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From: tim Josling on 15 Jan 2008 05:37
On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:31:08 +1300, Pete Dashwood wrote:

> "Judson McClendon" <judmc(a)sunvaley0.com> wrote in message
> news:d7Mij.50461$Mu4.2341(a)bignews7.bellsouth.net...
>> "Howard Brazee" <howard(a)brazee.net> wrote:
>
> Mainly for that reason, if I HAD to have some belief system (other than the
> one I DO have), it would be Buddhism.
>

You might want to have a look at Daoism. There is less baggage about
reincarnation etc. At on level, it just is about acting in harmony the the
nature of things.

Tim Josling
From: tim Josling on 15 Jan 2008 05:40
On Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:21:51 +1300, Pete Dashwood wrote:

> "Judson McClendon" <judmc(a)sunvaley0.com> wrote in message
> news:DnMij.50469$Mu4.455(a)bignews7.bellsouth.net...
>> ... I've known several people who were deeply into the
>> occult before accepting Jesus, and every one of them insists that
>> things such as "channeling demons" is absolutely real.
>
> My work here is done... :-)
>
> Pete.

I an not sure I would accept a person who was "heavily into the occult" an
an authority on much at all.

Tim Josling
From: tim Josling on 16 Jan 2008 05:36
On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:20:00 +1300, Pete Dashwood wrote:

> That's fine, until somebody decides that everyone not in the Group is
> evil... then the trouble starts.
>
> Pete.

One explanation (among many) for the existence of religion is that as man
gained the capacity for rational thinking, this conflicted with the need
to do irrational things...

Such as settle down and have kids -> Thus love

Such as work for the benefit of the team not just the individual.

Man's great strength with language and intelligence is to work in powerful
teams for common goals. Often, this is in the context of conflict with
other groups who were competing for the same food, territory and women.
There was a need to have something that bound the group together,
something that clearly distinguished "us" from "them".

Religion would be a possible solution to this problem. If so, this would
explain why something which is supposed to be about love and harmony and
peace is so often associated with conflict between groups.

Tim Josling
From: tim Josling on 17 Jan 2008 01:33
On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:37:44 -0600, Judson McClendon wrote:

> <Alistair.J.L.Maclean(a)googlemail.com> wrote:
>>
> Similar things were said about the doctor in England who kept telling
> people from the 1970s that ulcers were caused by bacteria. In the '90s
> my dad, who had suffered from ulcers for decades was cured by taking 4
> antibiotic pills. If the demons are real, it isn't "quackery". Do you
> have proof they aren't? Do you thing demons are stranger than some of
> the things coming out of quantum mechanics? There are some very strange
> things in this universe, and we've probably barely scratched the
> surface.

Quite true. The test I apply to medical theories is: can you cure the
condition using your theory? Theories of demonic possession have not, and
yes I have checked, resulted in satisfactory treatments.

I'm not a slavish adherent of tranditional medicine though. The fact that
there is a movement in medicine called "evidence-based medicine" is
eloquent that traditional medicine is a long way from where it should be.
Diagnostic processes are also very haphazard. As Peter Norvig pointed out,
even simple AI programs outperform experienced clinicians in diagnosis.
Specialisation means that often no-one can see the big picture. Etc.

I think the ulcer guy & gal were Aussies actually:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall


Tim Josling
From: tim Josling on 17 Jan 2008 02:13
On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:33:14 +0000, tim Josling wrote:

> On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:37:44 -0600, Judson McClendon wrote:
>
>> <Alistair.J.L.Maclean(a)googlemail.com> wrote:
>>>
>> Similar things were said about the doctor in England who kept telling
>> people from the 1970s that ulcers were caused by bacteria. In the '90s
>> my dad, who had suffered from ulcers for decades was cured by taking 4
>> antibiotic pills. If the demons are real, it isn't "quackery". Do you
>> have proof they aren't? Do you thing demons are stranger than some of
>> the things coming out of quantum mechanics? There are some very strange
>> things in this universe, and we've probably barely scratched the
>> surface.
>
> Quite true. The test I apply to medical theories is: can you cure the
> condition using your theory? Theories of demonic possession have not, and
> yes I have checked, resulted in satisfactory treatments.
>
> I'm not a slavish adherent of tranditional medicine though. The fact that
> there is a movement in medicine called "evidence-based medicine" is
> eloquent that traditional medicine is a long way from where it should be.
> Diagnostic processes are also very haphazard. As Peter Norvig pointed out,
> even simple AI programs outperform experienced clinicians in diagnosis.
> Specialisation means that often no-one can see the big picture. Etc.
>
> I think the ulcer guy & gal were Aussies actually:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall
>
>
> Tim Josling

Sorry Robin Warren is a man

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2005/index.html
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