Alright, the FIRST thing I want to start off with is a disclaimer. I am not going to defend other christian religions and all their different beliefs. I'm only going to defend my belief in Mormonism. OK then.
1. We believe that man didn't start religion. We believe our religion was handed down from God to man by angels right at the beginning of our life here on earth.
2. Why can't both the brain and soul work together? We believe the soul is the truest essence of you. The body, and by extension, the brain are just tools to be used by our souls to experience and manipulate the world we are in. And further, you wouldn't remember before you were born because a veil was put over your mind, and my mind, and everyone else's mind that has ever lived on this earth. For you to suddenly appear into existence is complete and utter nonsense in Mormon eyes, and so is the concept of all of a sudden ceasing to exist. We also believe that we all existed as primal intelligences from eternity to eternity.
3. Let me just stop you right there. In Mormonism, where we go after death is actually much more complicated than just Heaven or Hell. For one, when you die, you go to the Spirit World, no matter who you are or what you did. From there though, you can either go to Spirit Paradise or Spirit Prison. There's a massive amount to say about it so I'm just gonna direct you to our official sources here where you can read what you like.
https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-41-the-postmortal-spirit-world?lang=eng
After the Spirit World, when the second coming comes, we'll finally be sorted into degrees of glory depending on everything we've done thus far.
4. It takes a lot more to get to the highest degree of glory than just accepting Jesus as your Savior. Even the middle one takes more than that. So no, if you've done what's required to make it into one of those two, you won't be sitting with people who've committed such gross sins.
5. What do you do in Eternity? Why, what you've been trying to do in mortality. Progress. Make no mistake, you're NOT going to be sitting around playing some stupid harp. We're all literal sons and daughters of God. It is our goal to grow and progress continually until we are gods ourselves. How we do this is an entire subject that I won't get into. For right now, just know that we hold within each of ourselves so much potential, it is literally immeasurable.
6. Is sin the byproduct of free will? As in unavoidable? No. Well, it is in our imperfect mortal state, but as we PROGRESS, we perfect ourselves until we are finally complete. Because that's what it means to be perfect. To be absolute and complete.
7. What proof is there? There's personal proof for one which is the best kind. Please see my first post in this thread.
8. You say that religion teaches people to be satisfied with not knowing the whole truth. Well, does science have all the answers now? No. Not in the slightest. And further, let's not forget all the atrocities that were committed in the name of science too. For example, eugenics was pretty fun. Oh yeah, and the Stanford Prison Experiment. That was incredible. Heck, let's just list them all. Oh my goodness! That's quite a list. And only in the US too! tsk tsk
Nevertheless, yes. Religion has been used as an excuse for gross immorality for hundred of years, if not thousands. But the thing is, if it wasn't religion, it would have been something else, you can be sure of that. Religion isn't the source of humanities crimes. Humans are. Simple as that. Religion's been used for a lot of good things as well. Just as science has. And as for science 'pushing God into the gaps', actually, a lot of scientists become MORE religious, the more they study the world around them. It's mainly because they're starting to realize that this world is a little TOO orderly. Too soundly built. Too beautiful to be just a big coincidence.
Looking forward to your response.
Nice reply! I learned a lot about Mormonism, which I had not looked into very much before now.
I am going to reply with numbered points, addressing each of your points of the corresponding number. However, I'll be condensing some points that were of similar topic.
Before I begin, I must ask, would you agree, that the mainstream concept of the Christian heaven is horrific? Becoming a lobotomized servant along with other piece of shit humans for the rest of eternity?
1. This point will be addressed in my response to point number 7, which mainly comes down to providing substantial evidence.
2. I don't see any reason why a brain and a hypothetical soul could not work together. But still, there is yet to be any substantial evidence proving that a "soul" is even real. And don't even get me started on the Duncan MacDougall experiment, because that one has been debunked as water vapor evaporating off the human body.
You also talked about a veil of some sorts? If it makes people forget everything? How would they even know it was there, let alone all of these realms and prisons you speak of?
Also, I'm not saying that people suddenly appear and disappear from existence. I was just talking about how living organisms are formed from the moment of conception and how they die and decompose. This applies to all animals, not just humans. I'm not an expert on evolution or DNA, so I wont go on too much more about that kind of stuff!
Also, why is it so nonsensical to imagine the cessation of sensation. I never meant that you just cease to exist. I meant that your brain starts shutting down as you die, and eventually stops working. When your brain doesn't work anymore, and has decomposed and been eaten by worms and bacteria, nitrogen fixation and the like, you wont be able to experience anything. Proof of this is seen in stroke victims. If a certain part of the stroke victims brain has been damaged. They will be unable to perform tasks that require that part of the brain. ie. Lifting your left arm. Another example is if a person sustains damage to their occipital cortex, rendering them blind for the remainder of their life. If damage to the brain can render a sense obsolete, think of what a dead/decomposing brain would do. Yet another example of how the brain is responsible for everything you experience is the cerebellum. This part of the brain forms memories. Scientists have actually been able to see the brain form molecules into memories.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140123141711.htmSo, humanity is a conglomerate of eternal primal intelligence cores lasting from eternity to eternity? How would you explain the fact that the world's population is rising exponentially? You said it was nonsensical for Mormons to believe in new beings just appearing, but I don't see any other way your religion would explain the global population increase.
