March 13, 2025 Leave a comment Edit

1. This website is a ‘living book’ in defense of RELIGION — and MAGIC
2. The site is currently being written — and re-written
3. No telling how often It has been — and will be – revised
4. I’m 84 years old, and no telling if it will ever be finished
5. Or, how often I’ll repeat myself
6. When I think it’s ready to be read by others, I’ll start advertising
7. It COULD be very important.
   
   
8. Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.… Wikipedia
   
   
9. It is easy to conclude that religious belief is simply WISHFUL THINKING
10. In order to be truly happy, we humans need to believe in immortality and some sort of “ultimate meaning”
11. 1. We can’t be truly happy if we think we’re only mortal or ultimately meaningless
12. 1. And religions tell us that we ARE immortal and ultimately meaningFUL
13. Whereas modern science doesn’t accept either claim
    
    
14. The suggestion HERE however, is that religions don’t make sense to us well-educated homo-sapiens for several misguiding reasons:
15. 1. Human intelligence is actually in its EVOLUTIONARY CHILDHOOD –WE’RE NOT AS SMART AS WE THINK WE ARE
16. 1. Our public schools are somewhat reasonably — but unfortunately and also unwittingly(?) — teaching our children that CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RULES, and indirectly, that religious beliefs ARE foolish! (There is no getting around it)
17. 1. The significant evidence AGAINST religion is OBVIOUS
    — The significant evidence FOR religion is NOT
18. (Note that, on this site, I’ll be discussing WESTERN religions – I suspect that EASTERN Religions are easier to defend, but I don’t know enough about them to try)
    
    
19. In other words, our Western schools are (for the most part, unknowingly) teaching our kids DETERMINISM… the doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=iba&hsimp=yhs-3&type=teff_10019_FFW_ZZ&grd=1&p=determinism
20. And ATHEISM is the natural, logical, result
    
    
21. Our schools and kids are more RATIONAL than ever
22. And consequently, our kids are leaving Religion in droves
23. In other words, for the sake of reason and honesty, our public schools are undermining our kids’ happiness
24. I’m all for reason and honesty — and respect the schools’ motivation — but MY belief is that OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS just haven’t recognized the significant evidence FOR Religion, and are consequently doing our kids an enormous disservice…
25. OUR CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES aren’t doing much better— they tell us a lot about WHAT to believe, but offer very little as to WHY to believe
26. My aim here is to show that there ARE — in fact — significant reasons to BELIEVE
27. Just wait
    
    
28. In fact, the significant evidence FOR religion isn’t NEARLY as OBVIOUS as is the significant evidence AGAINST religion – and consequently, religious parents and teachers of religion are not able to argue their cases very effectively
29. And, if we parents want our kids to be happy, we need to learn about the significant evidence FOR, and pass it on to our kids — probably, all by OURSELVES
30. But of course, if we do, our kids won’t be the only benefactors…
    
    
31. The OBVIOUS PROBLEM we have with Religion is that what makes a “social-cultural system” a RELIGION is an underlying belief in “MAGIC”
32. And most of us well-educated, western parents do not believe in magic.
33. Or at least, most of us do not THINK that we believe in magic.
34.  But then, most of us actually do — we just haven’t made the necessary connections…
    
    
35. For instance, reality is either a deterministic machine – or, it is (at least) somewhat “magical”
36. There is no other possibility.
37. And, if there is such a thing as FREE WILL, reality is NOT a deterministic machine.
38. In other words, if you believe in free will, you already believe in magic.
    
    
39. Keep that in mind as you judge western Religion
40. In still other words, if there is such a thing as free will, modern science must be missing a WHOLE DIMENSION (or something)
41. Again, Religion requires the existence of MAGIC – and if you believe in free will, you already believe in magic..
42. Keep that in mind
43. If you DON’T believe in free will YET, keep thinking…
    
    
44. More to come…
45. https://what-it-s-all-about.life/chapter-2/

Latest Introduction

January 4, 2023 Leave a comment Edit

March 13, 2025 Leave a comment Edit

1. This website is a ‘living book’ in defense of RELIGION — and MAGIC
2. The site is currently being written — and re-written
3. No telling how often It has been — and will be – revised
4. I’m 84 years old, and no telling if it will ever be finished
5. Or, how often I’ll repeat myself
6. When I think it’s ready to be read by others, I’ll start advertising
7. It COULD be very important.
   
