4 ms·

What is it with tech/science forums and the belief that religious people are crazy, backwards, zealots who would go crazy causing enormous destruction when face

by vivekd 10y ago

What is it with tech/science forums and the belief that religious people are crazy, backwards, zealots who would go crazy causing enormous destruction when faced with compelling new scientific revelation. . . this despite the fact that theologians from nearly every religion, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism have considered extraterrestrial life and claim it does not contradict with their religious beliefs.

M_Grey 10y ago
What is it with tech/science forums and the belief that religious people are crazy, backwards, zealots who would go crazy causing enormous destruction when faced with compelling new scientific revelation. . . http://www.philipstallings.com/2015/06/the-biblical-flat-earth-teaching-from.html http://www.philipstallings.com/2015/06/the-biblical-flat-ear... Leaps readily to mind, along with the current state of Israeli politics, and you know... just a lot of politics. You're right that lots of theologians are frankly much more impressive than the average adherent. What a pity that we're not surrounded by billions of theologians.
- vivekd 10y ago
  When you talk about biblical flat Earthers you are talking about a very small subset of Christians, to claim that all Christians are like them is akin to claiming that all Muslims are like ISIS. Similarly Zionism is not really a religious view as much as it is a political one. This can most clearly be seen in the fact that orthodox Jews oppose the state of Israel. They correctly interpret the Torah as saying that Jews have had the holy land taken away from them by God and it can only be re-established by God, not by the the act of men. Similarly the Koran says outright that Allah had given the holy land to the Jews, and groups like the Muslim brotherhood and Hamas that seek take Israel are motivated by political, not religious goals. If anyone is going to create violence and chaos at first contact, it's not religious people but rather politicians that have a stake in a system that exposure to other, more equal or efficient systems may upend and industrialists that have a stake in the technologies that first contact will replace. There are so many other, historically consistent places to look for potential sources of revolt than mere ordinary people (in fact the majority of the human population) who are merely in search of the divine and greater meaning.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    It's always a "small subset". A "small subset" is rabidly anti-abortion. A "small subset" thinks women should be subservient to men, wear burkas, or stay at home and have lots of kids. A "small subset" thinks the Earth is 6000 years old. A "small subset" thinks that it's just a matter of time before the End Times. A "small subset" thinks that Shia/Sunni is apostasy. A "small subset" thinks gay people are evil, thinks that people shouldn't use contraception, etc... etc... It's always these little small subsets hiding the allegedly "vast silent majority", but unfortunately they add up, they fight, and they ruin it all for the rest of us. I don't worry about the physicists with faith, I worry about the other 99.9999%.
- dogma1138 10y ago
  Thinking that Israeli politics has anything to do with religion or that the Israeli Arab conflict has any religious basis is a common but a very big mistake people make.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    Have you been to Israel lately? I have. Putting aside the Arab-Israeli conflict, just looking at internal social issues, education, politics... it's the ultra-orthodoxy running the show. I never thought I'd live to see the day Netanyahu was "moderate".
    - dogma1138 10y ago
      The use of the term "Ultra-Orthodox" is again problematic, it's not used correctly, it should be used to describe the "Haredi" Jews which aren't really controlling anything, in fact I would go as far as say that even "Haredi" aren't a good fit for the "Ultra-Orthodox" moniker, as there are more hardcore groups than they are including those who want nothing to do with the state of Israel as they believe that the state of Israel cannot be established until the messiah comes the dead have risen and all that fun end of days stuff happens. And when people use that term to describe the "settlers" that's even beyond, they are nationalist not ultra-orthodox.
nsxwolf 10y ago
It is called "bigotry".

by vivekd 10y ago

What is it with tech/science forums and the belief that religious people are crazy, backwards, zealots who would go crazy causing enormous destruction when faced with compelling new scientific revelation. . . this despite the fact that theologians from nearly every religion, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism have considered extraterrestrial life and claim it does not contradict with their religious beliefs.

M_Grey 10y ago

What is it with tech/science forums and the belief that religious people are crazy, backwards, zealots who would go crazy causing enormous destruction when faced with compelling new scientific revelation. . . http://www.philipstallings.com/2015/06/the-biblical-flat-earth-teaching-from.html http://www.philipstallings.com/2015/06/the-biblical-flat-ear... Leaps readily to mind, along with the current state of Israeli politics, and you know... just a lot of politics. You're right that lots of theologians are frankly much more impressive than the average adherent. What a pity that we're not surrounded by billions of theologians.

vivekd 10y ago
When you talk about biblical flat Earthers you are talking about a very small subset of Christians, to claim that all Christians are like them is akin to claiming that all Muslims are like ISIS. Similarly Zionism is not really a religious view as much as it is a political one. This can most clearly be seen in the fact that orthodox Jews oppose the state of Israel. They correctly interpret the Torah as saying that Jews have had the holy land taken away from them by God and it can only be re-established by God, not by the the act of men. Similarly the Koran says outright that Allah had given the holy land to the Jews, and groups like the Muslim brotherhood and Hamas that seek take Israel are motivated by political, not religious goals. If anyone is going to create violence and chaos at first contact, it's not religious people but rather politicians that have a stake in a system that exposure to other, more equal or efficient systems may upend and industrialists that have a stake in the technologies that first contact will replace. There are so many other, historically consistent places to look for potential sources of revolt than mere ordinary people (in fact the majority of the human population) who are merely in search of the divine and greater meaning.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  It's always a "small subset". A "small subset" is rabidly anti-abortion. A "small subset" thinks women should be subservient to men, wear burkas, or stay at home and have lots of kids. A "small subset" thinks the Earth is 6000 years old. A "small subset" thinks that it's just a matter of time before the End Times. A "small subset" thinks that Shia/Sunni is apostasy. A "small subset" thinks gay people are evil, thinks that people shouldn't use contraception, etc... etc... It's always these little small subsets hiding the allegedly "vast silent majority", but unfortunately they add up, they fight, and they ruin it all for the rest of us. I don't worry about the physicists with faith, I worry about the other 99.9999%.
dogma1138 10y ago
Thinking that Israeli politics has anything to do with religion or that the Israeli Arab conflict has any religious basis is a common but a very big mistake people make.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  Have you been to Israel lately? I have. Putting aside the Arab-Israeli conflict, just looking at internal social issues, education, politics... it's the ultra-orthodoxy running the show. I never thought I'd live to see the day Netanyahu was "moderate".
  - dogma1138 10y ago
    The use of the term "Ultra-Orthodox" is again problematic, it's not used correctly, it should be used to describe the "Haredi" Jews which aren't really controlling anything, in fact I would go as far as say that even "Haredi" aren't a good fit for the "Ultra-Orthodox" moniker, as there are more hardcore groups than they are including those who want nothing to do with the state of Israel as they believe that the state of Israel cannot be established until the messiah comes the dead have risen and all that fun end of days stuff happens. And when people use that term to describe the "settlers" that's even beyond, they are nationalist not ultra-orthodox.

nsxwolf 10y ago

It is called "bigotry".