Posted inReality Religions Science

Eastern brains are different from Western brains

The differences between Eastern and Western philosophy -- which includes religions with a corresponding bent -- are clear. Most people tilt one way or the other philosophically. I certainly have many more Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu/Vedanta books in my library than titles with a Western bent.However, I did write a book about a Greek philosopher, Plotinus. He didn't believe in a personal God, though, viewing reality in a rather "Eastern" fashion, yet generally expressing himself in an analytical "Western" manner.In an introductory chapter I talked about what I saw as the difference between a Western and an Eastern mind. Eight…
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Posted inReality Religions

Atheists and agnostics are open-minded

I'm open to the possibility that god or some other manifestation of the supernatural exists. I just don't see any convincing evidence of this. Being open-minded isn't the same as being gullible, as Greta Christina says in a great blog post, "Are Atheists Open-Minded?"For starters: "You have to have an open mind" is not the same as "Here's some good evidence for why my idea is right." Yes, it's good to have an open mind. How is that an argument for religion or spirituality being correct? I mean, if someone insisted that they had a three- inch- tall pink pony…
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Posted inHumor Religions

My 100% guaranteed spiritual investment scheme

With all the talk going on these days about sleazy financial deal-making, I've been wondering why Wall Street doesn't hire more religious experts. They seem even better suited than mathematical wizards to be able to fashion can't-miss investment schemes.By "can't-miss," naturally I'm referring to the 100% certainty that the purveyor of the deal will profit. As is so often the case, the poor suckers who buy into it aren't guaranteed anything -- which is why the scheme is structured as it is.There are lots of variations on the religious "Invest Now and Reap the Rewards Later" pitch. I'm most familiar…
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Posted inReligions

Believers need to take the “Outsider Test for Faith”

Why and how do religious believers choose to accept a particular faith out of the many choices available to them? (4200 is one estimate)Great question. Here's an ever better one: What makes someone confident that the religion they've chosen is true, while all the other religions are false?John W. Loftus examines these issues in a book he edited, "The Christian Delusion." The first chapter I read was by Loftus, "The Outsider Test for Faith Revisited." He used to be a minister, until his deconversion.I loved the chapter. It lays out problems with religious belief that I've been aware of for…
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Posted inReligions

“Hidden brain” shows how religion traps people

Humans are social creatures. We are drawn toward conforming with what other people are doing. Being a "lone wolf" usually is less comfortable than being part of a group. Sometimes herd-like behavior pays off. It surely did for our ancestors, or evolution wouldn't have produced such powerful pressures to go along and get along in us. If a saber-toothed tiger is attacking, running off by yourself likely isn't the favored survival strategy. Safety in numbers is the watchword in such situations. But not in others, as Shankar Vedantam shows in an intriguing chapter of "The Hidden Brain,"  a book I've…
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Posted inReligions

Religions are founded on human egotism

It's strange that religiosity is so often associated with humility, selflessness, and lack of ego. Actually, the religious impulse is highly egotistical, as William James makes clear in his classic book, "The Varieties of Religious Experience."The pivot round which the religious life, as we have traced it, revolves, is the interest of the individual in his private personal destiny. Religion, in short, is a monumental chapter in the history of human egotism.There's nothing wrong with this. We just need to remember that human nature is part and parcel of religious belief. People turn to religion in much the same way…
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Posted inReligions

Religious belief, Dumbo, and the placebo effect

After reading a fascinating article in Newsweek about how antidepressants appear to be no more effective than a placebo, I got to wondering whether religions operate the same way.Patients on a placebo improved about 75 percent as much as those on drugs. Put another way, three quarters of the benefit from antidepressants seems to be a placebo effect.When people believe that a placebo -- a sham medical intervention -- is an effective treatment, that belief often is self-fulfilling. Meaning, they get better because they believed they should get better.How this happens is largely a mystery. But there are some promising…
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Posted inReligions Spiritual practice/meditation

Why every religion and spiritual path is wrong

I've just finished reading my bajillionth (more or less) spiritual, mystical, religious, or philosophical book. You could call me a slow learner, but today I had a mini-enlightenment. It dawned on me -- more clearly than ever before -- why every religion and spiritual path is wrong. More precisely, wrong for everybody but one person: the guy or gal who had the initial religious or spiritual experience that led to a claim that it is right for everybody. A personal experience is just that: one person's experience. End of story. But if that person shares his or her tale with…
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Posted inReligions Science

Science and religion are so different, they aren’t at odds

Who worries about reconciling the deep philosophical meaning of rap music and bird watching? Or professional basketball and quantum physics? Or motorcycle maintenance and ballet dancing?Maybe science and religion are similar to these examples, because they are so different. Not only that, perhaps all the vigorous debates over the centuries about whether science or religion is closer to ultimate truth misses the point:There isn't any #1, alpha dog, primo, unsurpassed approach to knowing reality. All we have are various ways of dealing with reality. This is, more or less, what the central theme of Barbara Herrnstein Smith's recently released book,…
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Posted inReligions

Memorial service shows sad side of religion

Recently I attended a memorial service for my sister. She died about a month ago. I was sad the day I learned the news, but had largely come to terms with her death. I didn't expect the service to be a laugh-fest, but its rather gloomy nature surprised me. Religion seemingly was to blame. My sister wasn't at all religious, but the memorial service was held at a funeral chapel that reeked of religiosity. Walking in with my wife and brother-in-law, we were met by the black-suited proprietor who gravely, so to speak, said: "I'm so sorry for the pain…
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Posted inReligions

Religious craziness is like drunk driving

Daniel Dennett has a nice piece in the Washington Post about not allowing religious believers to be a protected class — immune from the consequences of their bizarre beliefs.

