, 2018, 12:47 pm Mythology is symbolic. The long neck of the swan is obviously phallic.
Look at the linked picture. He's not using his neck to make those babies.
Yes, look at the picture. See how the head of the phallic swan is directed toward her mouth, as an entry gate for the spirit.
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Felix
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

Post by Felix »

Burning ghost: How else would you define something we have no capacity to conceptualise or realise? I would say such a “thing” is no thing at all. It is merely a trick of language.
I wouldn't define it because I cannot, it is an indefinable impression. I would agree that it is no thing because it is unrecognizable, but before you said it is nothing - rather than no thing.
"We do not see things as they are; we see things as we are." - Anaïs Nin
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Thinking critical
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

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Mlw wrote: July 22nd, 2018, 7:43 am On such lines, there's no good reason to believe that extraterrestrial life exists, because there is no scientific evidence to support such claims.
Maybe so, but there is however emperical evidence that life exists atleast on one planet. It is not irrational to believe that life could possibly exist else where.
It is inane reasoning. Scientists practice their scientific method untouched by the question of God.
This is simply not true, some of the greatest contributors to science have been deeply religious, Newton and Lemaitre to name a few.
Religion is about the spiritual universe, whereas science concerns the material universe. Theologians never said that God is to be found in the material universe. So if science cannot find him here, it accords with theology--it does not contradict theology. St Augustine, St Paul, and St Thomas--they all say that God is *transcendent.*
Except theology doesn't just stop at claims of the spiritual nature. Biblical scripture lays claims to miracles which contradict the physical laws of nature, it attempts to describe the the origins of life and our solar system. Theology has historically always attempted to make claims of the domain which is now dominated by science, it seems modern theologians are quick to forget.
The only thing that theologians are adamant about is that God created the universe. Science has not disproved this thesis, nor are they interested in disproving it. They leave the question open.
No! Science is not interested in disproving the claim because it's a metaphysical claim. As you pointed out in your previous comment, science deals with the physical nature of the Universe, not the idea that there's some transcendent thing that creates Universes and then takes personal interest in the affairs of some of the beings which live in it.
This cocky little cognitive contortionist will straighten you right out
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

Post by Alias »

Burning ghost wrote: July 23rd, 2018, 1:55 am Say something worthwhile, pick any fable or religion you like and argue with yourself. If you exhibit some kind of balanced opinion maybe I’ll bite.
I did pick one. You didn't like it. Oh well.
Mlw -- See how the head of the phallic swan is directed toward her mouth, as an entry gate for the spirit.
Points of anatomy.
The head of the swan is between her breasts and can't possibly reach her mouth, given where his body is anchored.
The entry gate to the womb is not through the mouth.
What he's transmitting isn't a spirit.
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Burning ghost
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

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Mlw
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

Post by Mlw »

Alias wrote: July 23rd, 2018, 12:22 pm
Burning ghost wrote: July 23rd, 2018, 1:55 am Say something worthwhile, pick any fable or religion you like and argue with yourself. If you exhibit some kind of balanced opinion maybe I’ll bite.
I did pick one. You didn't like it. Oh well.
Mlw -- See how the head of the phallic swan is directed toward her mouth, as an entry gate for the spirit.
Points of anatomy.
The head of the swan is between her breasts and can't possibly reach her mouth, given where his body is anchored.
The entry gate to the womb is not through the mouth.
What he's transmitting isn't a spirit.
Don't you see that the neck is bent? The swan can deep-throat her. The point is that the spirit enters the head, because here is where the spirit resides, in the form of thoughts and ideas.
Alias
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Re: Religion is Darwinian

Post by Alias »

Mlw wrote: July 23rd, 2018, 2:00 pm Don't you see that the neck is bent? The swan can deep-throat her. The point is that the spirit enters the head, because here is where the spirit resides, in the form of thoughts and ideas.
I don't know which myth you're on about, but it sounds way more perverse than the one I referenced.
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