Bush: Intelligent Design Should Be Taught

[OnTheMoor]

My dad, in theology school, had a professor who taught a course in comparative religion or something like that. He assigned all his students to arbitrarily choose a deity from any faith except their own and pray like crazy to it every single day until the deity appeared before them in a vision. The end result, (according to my dad), is that nearly everybody got to see their deity of choice eventually, even though they all started out as unbelievers.

That illustrates clearly to me that anyone who thinks they know what or who "the" god is, is incorrect.

With nothing against your father, I believe that story is BS.

EDIT: Nothing to do with your point, although I do disagree with you, only that that experiment and its results seem very unlikely.

[jGilder]

My dad, in theology school, had a professor who taught a course in comparative religion or something like that. He assigned all his students to arbitrarily choose a deity from any faith except their own and pray like crazy to it every single day until the deity appeared before them in a vision. The end result, (according to my dad), is that nearly everybody got to see their deity of choice eventually, even though they all started out as unbelievers.

When I was in my early 20s my pals and I had a fascination for world religions. After reading a lot of spiritual material like the Koran and Bhagavad-Gita we invented our own religion -- Bozoism. The basic premise was that our ego is the cause of most of our problems and we would laugh at our own ego as well as the ego of other Bozoites when it would raise its’ silly selfish self-absorbed head thereby separating ourselves from it’s influence… sort of.

Decades later long after we all grew up and moved far away from each other I was watching Joseph Campbell on TV and he described a religious sect in India that worshiped a clown deity for almost identical reasons. I was astounded and delighted that our pretend religion actually had an actual sect that was loosely based on our premise. I switched off the TV and headed out the door of my apartment only to come face to face with the very same clown deity Campbell had just shown a picture of on TV. It was a small woodcarving from India that was sitting on the banister just outside my door. Needless to say I brought it inside and created an Alter for it where it sits to this day.

Does that count?

[Denny]

[Tyler]

That's just disturbing!
Maybe that's the god Bush talks about all the time!

[Denny]

That's just disturbing!
Maybe that's the god Bush talks about all the time!

wrong Bozo

[fiddleronvermouth]

When I was in my early 20s my pals and I had a fascination for world religions. After reading a lot of spiritual material like the Koran and Bhagavad-Gita we invented our own religion -- Bozoism. The basic premise was that our ego is the cause of most of our problems and we would laugh at our own ego as well as the ego of other Bozoites when it would raise its’ silly selfish self-absorbed head thereby separating ourselves from it’s influence… sort of.

Decades later long after we all grew up and moved far away from each other I was watching Joseph Campbell on TV and he described a religious sect in India that worshiped a clown deity for almost identical reasons. I was astounded and delighted that our pretend religion actually had an actual sect that was loosely based on our premise. I switched off the TV and headed out the door of my apartment only to come face to face with the very same clown deity Campbell had just shown a picture of on TV. It was a small woodcarving from India that was sitting on the banister just outside my door. Needless to say I brought it inside and created an Alter for it where it sits to this day.

Does that count?

That TOTALLY counts, Jack. Oddly, I have a clown on my altar as well, but it was given to me by a crazy homeless person who came up and asked me what was going to happen to him when he died just as I was finishing reading "Siddhartha" in a park in the scuzziest part of Vancouver.

(He also gave me a soother and half an apple, but I usually leave that part out.)

I think I told him anything he sincerely believed in would happen - would happen. He dug that logic completely.

Also in clown history, apparently the West Coast First nations had clowns. Their job was to knock people down a peg or two when their egos got carried away. They would dress up in a garish parody of their subject and follow them around, mimicking everything they did.

So maybe you're onto something fundamental, Jack.

[TerryB]

fiddleronvermouth said:

My dad, in theology school, had a professor who taught a course in comparative religion or something like that. He assigned all his students to arbitrarily choose a deity from any faith except their own and pray like crazy to it every single day until the deity appeared before them in a vision. The end result, (according to my dad), is that nearly everybody got to see their deity of choice eventually, even though they all started out as unbelievers.

