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You really think that praying and other religious rituals are more effective than evidence-based techniques? If you want to multiply bread and fish, use the Hab

You really think that praying and other religious rituals are more effective than evidence-based techniques? If you want to multiply bread and fish, use the Haber process and fisheries. The social structures are parasitic and shackled our ability to do things. Look at the story you're commenting on: Do you think that the social structures which incited these folks to threaten a teenager with death is "foster[ing] group cohesion" in a way that we want to encourage in our society? I happen to live in a region where something like three-quarters of all terrorism is Christian, and the rest has been Muslim or various cults derived from traditional religious practices. It is not clear to me that (3) the benefits of religion could outweigh the constant price that members of society pay to appease it.

rayiner 5y ago
> You really think that praying and other religious rituals are more effective than evidence-based techniques? If you want to multiply bread and fish, use the Haber process and fisheries. Science is great for that, sure. But is that the whole of what a society needs to function? Does science give you answers about how to raise families, structure communities, etc? The answer is that the hard sciences don’t give you answers to those things. In secular society, therefore, we’ve layered on top a lot of the social sciences. In my opinion, those teachings aren’t meaningfully more evidence-based than religion, and have a lot less in the way of proven track record. I’ve got a degree in aerospace engineering. I certainly know and appreciate the Haber process, etc. But as to other aspects of being a human in society, my kids learn about the golden rule, how the meek will inherit the earth, turning the other cheek, forgiveness, repentance, etc. When I was an atheist I thought that these things were universal moral norms, overlooking that these ideas aren’t universal and I only felt that way being raised in a Christian society. > The social structures are parasitic and shackled our ability to do things. You need social structures to mediate interactions between human beings in a society. The only question is whether your social structures are conducive to a well functioning society or harmful to it. The social structures of Christian societies have the advantage that there are a bunch of successful societies built on them. It’s an existence proof of efficacy.

rayiner 5y ago

> You really think that praying and other religious rituals are more effective than evidence-based techniques? If you want to multiply bread and fish, use the Haber process and fisheries. Science is great for that, sure. But is that the whole of what a society needs to function? Does science give you answers about how to raise families, structure communities, etc? The answer is that the hard sciences don’t give you answers to those things. In secular society, therefore, we’ve layered on top a lot of the social sciences. In my opinion, those teachings aren’t meaningfully more evidence-based than religion, and have a lot less in the way of proven track record. I’ve got a degree in aerospace engineering. I certainly know and appreciate the Haber process, etc. But as to other aspects of being a human in society, my kids learn about the golden rule, how the meek will inherit the earth, turning the other cheek, forgiveness, repentance, etc. When I was an atheist I thought that these things were universal moral norms, overlooking that these ideas aren’t universal and I only felt that way being raised in a Christian society. > The social structures are parasitic and shackled our ability to do things. You need social structures to mediate interactions between human beings in a society. The only question is whether your social structures are conducive to a well functioning society or harmful to it. The social structures of Christian societies have the advantage that there are a bunch of successful societies built on them. It’s an existence proof of efficacy.