   
8. Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.… Wikipedia
   
   
9. It is easy to conclude that religious belief is simply WISHFUL THINKING
   • In order to be truly happy, we humans need to believe in immortality and some sort of “ultimate meaning”
   • 1. We can’t be truly happy if we think we’re only mortal or ultimately meaningless
10. 1. And religions tell us that we ARE immortal and ultimately meaningFUL
11. Whereas modern science doesn’t accept either claim
    
    
12. The suggestion HERE however, is that religions don’t make sense to us well-educated homo-sapiens for several misguided reasons:
    • a. Human intelligence is actually in its EVOLUTIONARY CHILDHOOD –WE’RE NOT AS SMART AS WE THINK WE ARE
    • 1. Our public schools are somewhat reasonably — but unfortunately and also unwittingly(?) — teaching our children that CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RULES, and indirectly, that religious beliefs ARE foolish! (There is no getting around it)
13. 1. The significant evidence AGAINST religion is OBVIOUS
    — The significant evidence FOR religion is NOT
14. (Note that, on this site, I’ll be discussing WESTERN religions – I suspect that EASTERN Religions are easier to defend, but I don’t know enough about them to try)
    
    
15. In other words, our Western schools are (for the most part, unknowingly) teaching our kids DETERMINISM… the doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=iba&hsimp=yhs-3&type=teff_10019_FFW_ZZ&grd=1&p=determinism
16. And ATHEISM is the natural, logical, result
    
    
17. Our schools and kids are more RATIONAL than ever
18. And consequently, our kids are leaving Religion in droves
19. In other words, for the sake of reason and honesty, our public schools are undermining our kids’ happiness
20. I’m all for reason and honesty — and respect the schools’ motivation — but MY belief is that OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS just haven’t recognized the significant evidence FOR Religion, and are consequently doing our kids an enormous disservice…
21. OUR CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES aren’t doing much better— they tell us a lot about WHAT to believe, but offer very little as to WHY to believe
22. My aim here is to show that there ARE — in fact — significant reasons to BELIEVE
23. Just wait
    
    
24. In fact, the significant evidence FOR religion isn’t NEARLY as OBVIOUS as is the significant evidence AGAINST religion – and consequently, religious parents and teachers of religion are not able to argue their cases very effectively
25. And, if we parents want our kids to be happy, we need to learn about the significant evidence FOR, and pass it on to our kids — probably, all by OURSELVES
26. But of course, if we do, our kids won’t be the only benefactors…
    
    
27. The OBVIOUS PROBLEM we have with Religion is that what makes a “social-cultural system” a RELIGION is an underlying belief in “MAGIC”
28. And most of us well-educated, western parents do not believe in magic.
29. Or at least, most of us do not THINK that we believe in magic.
30.  But then, most of us actually do — we just haven’t made the necessary connections…
    
    
31. For instance, reality is either a deterministic machine – or, it is (at least) somewhat “magical”
32. There is no other possibility.
33. And, if there is such a thing as FREE WILL, reality is NOT a deterministic machine.
34. In other words, if you believe in free will, you already believe in magic.
    
    
35. Keep that in mind as you judge western Religion
36. In still other words, if there is such a thing as free will, modern science must be missing a WHOLE DIMENSION (or something)
37. Again, Religion requires the existence of MAGIC – and if you believe in free will, you already believe in magic..
38. Keep that in mind
39. If you DON’T believe in free will YET, keep thinking…
    
    
40. More to come…
41. https://what-it-s-all-about.life/chapter-2/