philologos wrote: » Atheistic worldview != objective surely?
philologos wrote: » I think the word "hangup" is just meaningless. It's not negatively affecting my life to understand that I should wait for marriage. I think it is immoral for a number of reasons: 1) At the base of it all. God established an order for relationships and sexuality, God also as Creator knows a heck of a lot more about Creation than I do. I trust His providence in instituting marriage in the way that He did. There's a number of other reasons. 2) Waiting until marriage means less spread of STD's. If one only sexually engaged with their spouse rather than any other person there would be less spread of STD's. 3) Waiting until marriage means that there is better provision for dealing with unplanned pregnancies should they arise. 4) By extension of 3, waiting until marriage means less abortions. 5) Marriages provide a safe context for both partners to express themselves sexually than in another relationship structure. Waiting until marriage allows the assurance that you know your spouse fully before engaging sexually with them. Waiting until marriage also means that there is a formal commitment in place before you express yourself sexually with your partner, it also gives ample time to discuss this prior to being married. 6) Marriages bind biological families together in a way that relationship structures other than marriage don't. The reality is marriages stay together longer, and marriages are the best way to provide children with both a mother and a father. Moreover families with married parents bind bloodlines together where other family structures don't."
koth wrote: » @El_Duderino just so you know, != is shorthand for 'not equal to'. philo wasn't shouting at you
philologos wrote: » Apologies. It is a bit of a programming concept
Ken bryan wrote: » The Hiroshima Bomb, Jesuit Priests, Fatima, and the Rosary . These people were within 5 K of the Bomb and surrived With no medical issues .
Geomy wrote: » So Buddhism works.... Zombrex can you explain this in layman's terms... I'm kinda lost here.
Geomy wrote: » I was reading a book about Near Death Experiences and there was no Jesus in Buddhism experiences or no Buddha in Christians experiences,pagans meeting their God etc It just goes to show that there's more to all this than Christianity being the bee all and end all. Atheists had experiences of peace and tranquility or a higher being or powerful force etc
Geomy wrote: » It was an interesting read alright Better to go out that way than a way full of fear guilt and remorse isn't it. The thing is most people who had nde's dropped a lot of their materialism and selfishness and lived a more spiritual,religious lifestyle rather than the selfish way of living.
Geomy wrote: » Google Dr Sam Parnia I think he was the author of the book I read.
Geomy wrote: » I remember one day a guy told me when he is emotional he has no control of the first thought that comes into his head,but the next thought he can either act it out or accept it and decide its only a thought and not act out on it..
HHobo wrote: » It looks to me like it will be only a matter of a few years/decades before we can conclusively show that our conciousness, what we percieve as "I", is just a passenger on the ride controlled by the many non-conscious processes interacting in our brains. It would probably be a good idea to not publicise this idea too much. Aside from anything else, it is really depressing!
nagirrac wrote: » However, the involuntary aspect of consciousness appears to be only half the story. We have the ability to somehow focus on specific thoughts to achieve a negative or positive outcome. By focussing on negative thoughts we amplify these processes in the brain and as anyone who suffers for anxiety / OCD / depression knows it is this "stuck" behavior that makes the condition worse. Through mindfulness or meditation processes these conditions can be relieved and MRI studies have shown permanent changes in neural pathways over time i.e. focussed thought pattens changing neural pathways. This is the basis for the expanding treatment area called neuroplasticity and would suggest that conscious free will does exist but is only activated through deliberate mental exercises.
Morbert wrote: » It would still ultimately be a response to stimulus. The ability to focus on thoughts, and neural plasticity, are sophisticated internal mechanism that help responses adapt to stimuli.
nagirrac wrote: » But the point is we have the choice to participate in conscious free will and influence outcomes. There appears no doubt our thoughts emerge from involuntary or unconscious processes, due to brain wiring involving genetics, environment, development, past experience,etc. However we can choose how to deal with thoughts which is what neuroplasticity is. We can choose to either allow ourselves be slaves to involuntary thoughts resulting in potentially negative outcomes or rewire our brains to choose a different outcome. In reality this is what all of learning is.
Morbert wrote: » Neuroplasticity needs further qualification. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change how action potentials propagate through the brain. It is what permits humans and other animals to adapt so extensively to changes in stimulus. But from a reductionists perspective, it is no more a deliberate arbitration or "choice" than a venus fly trap snapping shut when it senses prey. It would still ultimately be potassium ions (and others) flowing through the brain in complex patterns, based on the information the brain receives both from itself and the outside world through the senses.
Geomy wrote: » Is that where prayer and meditation comes into it... God consciousness
nagirrac wrote: » Prayer is a basic form of meditation, like a mantra. When you examine the various mystical traditions there is really little difference between them at their core. All of them involve inner reflection such as meditation and prayer to achieve a higher level of consciousness. The differences are in religious dogma which come from a desire for power.
