Byrne Robotics: American Atheists should Come Out of the Closet !

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Topic: American Atheists should Come Out of the Closet ! (

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Michael Roberts
Byrne Robotics Member
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Joined: 20 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 14857

Posted: 16 February 2013 at 1:56pm \| IP Logged \| 1

Climate change is undeniable. That we humans are its principle cause is not
something of which I am completely convinced.

Either way, tho, it does illustrate how religions develop. Nature is huge and
initially incomprehensible. We invent stories to comfort ourselves, and, as
these stories grow, we eventually include a degree of CONTROL in them. The
gods we put in charge of Nature are accessible to us thru "prayer". Even a
"perfect" God, such as the one worshipped by Christians, can be accessed in
this manner, and even persuaded to change his mind.

I see the notion that climate change is our own fault as springing from this
same kind of "thinking". If, as I suspect, climate change is happening
because it happens (the history of the Earth is a story of extreme swings in
climate long before humans came along), then we are thoroughly and
completely fuct. But if we are "causing" it, then we can band together (form a
religion) and work to change it (pray) and correct our mistakes and save
ourselves.

-----

But the difference between religion and belief in man-made climate change,
and where John Bodin's analogy falls extremely flat, is that we can test
climate change. We can examine data and see if it conforms to our
hypothesis. We can make prediction models and see if future data points
conform to that. You don't have that with religion. Here are your answers;
don't question them. Unless people are suggesting that climate scientists are
fudging or creating data to conform with their "fears", the comparison
doesn't hold up.

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John Byrne
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Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133334

Posted: 16 February 2013 at 2:37pm \| IP Logged \| 2

…the difference between religion and belief in man-made climate change, and where John Bodin's analogy falls extremely flat, is that we can test climate change. We can examine data and see if it conforms to our hypothesis. We can make prediction models and see if future data points conform to that. You don't have that with religion. Here are your answers; don't question them. Unless people are suggesting that climate scientists are fudging or creating data to conform with their "fears", the comparison doesn't hold up.

••

Testability isn't going to convince anyone who doesn't want to be convinced -- and that where climate change and religion share common ground.

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Monte Gruhlke
Byrne Robotics Member
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Joined: 03 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 3303

Posted: 16 February 2013 at 3:34pm \| IP Logged \| 3

Climate change will continue to be an non-issue will people all the way to the point that the ocean is lapping at their doorstep or, more realistically, the supercharged storms tear their isolated little corner of the world apart.

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