What are your unpopular opinions?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Blown2CV said:

Front bottom said:

Blown2CV said:

Front bottom said:

I believe in things beyond known science.

so do scientists, you cabbage. It is the point of science; otherwise all science would stop. Jesus christ.

Yet another aggressive response.

I've said it before, that is very interesting behaviour.

you're mixing up aggression with other emotions,

Indeed....like despair at the lack of critical thinking skills. .

[V8mate]

Blown2CV said:

i dunno where the religion discussion got to, but it's clear to me that religion as a concept, was created long ago to try and give comfortCONTROL PEOPLEin some kind of explanation for the unexplained. This was in times when we knew nothing about how anything worked, and so it was all based on what humans at the time could see around them. People saw people around them so they can only assume that a super-person must have created the other things, because what other explanation is there? Thunder? Angry God. Flowers? God made those beautiful so we could enjoy them. Food or us to ear? God gave us that, isn't he great. Rain? Oops we've done something to upset him. Everything more complex than that in religion has been built upon those ideas and elaborated over thousands of years, but it's the same thing. We don't understand how the world works so we use this story to fill all and any gaps. Faith has been created first as a control mechanism (you aren't permitted to believe anything else) and now is used as a way to refute other beliefs, evidence (OMG do religious people hate evidence... and i say OMG ironically), logic, reason... ah well my faith is more powerful and i will carry on believing regardless of what you put in front of me... i don't need those things like evidence, i have what i need. It's the reason religion still exists at all, despite being in sharp decline. We have other compelling narratives to explain things now, so the only people that remain in the religion club are those who have a vested interest e.g. career, priests etc, old people who have nothing to lose and/or people whose social life/network/family all depend upon using religion as knitting to hold it all together, or those who are just used to it being there.

... would be my key edit^. Religion is about controlling the masses. Making people conform. And keeping them in line under threat of a bad outcome 'later'.

Notions of comfort and community are a much more recent tenets of the church.

[singlecoil]

V8mate said:

Blown2CV said:

i dunno where the religion discussion got to, but it's clear to me that religion as a concept, was created long ago to try and give comfortCONTROL PEOPLEin some kind of explanation for the unexplained. This was in times when we knew nothing about how anything worked, and so it was all based on what humans at the time could see around them. People saw people around them so they can only assume that a super-person must have created the other things, because what other explanation is there? Thunder? Angry God. Flowers? God made those beautiful so we could enjoy them. Food or us to ear? God gave us that, isn't he great. Rain? Oops we've done something to upset him. Everything more complex than that in religion has been built upon those ideas and elaborated over thousands of years, but it's the same thing. We don't understand how the world works so we use this story to fill all and any gaps. Faith has been created first as a control mechanism (you aren't permitted to believe anything else) and now is used as a way to refute other beliefs, evidence (OMG do religious people hate evidence... and i say OMG ironically), logic, reason... ah well my faith is more powerful and i will carry on believing regardless of what you put in front of me... i don't need those things like evidence, i have what i need. It's the reason religion still exists at all, despite being in sharp decline. We have other compelling narratives to explain things now, so the only people that remain in the religion club are those who have a vested interest e.g. career, priests etc, old people who have nothing to lose and/or people whose social life/network/family all depend upon using religion as knitting to hold it all together, or those who are just used to it being there.

... would be my key edit^. Religion is about controlling the masses. Making people conform. And keeping them in line under threat of a bad outcome 'later'.

Notions of comfort and community are a much more recent tenets of the church.

Conform to what? What religious leaders really want is money, property, a food supply without having to work for it. Back in the days when religions got going, staying alive was hard work. If you were clever but lacked physical power you could get other people to provide your requirements by convincing them you were God's agent on Earth.

Those with political power have always worked hand in glove with religious leaders to their mutual benefit.

[V8mate]

singlecoil said:

V8mate said:

Blown2CV said:

i dunno where the religion discussion got to, but it's clear to me that religion as a concept, was created long ago to try and give comfortCONTROL PEOPLEin some kind of explanation for the unexplained. This was in times when we knew nothing about how anything worked, and so it was all based on what humans at the time could see around them. People saw people around them so they can only assume that a super-person must have created the other things, because what other explanation is there? Thunder? Angry God. Flowers? God made those beautiful so we could enjoy them. Food or us to ear? God gave us that, isn't he great. Rain? Oops we've done something to upset him. Everything more complex than that in religion has been built upon those ideas and elaborated over thousands of years, but it's the same thing. We don't understand how the world works so we use this story to fill all and any gaps. Faith has been created first as a control mechanism (you aren't permitted to believe anything else) and now is used as a way to refute other beliefs, evidence (OMG do religious people hate evidence... and i say OMG ironically), logic, reason... ah well my faith is more powerful and i will carry on believing regardless of what you put in front of me... i don't need those things like evidence, i have what i need. It's the reason religion still exists at all, despite being in sharp decline. We have other compelling narratives to explain things now, so the only people that remain in the religion club are those who have a vested interest e.g. career, priests etc, old people who have nothing to lose and/or people whose social life/network/family all depend upon using religion as knitting to hold it all together, or those who are just used to it being there.

