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Does PZ have a point, or not?
Yes, and he is right! 33%  33%  [ 2 ]
Yes, but he hasn't considered something major that change the outcome 17%  17%  [ 1 ]
Hard to say 17%  17%  [ 1 ]
No, but he is still right. 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
No, and he is wrong. 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
No opinion/let me see the results 33%  33%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 6

Orwell
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17 Jun 2010, 1:18 am

For the record, studies have shown Christians (and probably other religious people) to benefit from their faith in measurable, quantitative ways. How much of this is part of the faith itself and how much of it stems from the benefit of having a supportive community is more debatable.


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Awesomelyglorious
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17 Jun 2010, 9:23 am

Orwell wrote:
For the record, studies have shown Christians (and probably other religious people) to benefit from their faith in measurable, quantitative ways. How much of this is part of the faith itself and how much of it stems from the benefit of having a supportive community is more debatable.

Right, that's the issue that Master_Pedant had issues with. Frankly, it is logically possible that faith provides psychological benefits, and that faith is just a solution that evolution placed upon our species for some issue.



sartresue
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17 Jun 2010, 2:55 pm

Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Orwell wrote:
For the record, studies have shown Christians (and probably other religious people) to benefit from their faith in measurable, quantitative ways. How much of this is part of the faith itself and how much of it stems from the benefit of having a supportive community is more debatable.


Right, that's the issue that Master_Pedant had issues with. Frankly, it is logically possible that faith provides psychological benefits, and that faith is just a solution that evolution placed upon our species for some issue.


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Master_Pedant
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20 Jun 2010, 3:13 pm

Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Orwell wrote:
For the record, studies have shown Christians (and probably other religious people) to benefit from their faith in measurable, quantitative ways. How much of this is part of the faith itself and how much of it stems from the benefit of having a supportive community is more debatable.

Right, that's the issue that Master_Pedant had issues with. Frankly, it is logically possible that faith provides psychological benefits, and that faith is just a solution that evolution placed upon our species for some issue.


I wouldn't say that faith per se is something evolution placed upon our history so much as a byproduct of useful tendencies (i.e. the tendency to err on the side of over-attributing malicious beings rather than tragically under-attributing them and ending up dead). Supernatural belief in a structured form (rather than the unstructured, more private "spiritual") - religion - tends to have the effect of bonding people together. Since almost all peope need other people, this is advantageous.

However, I would also say that religion can be maladaptive in modern contexts (for instance, JWs who refuse blood transfissions or funadmentalists bent on killing themselves and others).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vWXXcMKu_c[/youtube]