http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo_250X250.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Background_1024X576.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Banner_686X60.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Half-Banner_234X60.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo_250X250 http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Logo-Watermark_250X250.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Background_1024X576.jpg http://www.bigthink.com/adobe/Half-Banner-ALT_234X60.jpg Bigthink - User Ideas Feed Bigthink http://www.bigthink.com/feed/rss/user/14245 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:17:33 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 Re: Why is sex so controversial? http://www.bigthink.com/love-happiness/8321 As far as I know, controversy is a matter of opinion. In this respect the opinions abut sex can be  controversial (in relationship with each other), but that doesn't make sex itself controversial. 

"So why does a sensually stimulating activity that often results in true feelings of happiness generate so much conflict?" I think this question is an altogether different one. At its core, sex is primarily about reproduction, and mates can be scarce resources, hence the competition and conflict. But it's still no controversy.

"Why would God want to deprive us of this happiness if he loves us?" First we need to establish that there is a God. Until then all we can say that people are told in God's name to do something. And some people seem to get the kick out of trying to portray a natural behavior as anything other than natural.

I would argue that extra-marital sex became forbidden in order to ensure the paternity of the children. That is why sex is a more serious offense for women than for men. Males try to ensure that they are investing in the raising of their own biological offspring, and one of the easiest ways is to fend off rivals and enforce monogamy on the females.

The controversy is the difference between what people feel as a natural desire and the dogmatic prohibition of sex.

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Bigthink Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:53:13 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/love-happiness/8321
Re: What is morality without religion? http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8288 Morality without religion is morality, as the definition of morality is not based on religion.

If, for example, you would say "don't kill, because god say so", than the morality part of this is the "don't kill", the religion part is "because god says so". In this sense morality is the code of conduct, religion is a justification. Changing or removing the justification doesn't change the code of conduct.

I would say that anything considered right is moral, while wrong is immoral. The sense of right or wrong can derive from philosophy, religion, conscience. It is a different question, though, if our own sense of right and wrong corresponds to other people's sense of right and wrong.]]>
Bigthink Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:44:09 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8288
Re: Suppressing our sexual desires…good or bad? http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8192 Bigthink Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:52:33 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8192 Re: should holy text written hundreds of years ago be relavent today? http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8163 The question seems to have at least two facets.

1. "Should be" as in "should any text be written in order to be relevant for a long time?".

This puts the emphasis on the writer of the text to make it so that the text answers questions in the far future. Imagine the scribe writing the Old Testament on the parchment and thinking about how to answer questions about DNA or the nuclear fusion. I think we know the answer to this, we don't need to look further the endorsment of slavery in the Bible did not stand the test of reason.

We don't seem to be able to predicting the longterm future with any reasoanble certainty, so I would say any text could be relevant for a longer time, while the issue addressed in the text is relevant and the answer provided is acceptable. But there seem to be no reason why it should be.

 

2. "Should be" as in "should we today consider it relevant?". 

Insofar as the issues addressed in the text and the answers given are relevant to the current times, and not further. The relevancy is not decided by our wishful thinking but by the text's relationship to the current issues. So it either de facto is relevant, or it isn't. But there is no necessity that it should be. That would mean putting outdated issues or outdated answers on life support.

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Bigthink Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:28:18 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8163
Re: Creation...bumping along http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8161 Hi,

I couldn't read your whole idea - it is way too long. I would suggest breaking it up into smaller
ideas and post them separatelly.

What you wrote about evolution caught my eyes and thought to respond to that.

Evolution as far as I know is a process driven by "the non-random survival of random mutations". That means that the mutations are random, but only the ones that prove to be beneficial will survive. Beneficial = gives the posessor of the mutation better chances of surviving and creating offspring than the specimens without the mutation. A antelop running faster than the rest will more likely to survive than the slower antelopes because the lion catches the slower ones.

If you would like to see a beneficial mutation, you might want to check the recent research done on the finches of the Galapagos. It shows that the size of their beak changes depending the type and scarcity of the available food.

As for the development of the insects' wings, you might want to read Richard Dawkins' 'Climbing Mount Improbable'. He discusses just this issue in chapter 4 ' Getting off the Ground'. The research described there gives a scientific explanation, along with evidence supporting it.

Also, evolution has no end goal.

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Bigthink Sun, 02 Mar 2008 18:39:21 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8161
Re: What makes the bible authorative? http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8157 Just like any other piece of literary fiction, as there seems to be no reason to view it as anything other than literaly fiction.

Until proven so, it is just an assumption that it (or any other "holy scripture") is the word of any deity. Assumptions are not reasons.

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Bigthink Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:02:20 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8157
Re: What is your definition of God? 100 words or less. http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8138 Hi!

"God" is a generally accepted shorthand for "just because!".]]>
Bigthink Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:20:52 +0100 http://www.bigthink.com/faith-beliefs/8138