Amos asks why threads like this persist.

I think there is a natural reaction on the part of people to not want to be sold on religion of any sort. I think it's fine for people to state what they believe and for people like me to
criticize or analyze statements that they make.

I believe that any god is a myth. I believe myths and memes exist. I believe that gurus are a form of humanizing gods as myths.

I don't think people are very accurate in defining their beliefs however. What one person defines as a god, another disputes or introduces contradictory material.

I think this discussion is important, however, because how many of us believe has an affect on how we vote, what we support socially, how we treat others and how we deal with dogma that results in abberations such as "faith-based initiatives".

To make a claim and not back it up with evidence is begging the question.

There is no scientific evidence that supports a notion of a god. The emotion of spirituality is there and has been defined by Einstein in his pursuits in science.

Organized religion is one of the leading causes of war in the world. It has a violent history and many of its leading historical figures have been witch-burners, dictators, torturers,
book-burners, and murderers. This is why this thread keeps coming up.

Today, many scientific breakthroughs are being opposed by organized religious leaders.
Stem cell research, safe pregnancy terminations, solutions to the AIDS epidemic, opposition to psychaitry and psychology advances, promotion of evolution as a tested scientifically validated experiement, carbon-dating, and even the scientific testing of the nature of religion itself.

This thread will keep coming up as long as these concerns need to be answered.

Frank Hamilton