Frank Update

The excerpt is from the introduction. It explains the scientific reasons for belief formation later in the book. Of course everything can always be debated. It is one of the best researched books I've read. He states nothing without tracking his sources and reasons for conclusions.

In other words he handles flawlessly why he believes what he believes about belief...and leaves it open for you to reach different conclusions with his data. Where science has different theories on something he states all of them.

~FK

From the excerpt: "Wow. More people believe in angels and the devil than believe in the theory of evolution. That’s disturbing."
DonDiego sees no source or reason cited for the conclusion:"That's disturbing."

i just want to push the buttons on the machine.

That's disturbing.

since political threads are completely off the table here, have the LVA powers that be ever disallowed contentious religion threads? If not, we might be able to get some life back into the FFA yet

Is there any other kind? The only difference I see between religious and political threads is that the names are changed. Otherwise it is people arguing beliefs that are wired into their brains and they are not going to change them. Just trying to rewire someone's brain makes them agitated and fly off the handle. I think a discussion of how beliefs are formed and why people fight them so vehemently would be more interesting that the specific beliefs themselves.

With that being said, I could be one of those people who believe in angels and the devil rather than believe in the theory of evolution, but first we'd have to define "angels", "devil", and "theory of evolution" to be sure we're talking about the same concepts.

The thread is not about religion, . . . and certainly not contentious, . . . yet.

It is about thinking, . . . and, specifically, about providing sources and reasons for one's conclusions.

Personally DonDiego has no particular religious preference, and he objects to no one else's unless those beliefs can affect him adversely. DonDiego is unlikely to become contentious over religion.

What is the worse that can happen:

Don't believe in evolution: intellectual ridicule.

Don't believe in angels and satan: eternal damnation.

Pretty easy to pick the winner here.

Please provide a source or reason for your conclusion.

I prefer ridicule to eternal damnation. QED.

YMMV.