3. Not much I can really say here other than that the Mormon idea of Heaven is considerably less horrific than the primary Christian belief. Regardless, I'd just refer you back to everything I said in point 2.
4.
"We're all literal sons and daughters of God. It is our goal to grow and progress continually until we are gods ourselves." - Arnox"It is this primal intelligence that is made into our spirits. Each one of us has existed an eternity before the world was made, and will continue to exist for an equally infinite amount of time." - ArnoxYou lost me here. Do we exist for all eternity as primal intelligence, or do we progress unto being gods? Also, if there are multiple gods, then what is the point of any one god being all powerful? This whole point you made here didn't make much sense to me, and clarification would be appreciated.
5. Who determines what is "Perfect"? Also, what happens when somebody's idea of progression doesn't match up with this master idea of perfect? There are tons of scientists who find joy out of studying evolution and progressing our scientific knowledge. They've made it their life's work. What happens to them? They go to spirit prison, or lose what gave their life meaning? What the actual fuck.
6. Ahh yes. On to proof. Unfortunately, personal proof just doesn't cut it. Personal proof is the same exact thing as convincing yourself that something is true. Also, when a claim as extraordinary as the existence of a god who has specific rules is made, extraordinary evidence is required. Think of it like this:
-John Smith gets a hole in one on the golf course. If he tells somebody, they might not believe him. However, since this isn't necessarily an extraordinary claim, it might just take a few friends who were there to confirm the story.
-Sally Jenkins has dinner with the President of the United States. If she goes and tells people this, she most likely will not be believed, as this is quite a claim to make. It would probably require evidence along the lines of official documentation and paperwork to convince people.
-Arnox claims that God and his angles handed down the knowledge that we are primal intelligence beings who are reincarnated for all eternity with mind wiping veils to prevent us from going insane. A claim like this should require an EXTRAORDINARY amount of proof to convince most people that it is true. It's going to take a lot more than eyewitness claims from 150 years ago, or personal affirmation experiences.
7.
"Well, does science have all the answers now? No. Not in the slightest."-ArnoxNo. Science does not have all the answers. But the prime difference between religion and science is that we are finding more and more answers every day. Don't you see? Every step science takes forwards, religion takes one step back. This is because science is not a belief, it is a process. A process based on proof, evidence, and repeatable testing. And quite frankly, it works. Watch this video to see what I'm talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uephBmkupvQ"But the thing is, if it wasn't religion, it would have been something else, you can be sure of that. Religion isn't the source of humanities crimes. Humans are. Simple as that. Religion's been used for a lot of good things as well. Just as science has."-ArnoxI've got to agree with you about humanity being the source of crimes.
As for the "atrocities" committed in the name of science. The truth is that many of those were not committed in the "name of science," they were committed because somebody wanted something. Take eugenics for example. People wanted to form a more fit society by sterilizing those who they saw as unfit to reproduce. So they used the top of the line experiment and scientific knowledge they had. That doesn't mean that science is evil, or that they did it in the name of science. It's just what happens when people use science for a wrongdoing, which can happen.
On the flip-side, though, science has led to many great things like antibiotics, penicillin, automobiles, radios, planes, clean energy, effective medication, surgery, physics, astrophysics, space travel, fertilizer, etc.
What has religion done to help? I've got to agree, mass community service projects are really fuckin' awesome. But beyond that, what is there? Faith healing? Praying your way to the moon? Praying for your polio diagnosed child to be able to walk?
"And as for science 'pushing God into the gaps', actually, a lot of scientists become MORE religious, the more they study the world around them. It's mainly because they're starting to realize that this world is a little TOO orderly. Too soundly built. Too beautiful to be just a big coincidence."-ArnoxOh really? Wikipedia seems to think otherwise!
"Among the members of the National Academy of Sciences, 7% believed in God, 72.2% did not, and 20.8% were agnostic or had doubts."-WikipediaI will leave you with one of my favorite videos. I really suggest watching in full screen and HD, because I hope this video will inspire you to see the natural beauty in life, and not the man made beauty that religion has made people believe. When you accept the universe/life as being probably a giant fucking fluke, it becomes so much more wonderful and amazing.
You're a very enjoyable person to discuss these matters with.
Thank you, and I look forward to your response.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D05ej8u-gU