... would be my key edit^. Religion is about controlling the masses. Making people conform. And keeping them in line under threat of a bad outcome 'later'.

Notions of comfort and community are a much more recent tenets of the church.

Conform to what? What religious leaders really want is money, property, a food supply without having to work for it. Back in the days when religions got going, staying alive was hard work. If you were clever but lacked physical power you could get other people to provide your requirements by convincing them you were God's agent on Earth.

Those with political power have always worked hand in glove with religious leaders to their mutual benefit.

Absolutely agree. Religion is simply an alternate politics.

By conform, I simply mean to a set of rules which suit the leaders.

[Blown2CV]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Blown2CV said:

Front bottom said:

Blown2CV said:

Front bottom said:

I believe in things beyond known science.

so do scientists, you cabbage. It is the point of science; otherwise all science would stop. Jesus christ.

Yet another aggressive response.

I've said it before, that is very interesting behaviour.

you're mixing up aggression with other emotions,

Indeed....like despair at the lack of critical thinking skills. .

it's disappointing that people throw around slurs like that without being clear about which statements they are referring to.

[Rostfritt]

amusingduck said:

I presume that you've had sex with those girlfriends and wives?

Seems to me like that qualifies as "hard-wired to reproduce", it's just that technology now allows us to avoid the consequences.

I've had plenty of sex but even without protection I don't think any of it could have resulted in kids.

[Front bottom]

Blown2CV said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Blown2CV said:

Front bottom said:

Blown2CV said:

Front bottom said:

I believe in things beyond known science.

so do scientists, you cabbage. It is the point of science; otherwise all science would stop. Jesus christ.

Yet another aggressive response.

I've said it before, that is very interesting behaviour.

you're mixing up aggression with other emotions,

Indeed....like despair at the lack of critical thinking skills. .

it's disappointing that people throw around slurs like that without being clear about which statements they are referring to.

Ok, it's not religion, that's something I just don't do, in the God/Bible sense. It's far too fictional sounding to me, and always has been.

I was referring to incidents of possibly a spiritual/paranormal nature. Of course I was mocked, and I have been accused of being mentally ill, or of having a brain tumour on previous threads when I've mentioned my experiences. I found that amusing tbh, but in general, those threads turned kind of toxic in the end, with people being booted off by mods, or leaving by mutual consent.

It's a subject that really does cause a stink. It still interests me though.

[Rawwr]

Front bottom said:

Ok, it's not religion, that's something I just don't do, in the God/Bible sense. It's far too fictional sounding to me, and always has been.

I was referring to incidents of possibly a spiritual/paranormal nature. Of course I was mocked, and I have been accused of being mentally ill, or of having a brain tumour on previous threads when I've mentioned my experiences. I found that amusing tbh, but in general, those threads turned kind of toxic in the end, with people being booted off by mods, or leaving by mutual consent.

It's a subject that really does cause a stink. It still interests me though.

You weren't accused of being mentally ill in a derogatory way. It was suggested to you that it might have been a moment of mental illness. It was a rational explanation for your story but you saw any contrary view as a direct attack. It was offered along with a lot of other rational explanations, all of which you dismissed without any thought or discussion whilst the people who believe in the paranormal did their best to mock, be offensive and shutdown any discussion. So let's nip that in the bud right now.

[Voldemort]

trap2 said:

amusingduck said:

I presume that you've had sex with those girlfriends and wives?

Seems to me like that qualifies as "hard-wired to reproduce", it's just that technology now allows us to avoid the consequences.

I've had plenty of sex but even without protection I don't think any of it could have resulted in kids.

you know where lawyers come from, don't you?

[mp3manager]

I hate holidays and travelling. My last holiday was in 2000 to the USA & Canada and I hated it....too much moving about.

I'm quite happy staying still in one place.

[Blown2CV]

V8mate said:

Blown2CV said:

i dunno where the religion discussion got to, but it's clear to me that religion as a concept, was created long ago to try and give comfortCONTROL PEOPLEin some kind of explanation for the unexplained. This was in times when we knew nothing about how anything worked, and so it was all based on what humans at the time could see around them. People saw people around them so they can only assume that a super-person must have created the other things, because what other explanation is there? Thunder? Angry God. Flowers? God made those beautiful so we could enjoy them. Food or us to ear? God gave us that, isn't he great. Rain? Oops we've done something to upset him. Everything more complex than that in religion has been built upon those ideas and elaborated over thousands of years, but it's the same thing. We don't understand how the world works so we use this story to fill all and any gaps. Faith has been created first as a control mechanism (you aren't permitted to believe anything else) and now is used as a way to refute other beliefs, evidence (OMG do religious people hate evidence... and i say OMG ironically), logic, reason... ah well my faith is more powerful and i will carry on believing regardless of what you put in front of me... i don't need those things like evidence, i have what i need. It's the reason religion still exists at all, despite being in sharp decline. We have other compelling narratives to explain things now, so the only people that remain in the religion club are those who have a vested interest e.g. career, priests etc, old people who have nothing to lose and/or people whose social life/network/family all depend upon using religion as knitting to hold it all together, or those who are just used to it being there.