That illustrates clearly to me that anyone who thinks they know what or who "the" god is, is incorrect. [end quote]

It seems to me that this experiment proves a couple of things:

1)Human beings are subject to the power of suggestion/cultural conditioning/self-hypnosis.

2)Not all views of God are correct (unless our concept of mutually exclusive categories is flawed).

I don't think, however, that the experiment proves that all views of God are incorrect. Would we conclude in general that there could be no one true view on any subject in which people come to a variety of different conclusions (through objective or subjective means)? Think, for example, about the different theories of the JFK assassination. The theories range from the scientific to a number of conspiracy views. Maybe we haven't found "the" right answer yet, but that does not mean that no answer exists or than no person(s) can hold to that answer.

Terry

[fiddleronvermouth]

It seems to me that this experiment proves a couple of things:

1)Human beings are subject to the power of suggestion/cultural conditioning/self-hypnosis.

2)Not all views of God are correct (unless our concept of mutually exclusive categories is flawed).

I don't think, however, that the experiment proves that all views of God are incorrect. Would we conclude in general that there could be no one true view on any subject in which people come to a variety of different conclusions (through objective or subjective means)? Think, for example, about the different theories of the JFK assassination. The theories range from the scientific to a number of conspiracy views. Maybe we haven't found "the" right answer yet, but that does not mean that no answer exists or than no person(s) can hold to that answer.

Terry

No, but it *does* indicate that human reason is not capable of realizing such a truth, if one exists, and that anyone who makes the claim that their belief is the only "true" belief is deluded, as events like this seem to indicate that all beliefs are equally true (or untrue).

[Denny]

When I was in my early 20s my pals and I had a fascination for world religions. After reading a lot of spiritual material like the Koran and Bhagavad-Gita we invented our own religion -- Bozoism. The basic premise was that our ego is the cause of most of our problems and we would laugh at our own ego as well as the ego of other Bozoites when it would raise its’ silly selfish self-absorbed head thereby separating ourselves from it’s influence… sort of.

BARNEY: Uh-say, I'm a Bozo.
CLEM: I thought you had kind of a big nose.
BARNEY: You recognized it, huh?
CLEM: Yeah.
BARNEY: You like to give it a squeeze?
CLEM: Oh, no...
BARNEY: Go on, squeeze the weeze! Many people like to.
SOUND: LOUD HONK!
BARNEY: See? It doesn't hurt me a bit.
CLEM: No...
BARNEY: You know, I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
SOUND: BARNEY HONKS HIS NOSE AND THERE IS A CHORUS OF HONKS IN REPLY!
CLEM: My mother was a Bozo-ette at school.
BARNEY: No kidding! You know, my ma always said,"You gotta start young if you're gonna stick it out!"
CLEM: Well, my mother didn't talk to me much.
BARNEY: Poor kid!
MICKEY (The Automated Hostess): Now, please, everyone lock your wigs, let the air out of your shoes, and prepare yourselves for a period of simulated exhileration. Everybody ready? Let's get in 'sync' for our Flight To The Future!

[s1m0n]

Clowns are creepy.

[jsluder]

Clowns are creepy.

Xander, is that you?

[Blackwood]

i'm afraid of clowns........and disturbed by people worshipping false gods....

[jsluder]

i'm afraid of clowns........and disturbed by people worshipping false gods....

Yes, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a jealous god. His Noodly Appendage is, of course, the only true levitating pasta deity.

[Blackwood]

Yes, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is a jealous god. His Noodly Appendage is, of course, the only true levitating pasta deity.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is of course the one and only true God for his Noodly Appendage has appeared before me in many a vision, especially in Italian Restaurants....

[jGilder]

i'm afraid of clowns........and disturbed by people worshipping false gods....

I don't see any problem with people worshipping me?