When I was young, drunk drivers tended to be excused because, after all, they were drunk! Today, happily, we hold them doubly culpable for any misdeeds they commit while under the influence.

I look forward to the day when violence done under the influence of religious passion is considered more dishonorable, more shameful, than crimes of avarice, and is punished accordingly, and religious leaders who incite such acts are regarded with the same contempt that we reserve for bartenders who send dangerously disabled people out onto the highways.

I also liked how Dennett wants pastors who spout unscientific crap from the pulpit to be held accountable for their dishonesty.

(I'm unsure if the Post allows access to the piece for those who haven't registered on their site, so I'll copy it into a continuation to this post.)

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Posted inBooks Christianity/Jesus Religions

Talking about religion is good, preaching is bad

A friend of mine has a great way of dealing with Jehovah's Witnesses who knock on his door, proselytizing pamphlets in hand. He tells them enthusiastically, "Great to see you! Come on in! I want to tell you about how wonderful my religion is. It'll just take a couple of hours."I don't think he's gotten any takers. It's funny how religious true believers are really eager to talk about the marvelousness of their own faith, yet usually shy away from learning about other points of view or philosophies of life.So I think Ross Douhat made some good points in his…
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Posted inReligions

Saying “there is no God” isn’t a religion

Over on my other blog, HinesSight, I wrote a 2008 post that chastised a Portland talk show host: "Atheism isn't a religion, Thom Hartmann."Usually I agree with Portland's Thom Hartmann, Air America's progressive talk show host. But this morning he kept saying that atheism is a religion – that not believing in God is a belief system. That's ridiculous. It shows that no matter how smart and articulate Hartmann is, he's got some blind spots. Those logic-obscurers likely stem from his Christianity. I approvingly quoted from a right on piece cleverly titled "Religion of Atheism: if atheism is religion, 'albino'…
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Posted inBooks Religions Science

“The Quotable Atheist” is well worth quoting

My daughter, a chip off of her dad's churchless block, gave me The Quotable Atheist for Christmas. Organized alphabetically, I'm all the way up to "B." Lots of more great quotes to enjoy.I could tell I was going to enjoy the book as soon as I started reading the Introduction by Jack Huberman. He's got an engaging "take no prisoners in the war against religion" attitude. Here's some Huberman quotes.The world (not just America) is deeply divided. The main fault line is where the tectonic plates of religion and of reason/ secularism/ modernity/ science/ Enlightenment meet and grind against each…
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Posted inReligions Science

Religious mindset supports skepticism about science

Over on my other blog, where I've been writing about global warming recently (here, here, and here), someone commented that he was surprised I'm so accepting of the scientific consensus on climate change when I'm so skeptical of religious claims.Well, I was surprised that he was surprised. It makes sense to me to have lots of faith in the scientific method, and virtually no faith in religious dogma.Skepticism is a virtue. I have no problem with people being skeptical of a purported scientific fact -- such as that our planet is warming and humans are responsible for it -- if,…
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Posted inReligions Science

Science and religion share a sense of purpose

What makes life meaningful? How is it that we can wake up in the morning and feel like jumping out of bed, rather than hiding beneath the covers? A sense of purpose. Our life seems like it has a direction. We have a reason for being. Goals, intentions, to-do's.In the "Faith" chapter of his book, On Being Certain, Robert Burton, M.D. (a neurologist) says:By now it should be apparent that deeply felt purpose and meaning are exactly that -- profound mental sensations. Though the underlying brain mechanisms that create these sensations aren't known, the biggest clue comes from those who've…
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Posted inReligions Science

Religions are wrong: in the cosmos, humans aren’t special

It's a burden to believe that you're special. Especially when it isn't true. Feeling special places you in a starring role. You're at the center of a script that has a marvelous ending -- with you at center stage taking bows.Religions appeal to people because dogma leads them to feel special. God has a plan, for you. Enlightenment is going to happen, for you. The heavens and earth were created, for you. A guru will appear, for you. Jesus died on the cross, for you. Christianity likes to speak of the "good news."The Christian message of good news is described in…
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Posted inReligions Science

Should science have an opinion on the supernatural?

Some people think that science and religion operate in two different spheres, with never the twain meeting. This often is called NOMA, non-overlapping magisteria -- a term coined by biologist Stephen Jay Gould, who said:The magisterium of science covers the empirical realm: what the Universe is made of (fact) and why does it work in this way (theory). The magisterium of religion extends over questions of ultimate meaning and moral value. These two magisteria do not overlap, nor do they encompass all inquiry (consider, for example, the magisterium of art and the meaning of beauty).I disagree, unless "religion" is defined…
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Posted inReligions

Indian rationalist denies God on his death bed

Way to go, Mr. Premanand. You're sticking with your non-faith and irreligion even though you're critically ill. I applauded your statement from a hospital bed in Podanur, India -- making clear that no, you're not having a death bed conversion to godliness. Here's an excerpt:I wish to clarify that as on today the twentieth of September, 2009 I remain a staunch rationalist and wish to place on record the following:a. I continue to be a rationalist of full conviction.b. I do not believe in any supernatural power. All the powers that we encounter are in the realm of nature and…
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Posted inReligions

Christian has advice for atheists

Thanks to science blogger P.Z. Myers, I've read some advice for atheists from a Christian who wants unbelievers to be nicer and more reasonable. Not surprisingly, the advice isn't reasonable. What a shock -- nonsense coming from someone religious. I love Myers' feisty style. He makes me seem like a churchless wuss. 1. Stop being so smug.Make me.Look, you start an argument, you don't get to whine at your opponent to be humble about his ideas before you've even taken a stab at criticizing them. Show me a reason not to be smug about atheism, and reason, and science, and the…
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