Quote:

In his quest to find a purpose in life that might help him cope with the adversities of life, man has invented supernatural beings. Since he could not cope with the mysterious forces of his environment, he invented gods or other mystical forces that might enhance his survival and security by responding to prayer, sacrifices or similar devotions.

Man thus invented the fiction that gods had created man and that man was under the control and in the service of such superior beings. Consequently, man believed that it was his purpose in life to placate and please these gods by subjugating himself to their will in order to ensure their goodwill and protection.

There is no objective evidence whatsoever that such omnipotent beings actually exist or, if they existed, that they have any effect on individual human lives, or that they can vest human lives with a preordained purpose. If someone claims that there is a preordained purpose to human life, such claim is merely a completely undocumented opinion, at best, or a hallucination, at worst. Not only is such extraordinary claim without any shred of evidence, but it also stands in contradiction to all factual evidence available to man. Rational human beings require extraordinary proof for extraordinary claims

Religious or mythological belief systems require faith. Ambrose Bierce once defined the concept of faith somewhat humorously, but poignantly: "A Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel". Any person who accepts as true an unverified statement, which is also in conflict with all available factual knowledge, is unable or unwilling to expose himself to the true nature of Objective Reality.

A person who bases his acts upon unsupported opinions has diminished his ability to cope with his environment in an optimal and efficient manner. This is the folly and the true price humans have to pay if they believe in supernatural beings and try to find a preordained purpose in their existence.

(emphasis mine)

Walter E. Requadt
http://www.rationality.net/

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BlueCoyote said:

Hehe, that sounds like Apologetics 

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Paradigm said:

BlueCoyote said:

Hehe, that sounds like Apologetics 

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Indeed.  This author of this piece does not understand what mythology is.  Mythology is a way of conveying a spiritual truth through story-telling.  The story may or may not contain historical elements, but that is not important.  What's important is the message.

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MushmanTheManic said:

"A person who bases his acts upon unsupported opinions has diminished his ability to cope with his environment in an optimal and efficient manner."

Any support for this assumption?

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