... would be my key edit^. Religion is about controlling the masses. Making people conform. And keeping them in line under threat of a bad outcome 'later'.

Notions of comfort and community are a much more recent tenets of the church.

yea i kind of agree but i don't think it all started in the very outset as something evil and just started as stories to help people not be scared of the things they wouldn't otherwise understand. It definitely has become more about control over the millennia though, because as soon as something gets big and valuable, those in charge seek to protect it and themselves, and use it to achieve certain things; not all of which will be honourable.

People do feel comfort from religion though, for whatever reason. I tend to see faith a bit like that - it's more individuals feeling happy that there is something more than or bigger than them, that there are 'happy endings' and that you get to see all your mates a church etc. Also, after a while spent believing certain things, the idea of it all being a load of bks is so horrific to some people that it is just a lot more comforting to carry on believing, or in many cases kidding on to yourself and others that you believe.

[Blown2CV]

I'd hate to have a holiday home. The idea that I might go to the same place year in year out for the rest of my life to me is just horrible.

[Front bottom]

Rawwr said:

You weren't accused of being mentally ill in a derogatory way. It was suggested to you that it might have been a moment of mental illness. It was a rational explanation for your story but you saw any contrary view as a direct attack. It was offered along with a lot of other rational explanations, all of which you dismissed without any thought or discussion whilst the people who believe in the paranormal did their best to mock, be offensive and shutdown any discussion. So let's nip that in the bud right now.

It wasn't you I was thinking of tbh Rawwr. I think you got unfairly singled out on that one thread and I took no part in that.

Others accused me of it, and that's the problem with written comments, they can be taken the wrong way sometimes. They were still amusing though, whoever it was.

Of course, I didn't dismiss things out of hand when rational explanations were offered. I considered them, but they were very weak tbh (and I don't mean that in a rude way), but they just didn't fit what was going on in any way. They fell well short.

[Rawwr]

Front bottom said:

Of course, I didn't dismiss things out of hand when rational explanations were offered. I considered them, but they were very weak tbh (and I don't mean that in a rude way), but they just didn't fit what was going on in any way. They fell well short.

You dismissed mental illness pretty damn quickly. You didn't entertain the notion at all.

[Front bottom]

Rawwr said:

Front bottom said:

Of course, I didn't dismiss things out of hand when rational explanations were offered. I considered them, but they were very weak tbh (and I don't mean that in a rude way), but they just didn't fit what was going on in any way. They fell well short.

You dismissed mental illness pretty damn quickly. You didn't entertain the notion at all.

That's because you're not my doctor as far as I know?

[djc206]

mp3manager said:

I hate holidays and travelling. My last holiday was in 2000 to the USA & Canada and I hated it....too much moving about.

I'm quite happy staying still in one place.

That certainly is an unpopular one I reckon. If you fancy staying in one place why don’t you try something like a beach holiday?

Personally I start to get really grumpy if I haven’t been away for a few months.

[Disastrous]

Front bottom said:

Rawwr said:

Front bottom said:

Of course, I didn't dismiss things out of hand when rational explanations were offered. I considered them, but they were very weak tbh (and I don't mean that in a rude way), but they just didn't fit what was going on in any way. They fell well short.

You dismissed mental illness pretty damn quickly. You didn't entertain the notion at all.

That's because you're not my doctor as far as I know?

Genuinely, a friend of mine (who is a doctor) successfully diagnosed an illness in one of his mother’s friends that her own GP had missed, meaning she was able to get the appropriate treatment in time.

Your own doctor doesn’t have a monopoly on your health.

[joshcowin]

mp3manager said:

I hate holidays and travelling. My last holiday was in 2000 to the USA & Canada and I hated it....too much moving about.

I'm quite happy staying still in one place.

Are you Karl Pilkington?

Made me laugh!

[Rostfritt]

Voldemort said:

trap2 said:

amusingduck said:

I presume that you've had sex with those girlfriends and wives?

Seems to me like that qualifies as "hard-wired to reproduce", it's just that technology now allows us to avoid the consequences.

I've had plenty of sex but even without protection I don't think any of it could have resulted in kids.

you know where lawyers come from, don't you?

Eh?

[Rawwr]

Front bottom said:

That's because you're not my doctor as far as I know?

You claimed to be hearing, seeing and feeling things which weren't there. It's not entirely unreasonable to suggest that explaining this to a GP would be a sensible move.