"Hi, Edward: Yes, my wife is a psychologist and reviews a great deal of the most recent research on OBE in her course on the "Psychology of Religion." From what she tells me, the scientific consensus to date is that such…"
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Mark D Larsen
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Mark D Larsen's Discussions
Romney's IRA and tithing
Started Jul 4, 2012 0 Replies 1 Like
Here's an intriguing report about the $101 million in Romney's…Continue
Tags: corruption, business, ethics, tithing, romney
Why Candidates' Religious Beliefs ARE Important
Started this discussion. Last reply by Idaho Spud Jul 2, 2012. 1 Reply 0 Likes
As other forum member have pointed out, with Romney as one of the two major candidates for president, the Mormon Cult might be in for a lot more scrutiny and exposure in the next few months. I have…Continue
Tags: affects, politics, candidates, belief, Romney
Article on the death of Joseph Myth
Started this discussion. Last reply by Enlightened Jul 3, 2012. 3 Replies 1 Like
Last week there was a link in the Exmormon listserve on Yahoo to an article about the death of Joseph Myth. I tried to post a reply to the comments by Mormon defenders, but couldn't, because I longer…Continue
Tags: questions, blind, faith, crucial, apologists
Faith in faith...?
Started this discussion. Last reply by Mark D Larsen Aug 7, 2012. 19 Replies 1 Like
I am most curious about the spectrum of religiosity that I read about in this forum --and others like it. We have all renounced Mormonism as a fraud, yet I perceive that, in varying degrees, some…Continue
Mark D Larsen's Page
Latest Activity
Mark D Larsen replied to Christopher Peterson's discussion Have You Become an Atheist?"@MikeUtah: We're just different, I guess. To me, truth is paramount, no matter how painful, more important than "peace and purpose." For example, if I were to develop terminal cancer, I would much rather that my doctor tell me…"
Mark D Larsen replied to Christopher Peterson's discussion Have You Become an Atheist?"@MikeUtah: Sorry, but I have yet to find one shred of scientific, empirical evidence that "consciousness continues after/outside of our bodies." There are anecdotes a plenty, lots of conjecture and wishful thinking, but as I express in one…"
Mark D Larsen replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"ModerateChuck:
Yes, many Christians have been destructive, harmful, deplorable throughout history. This does not mean that all Christians behave badly, of course --just like in any religion. I am happy to stand by anyone --whatever their…"
ModerateChuck replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"These discussions almost always come down to - we agree to disagree. And this one has reached that point, don't you think?
We see the same things and interpret them differently. That is ok in my world view.
I have read through several…"
Mark D Larsen replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"ModerateChuck:
No. We do not have a soul. There is no ghost in the machine. Studies on the brain and personality have demonstrated this conclusively.
Moroever, many other animals have, in fact, evolved with a brain capable of self-recognition and…"
ModerateChuck replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"Respectfully, as always...
About cherry picking - as a guy with considerable scientific training, I have learned to discard ideas is evidence did not back them up (I know I open a can of worms when I say that).
So is it important to agree or…"
RationalGuy replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"After realizing Mormonism is a fraud, I began intellectualizing about God and Christ. They came up zeros as well. Each tower of faith knocked the others down like dominoes. During a discussion with my wife I caught myself saying…"
"You may believe that Jesus freed the Jews spiritually but they do not. They where looking for deliverance from Rome and a return to the glory of David. Many claimed to be that messiah but they all failed because of the lack of help from their…"
Mark D Larsen replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"ModerateChuck:
That helps! Let's see if I am summing up your perspective accurately.
For you, all the Old Testament "miracles" are parables, analogies, fables, metaphores, i.e., stories that perhaps help to teach some sort of…"
ModerateChuck replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"Dan - could you see my conversation with Mark above?
And Jesus did free the Jews - but was not a Earthly king. Christianity, for all of its failings, has spread all over the Earth. Where are the beliefs in the classical gods that were so powerful at…"
ModerateChuck replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"Mark - it is wonderful that we keep this to be a reasonable discussion between reasonable people. So often these become heated. You are entitled to your beliefs and I respect them. I should also say that I have NOT done an exhaustive study of…"
"As I said the Greeks gave us the concept. And we are still trying to perfect it. The Arabs made great scientific strides until an Imam named Liamidal-Ghazali said working with numbers is of the Devil, than it stopped. Once again religious…"
Mark D Larsen replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"Okay! At least we can agree that Adam and Eve never really existed.
However, isn't Adam's "original sin" a fundamental doctrine of christianity? That Jesus' sacrifice was necessary to pay for that original sin --as…"
ModerateChuck replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"We could talk about the Greeks (Dorians? Achaians?? there have been many "Greeks") for a long time. Greek "democracy" was far different (and inferior) than what was practiced by the French Socialists in the 1800s. Roman…"
ModerateChuck replied to Mark D Larsen's discussion Faith in faith...?"Mark - thank you for your invitation to rational discourse.
The story of Adam and Eve is a parable and is not literally true. Many Christians believe the Bible to be literally true - but that is one of the many places where I must diverge from the…"
Profile Information
- Relationship Status (single, partner, etc):
- Married
- My Story:
- A Homo insidious who is trying to be more sapiens.
- Interests and Hobbies:
- Languages, literature, travel, photography, electric vehicles, sailing, snowboarding
- Favorite Books:
- Los cachorros
La guerra del fin del mundo
An Instance of the Fingerpost
- Favorite Movies:
- The Lion in Winter
Ordinary People
Dances with Wolves
Moulin Rouge!
- Favorite activity after mormonism?
- Feeling the rapture of being alive
- If you went on an LDS mission, where and when did you go?
- Argentina 1971-73 - still trying to make amends for it!
- Your website, Facebook, Twitter or G+ profile URL:
- http://twitter.com/yanquetino
Comment Wall (3 comments)
- At 7:27am on July 2, 2012,
Dan said…
Very good points, but people tend to cling to beliefs that they fear the consequences of or to what brings them comfort from the fear of death. Fear is a strong motivator. After excepting the hope and glory of eternal life it is hard for most to turn away into the light of knowledge when there may be a faint glow of hope that they can be with their loved ones after death. One cannot disprove the absence of something that does not exist. Therefore people are willingly caught up in the net of false beliefs.
When the irrational can be supported by some form of random misconstrued evidence the belief takes on a power of its’ own. So how do we combat ignorance? By education and the hope that people will develop and use the skills of critical thinking.
- At 7:54pm on June 28, 2012, nephi utah said…
Welcome to the site.
- At 7:04pm on June 28, 2012, Flying Man said…
Welcome.
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