statue of baphomet in detroit - discuss civily

[reelo]

Would the belief that man is his own god - his own destiny - evolution is the origins of humanity be a religion unto itself?

I do believe those are some the elements of secular humanism and have some strong startings of being a religion in its whole.

Secular humanists don't believe "man to be his own god".
And evolution is not a matter of belief, it's a matter of fact. It is called "theory" in scientific terms, but it's about as close to a scientific law it can get. Unfortunately it is scientifically impossible to positively prove evolution. It can only be falsified (disproven) but each *failed* attempt to do so (and there are many) serves to further strengthen its claim.

 

[Morrus]

Secular humanists don't believe "man to be his own god".
And evolution is not a matter of belief, it's a matter of fact. It is called "theory" in scientific terms, but it's about as close to a scientific law it can get. Unfortunately it is scientifically impossible to positively prove evolution. It can only be falsified (disproven) but each *failed* attempt to do so (and there are many) serves to further strengthen its claim.

The word "theory" in scientific terms isn't the same as the word "theory" in common English language. Thus the incorrect phrase "it's just a theory". There's no "just" about a scientific theory!

 

[Ryujin]

The word "theory" in scientific terms isn't the same as the word "theory" in common English language. Thus the incorrect phrase "it's just a theory". There's no "just" about a scientific theory!

And I'm very grateful to my 10th grade biology teacher for both calling evolution a "theory" and for explaining what that meant in science, in no uncertain terms.

 

[Scott DeWar]

The word "theory" in scientific terms isn't the same as the word "theory" in common English language. Thus the incorrect phrase "it's just a theory". There's no "just" about a scientific theory!

Didn't you post something about that somewhere else? was it facebook?

 

[Umbran]

Would the belief that man is his own god - his own destiny - evolution is the origins of humanity be a religion unto itself?

I'm setting aside the "man is his own god" bit - presence of a god isn't even necessary for a religion. And, unlike reelo, I acknowledge that one can believe a scientific fact.

But, it could be, by the definition I gave, yes.

I do believe those are some the elements of secular humanism and have some strong startings of being a religion in its whole.

What is missing is the *organized* collection. Right now it is scattered bits of thought and philosophy here and there, with no cohesion. For example, if someone wrote an immensely popular book on secular humanism, what it means, and what the beliefs imply for how we should behave in the world, and folks started taking that to heart strongly enough to change their behavior and how they look at the world, then you might call it a religion.

 

[Umbran]

And evolution is not a matter of belief, it's a matter of fact.

Better to say that evolution is not *only* a matter of belief. One can believe facts. One can *easily* have faith in science, as it gives you "miracles" and wondrous events every day to support, reward, and reinforce your belief. Every person with cancer who goes into remission after treatment is grounds for faith in science, for example.

 

[Scott DeWar]

Better to say that evolution is not *only* a matter of belief. One can believe facts. One can *easily* have faith in science, as it gives you "miracles" and wondrous events every day to support, reward, and reinforce your belief. Every person with cancer who goes into remission after treatment is grounds for faith in science, for example.

penicillin was once harolded as a miracle, as was aspirin. I sit in a chair made of a material that scientifically is proclaimed to hold my weight and I believe in that chair.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If so many of my fellow Christians were not so concerned with professing their faith even beyond Constitutional boundaries and into state-sponsored displays of endorsement and evangelization...

...as our Air Force leadership seems to be happy to do on a regular basis:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/micha...mer-_b_7859372.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

This is just the latest example of how our commanders with wings seem to think they have haloes, too, and that their ability to fly high means they can't be touched by merely earthly rules and regulations.

 

[WayneLigon]

Would the belief that man is his own god - his own destiny - evolution is the origins of humanity be a religion unto itself?

I do believe those are some the elements of secular humanism and have some strong startings of being a religion in its whole.

No, because the definition of 'religion' then tends to get stretched to the point that it could include anything at all. That's a common debate tactic used in the political arena (particularly in education about evolution) in an attempt to classify certain things as 'a religion' so that they can then say, 'you want to treat all religions equally, then hey, this thing are actually a religion, so you have to treat [science] as equal to [my belief system], I win'.

Religion has, at it's core, faith in something that cannot be proven.

Science deals in facts and proofs that a current theory models the real world - one of the main checks on the value of a theory is how well it can be used to predict things in the real world. No faith or belief is involved.

 

[Umbran]

Science deals in facts and proofs that a current theory models the real world - one of the main checks on the value of a theory is how well it can be used to predict things in the real world. No faith or belief is involved.

I think he's talking a bit beyond *just* the evolution science bit. Secular Humanism, for example, isn't restricted to science.

Oh, hey, lookee here! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_of_Humanity