the people being prayed for didn't know they were being prayed for and the ones receiving prayer benefitted in no way. so basically, the prayers didn't do anything. what a surprise!
LOL! GG is now armed and dangerous Gotta run...will be back to debunk what has been posted so far at a later time. peace axeman
This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because the consequences of a belief have no bearing on whether the belief is true or false. axeman, jr. ____________________________________________ This may have something to do with your trading. In all honesty GG. You admittedly can't trade, can't hold a job in a grocery store, can't kill a bug and can't even drive a car in the amusement park. And yet you have the audacity to tell others, who can trade, maybe own several grocery stores, probably own dozens if not hundreds of vehicles, and to whom bugs are no problem, how to think and live. It is kind of mind boggling.
the people being prayed for didn't know they were being prayed for and the ones receiving prayer benefitted in no way. so basically, the prayers didn't do anything. what a surprise! GG _____________________________________________ One major problem here. Can you say that you are 100% certain that no one in this study was being prayed for in either group by someone or someones unknown to the patients and the researchers.
Axe, Knowing full well the implications of Pascal's Wager, I stated what will not happen: "non believers will not have the last laugh." Nowhere did I talk about proving the existence or non existance of anything or anyone. The cookie cutter argument of Pascal's wager does not apply because the statement doesn't rely upon negative consequences as a proof. Nor does the lighthearted argument lead to the conclusion that god exists or does not exist. That subject is not even broached. Had I stated, "Believers will have the last laugh" then you would have a valid logical criticism based on Pascal's Wager, but as it is you do not have a valid criticism. So I state one more time, as a gentle rib to those who don't believe (in this case those who specifically don't believe in an afterlife) that: Non-believers WILL NOT have the last laugh!
Tri, you are just sooo wrong here. There are different religions. Even if you practice perfect Protestant Christianity (for example), if God does exist and the 'real' religion turns out to be Judaism, Islam , or Voodoo- you're still screwed.
Rearden, Just to clarify, nowhere did I state anything concerning any religions. The argument specifically relates to those who believe in an afterlife vs those who do not believe in the afterlife. Which flavor of belief really makes no difference. The only issue is whether non believers will have the last laugh. They will not. While it may be true that some believers may also not have the last laugh, this doesn't invalidate the original argument.
GG, I'm not sure if you've ever mentioned this, but was religion shoved down your throat in heavy doses by your parents? Were you forced to spend hours on end praying to the unseen imaginary friend in the sky? Were you told that masturbation is just as evil as murdering someone, and felt horrible after every time you did it anyways? That's often the root of hatred for religion. Trust me, I know from experience...
i have no reason to believe in an "after-life," however, even if it does happen, it is possible it has absolutely nothing to do with any "god" or any religion.