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Thursday = Thor's day

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Re: Thursday = Thor's day

#191
post #73

The logic here doesn't hold with respect to monothestic religions such as Judaism or Christianity. The Ten Commandments, which are common to these two religions, have two "tables," the first of which (commandments 1 - 5) defines the relations between God and man and the second of which defines the relations between men (6 - 10). The very first commandment is "thou shalt have no other gods before me. The next proscrip…

Great rebuttal. > But this logic falls apart if one assumes there is one true deity I'd argue that is where the problem lies. Because currently and as far as I am aware the Atheist viewpoint and the Theist viewpoint is equally legitimate and, at some specific point, not empirically provable either way. i.e. the existence of God is purely a belief/non-belief thing (I touched on this in another comment). From a logical…

I understand the later post getting downvoted... but why this?

It makes little comment on whether the views are equal (that was a side issue Mixmax brought up). It is pointing out how the GP's logic is flawed!

Re: Thursday = Thor's day

#192
Derek makes the same mistake many make when dealing with deities -- he personalizes them.

My guess is that the ancients viewed deities as categories of things we don't know -- hence the 6 zillion gods. Over time, organization set into religion and people began anthropomorphizing the gods.

Judaism moved "categories of things we don't know" from a multiple choice to a single entity. Then organization set in again with the anthropomorphizing.

It's a mistake to take this to zero -- the assumption that we know everything and things we cannot prove are not worthy of consideration. Having a deep understanding of the huge amount of unknown in the universe is a critical part of a balanced life. To say you don't believe in one person's personification is to miss the point entirely.

Re: Thursday = Thor's day

#193
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If God is not real, how can we explain the existence of so many counterfeits? Is this not the perfect example of begging the question? In order to be a counterfeit for God, a non-counterfeit God would have to exist. Most of the 529 gods that theists or Christians reject, for historical, scientific, and philosophical reasons, do not have a sound or rational basis for belief, such as Zeus or Thor. I realize that Christ…

Let me put it another way: what is the basis for the vast majority of humankind's belief in a deity of some sort? If the idea has no basis in reality, then can someone demonstrate the reason for this belief with the same degree of intellectual rigor that is demanded from Christians for their beliefs? Dismissing it as mere superstition is inadequate. An evolutionary hypothesis would be quite hard to prove.

Although placebos contain no active ingredients they often provide some relief, for reasons not entirely explained, but clearly show our capability for self healing. Religion works because you believe - not because of an all knowing, all powerful, invisible entity that everyone fights about.

Re: Thursday = Thor's day

#194
post #69
post #3

I love that we're living in a time where it's so easy to learn. Well put, Derek. Me too.

yes, but the problem is to decide what to learn

And, sometimes, which resources to use. (E.g. for computer books, I find the best 10 times or more effect than the median.)

Re: Thursday = Thor's day

#196
post #90

Interestingly, "Sunday" in Japanese is expressed with the kanji for "sun" and the kanji for "day". It's obviously pronounced differently, but the literal meaning is the same as the English phonetics.

That's true for Monday as well, which I've always thought was cool:

月曜日 = Monday

月 = Moon, 曜日 = day of the week

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