This post builds on my view of the human condition presented here . Is it possible to find yet another reason to turn away from religion, organized or not? I think my initial, basic reason was the attraction of skepticism , which always seemed to me a necessary frame of mind for a scientist. I don't suppose I have ever been a "real" scientist, but they seemed to me to be the ones on the track of genuine insights about reality. This frame of mind goes all the way back to my earliest memories at about age 5. More recently, I have despaired about the role of authority in religion. Surrender of one's own common sense and will to an authority seemed to be the core of religion and a special case of many of the problems that beset humanity in general. After spending a year or so studying psychology, neuroscience and especially neuroanatomy, I have gained some confidence in my understanding of how the brain (and, by extension, humans) work. This lead me to yet another source ...

Interesting discussion between leading atheists  Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris , Ayaan Hirsi Ali A wide-ranging discussion of subtle issues with atheism, including an unusually subtle treatment of why people accept religion - the process of assimilation and the difficulty in freeing people from assimilation. Risks associated with criticizing Islam; When to take the gloves off - being polite to people who have been indoctrinated; Vetting the authorities; How liberal kids get assimilated to radical Islam; Sam Harris speaks eloquently about the powerful meme of Islam; Dawkins doesn't understand that everyone doesn't think like he does; Dennett refers to the "narrative arc" in TV shows and movies, which primes a person for assimilation; The appeal of Islam to intelligent, liberal women; Ali calls Islam a form of madness; Dennett compares crime committed for religious reasons with drunk driving Harris points out that religious delusion is excluded in DSM  Ar...

Notes on: Authority: The Core of Religion The issue of authority did not come out of the blue. It's a recent baby step in the process of "cleaning house" - organizing the clutter left after decades of thought. I've had a lot of time to read lately, including Buddhist, Taoist and Christian writings. I've been increasingly annoyed at the tone of these writings: "This is the way things are". Content either comes directly from the source (such as Jesus or Buddha) or from "authoritative" commentator, such as St. Paul. The validity of these writings depends completely from authority of the writer or the authority he quotes. There is much ancient wisdom to be found in the "scriptures", but also a lot that is plainly unacceptable to the modern mind. And, of course, there is the elephant in the room. The fundamental assumptions underlying all of these writings - so fundamental to be not worth questioning or even mentioning - is the existence o...

There are many reasons why humans are attracted to the idea of a spirit-filled Universe. "Theory of mind", which gives he brain a perception (not just a "theory") that other beings are conscious and act with intent just as we do. These days, we see this as a brain function that does not reflect reality, just as the illusion that things get smaller as they move away from us. Even our modern, scientifically-trained minds make us see life where there is movement. Another consequence of they way we are built is a survival strategy that involves manipulation of the environment (tool use being the most obvious aspect of it). We expect to control the world around us and we are frustrated at the limitation of our power to do so. It is easy to imagine that the world can be (or actually is) controlled by a mind and a mind can be persuaded to help us do things we can't do for ourselves. The illusion of time is strong in the human brain. We don't remember the past as ...

See also, " What, If Anything, Is a Christian? " To most people who identify themselves as Christians, their religion is "based" on the life and teachings of the historical Jesus Christ which, in turn, are a continuation of the story told in "The Bible", viewed as one "book". This view is incorrect for many reasons. The life and teachings of Jesus are based on Christianity, not the other way around. We know absolutely nothing of the life and teachings of Jesus except from the point of view of the early Christian Church. The accounts in the New Testament are written to illustrate specific interpretations of His life and acts. For example, Mathew is concerned to show Jews of his time that Jesus is the Messiah. His arguments make no sense to a modern reader and they were vigorously denied by Jews at the time ("Christians" advancing this view were pursued as criminals by the Jewish authorities of the time and stoned to death as heretics. In...

"Zen is not a philosophy or mysticism. It is simply a practice of readjustment of nervous activity .. Here we encounter the purest form of existence. It is the hushed silence of the snow-clad Himalayas. Or it can be likened to the eternal silence of the fathomless depths of the sea" KATSUKI SEKIDA " Guide to Zen " OSHO  " Creativity " You can also watch Osho for hours on you-tube. You can download all you have time to read in PDF form here . SHUNRYU SUZUKI " Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind " JAMES H. AUSTIN Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness Sekida gives us a more traditional guide book, 50% concerned with how to sit and breath and 50% concerned with a pretty detailed analysis of "samadhi" -- the state of mind to be achieved in Zen meditation. With great reluctance, I will steer clear of the easy jokes about the professors of nothingness like Osho and Sekida.  While it's easy to get bogged down ...