OT: Insightful (re: Amish shooting)

[Fyron]

dmm said:
Every major religion I can think of has a lot of moral code in common.

Indeed, since they all base their moral codes on common human morality. It's just the same as most religious mythologies (in the sense of the stories and such that comprise the teachings of the religion's culture, not some tacked on "explicitly false" connotation) using a lot of the same basic symbols in similar ways; the way colors, numbers, etc. are used in one religion are very similarly to how they are used in many other religions. We all evolved from the same source, so much of the basic thought patterns and instincts that make up the core of a human's psyche end up being the same. People everywhere have more or less the same genetic predispositions.

Basic tenets of morality have to do with humans being social animals; it harms the group to kill each other, to rape each other, to steal from each other. It helps the group if humans cooperate towards larger goals, help out others in need, provide their skills to benefit the group. Thus, as humans evolved, they evolved basic predispositions to not do these things. As intelligence grew ever more refined, naturally these basic social needs would become codified into "law," when the concept of "law" began to be developed. As basic spiritual beliefs started developing into organized religions, such inherent social needs became codified into belief systems. Since all humans have the same base genetic dispositions, religions the world over tended to develop along similar lines.

It's a matter of psychology; particular religious belief doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it. Of course, you could always argue that God set us up to develop that way. That is not a falsifiable argument though, so it can't be "proven" either way.

[ZeroAdunn]

Actually Fyron, it can be proven, somebody just needs to go find god, and have him explain it all? Anybody able to do that? No, okay then, lets disconnect morals from god for this argument and stick to what we know.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

I am convinced God exists, by my own personal experience

The simple idea that some portion of the populace has yet to be so convinced does not negate my experience. Nor does the fact that I can't scientifically prove my anecdotal experience.

However, saying that I can't prove it to myself is to make a blanket judgement of every single experience of my life - The vast majority of which you know nothing about and do not have the right to do, anyway.

[ZeroAdunn]

narf poit chez BOOM said:
However, saying that I can't prove it to myself is to make a blanket judgement of every single experience of my life - The vast majority of which you know nothing about and do not have the right to do, anyway.

Actually Narf, you can't prove it to yourself. We can't prove anything beyond our own moment to moment, each morning you wake up and take a leap of faith that all that has come before, truly did come before, and isn't just some delusion or fabrication. Faith is probably the most powerful thing in this world, everybody has it, few people understand it, and a good portion of the population don't want ot admit to it, but its their. There is nothing in this life that can be proven, each moment in time is like a photograph, at the moment it is taken, you know it is true, but forever after you can only make your claims, and hope somebody will back you up.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

The thing is, all my evidencee, ie., my memory, says that yours is the much lower chance.