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10-01-2002, 01:50 PM | #11 |
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You know, in high school it was once my dream to create a scientific religion. The thinking went like this: What does God do? He affects random events, and there are good reasons to think he might reward and punish people. So if you made scientific observations of people's luck (by interviewing the gamblers in a casino and finding correlations between their behavior and their winnings), you would find out what God rewards and punishes, and thus there would be a scientific religion.
I wouldn't say I feel confident in this experiment anymore, certainly not enough so to spend the money necessary to try it. But I don't really see where this reasoning is flawed. |
10-01-2002, 01:54 PM | #12 |
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Ojuice5001, have you ever read Ringworld by Niven? I think he beat you to it.
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10-01-2002, 02:03 PM | #13 |
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Interesting. I only wish I had known about this in high school. Yes, I will definitely read the book now that I know this.
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10-01-2002, 06:08 PM | #14 | |
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In other words, your "religion" wouldn't apply its own core "rituals" (experimentation and statistical analysis) to its own fundamental premise. It is no more illogical than all other religions. |
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10-01-2002, 06:23 PM | #15 |
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Maybe Thomas Paine's form of deism?
When i read Age of Reason, i was really inspired by his version of God, even though i'm not sure i believe it. He suggested that the very fact that we can see stars is evidence of God trying to teach us science and allow us to gain knowledge All the knowledge man has of science and of machinery, by the aid of which his existence is rendered comfortable upon earth, and without which he would be scarcely distinguishable in appearance and condition from a common animal, comes from the great machine and structure of the universe. The constant and unwearied observations of our ancestors upon the movements and revolutions of the heavenly bodies, in what are supposed to have been the early ages of the world, have brought this knowledge upon earth. It is not Moses and the prophets, nor Jesus Christ, nor his apostles, that have done it. The Almighty is the great mechanic of the creation, the first philosopher, and original teacher of all science. Let us then learn to reverence our master, and not forget the labours of our ancestors. |
10-01-2002, 06:40 PM | #16 | |
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10-01-2002, 11:00 PM | #17 |
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You might try this one:
<a href="http://www.pantheist.net" target="_blank">www.pantheist.net</a> and click on "Scientific Pantheism" and see what you think of it. YMMV |
10-02-2002, 08:01 AM | #18 | |
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Religions do more than than that. They provide a sense of community, they provide moral structure (for the people who believe them), and so on. Thus in many respects a "scientific religion" cannot exist in a pure sense since religions cover part of the human experience outside of science. DC [ October 02, 2002: Message edited by: DigitalChicken ]</p> |
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10-02-2002, 08:04 AM | #19 | |
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<a href="http://holism.org" target="_blank">http://holism.org</a> IMHO, its basically the same thing as Scientific Pantheism with a little more crystal-hugging thrown in. |
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10-02-2002, 10:50 AM | #20 |
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Secular Paganism is a scientific religion. A religion that doesn't hold to a single tenet that contradicts the findings of science.
Actually you'll never hear the practitioners of any religion saying they're unscientific. For example look here at <a href="http://www.it-is-truth.org" target="_blank">http://www.it-is-truth.org</a> for a fervent if lame attempt to show how Islam has all the science facts right. (typos fixed, dammit) [ October 02, 2002: Message edited by: Heathen Dawn ]</p> |
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