Your opinion please

[Rkolter]

That's actually a myth - humans use just about all of their brains, depending on the activities at hand. The whole "we use only a tiny portion" thing is utter myth.

You see, metabolically speaking, brains are gluttons. They require huge amounts of energy to maintain, and the bigger, the more energy required. When our ancestors were fighting for every meal, if a big brain wasn't helping you, it WAS hurting you, because you still had to feed it.

Anything unneeded tended to atrophy rapidly, or get co-opted for another use. Our brains are magnificently capable of salvage and reuse, and not much, if any, just sits around doing nothing.

[Terotrous]

In a move that probably ruined a lot of people's hopes and dreams, it was shown at some point that the "people only use 10% of their brain" is actually a complete myth and they actually use about 95% of it.

EDIT: I see kolter beat me to it.

[KittyKatBlack]

Ok, but still there's a chance that not 100% is used, so there's a minute possiblity it's still possible.

[Terotrous]

Well, there are a number of other explanations besides unused brain matter. We already know of people who suffer from Schizophrenia, who have incredibly complicated hallucinations that to them are completely indistinguishable from real life. It's possible that seeing ghosts could be merely a more minor form of this phenominon.

As for telepathy, I suspect in animals it's probably just a form of communication that humans don't understand. Dolphins might be able to communicate via vibrations in the water, or other such things humans would be unable to detect.

In order for telepathy to take place, some form of energy transfer would have to occur. I suppose they could be sent the same way radio waves are, but I think studies would be able to detect that kind of thing.

[Guildmaster Van]

On the telepathy bit I like Tero's point about energy transfer - more precisely in the way it correlates to twin empathy; how twins can feel each other's pain. While science can't explain this phenomena if it is true it could prove what metaphysicists and "magick" practitioners have been saying about chakras (Body energy, mana, et cetera) is true.

[Rock_dash]

In a move that probably ruined a lot of people's hopes and dreams, it was shown at some point that the "people only use 10% of their brain" is actually a complete myth and they actually use about 95% of it.

This has always dissapointed me, the same as people saying the human brain can only store 40 TB of data or whatever. I don't like to think that human potential can be measured by in such a simple way.

[Killbert-Robby]

I suppose a disclaimer is waranted here.

This topic is not meant to bring anyone to Jesus. Im not trying to save anyone right now. I really just want your honest opinions.

As some of you might know there's been a death in my family that has caused me to take a long hard look at my faith. I've been reading the bible THE WHOLE THING- and I have some problems that I'm working out about it all.

What do you think of the bible? What are your thoughts on The Old Testament Especially? How can the more religious of you reconcile the Old Testanent with the Gospels of the Disciples?

I am very anxiously asking this. And Ill say again, you won't get any saving from me right now.

I used to be heavily religious. Then bad things started happening to friends, family, then finally me, so I figure IF there is a God, he doesn't give a rats ass about me.

Doesn't stop me from muttering a desperate prayer every once in a while.

[McDuffies]

In a move that probably ruined a lot of people's hopes and dreams, it was shown at some point that the "people only use 10% of their brain" is actually a complete myth and they actually use about 95% of it.

This has always dissapointed me, the same as people saying the human brain can only store 40 TB of data or whatever. I don't like to think that human potential can be measured by in such a simple way.

Technically, those information could be stored more dense.

[Jesusabdullah]

This has always dissapointed me, the same as people saying the human brain can only store 40 TB of data or whatever. I don't like to think that human potential can be measured by in such a simple way.

Dude! That's, like, a million mp3s right there!

(Seriously--That's about what it came to based on back of the envelope calculations!)

[4thalord]

Guys seriously I'd really not rather talk about ghosts. I mean seriously. MY MOM JUST DIED. Sound like a good discussion topic to you?

And I don't feel that "God" doesn't "give a rat's ass" about me. I feel like theres a strong possibility that "God" doesn't exist. I just realized that I've been following a book for a very long time and that book has no proof behind it. Its been translated through Ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin Before it even got to English. And I might as well post it but my mother confessed on her literral deathbed that she'd never believed in Jesus. According to the bible that means shes burning in hell. I cannot reconcile the idea that a woman who did such good works in her life is for some reaason denied the kingdom of heaven. If heaven is real than Marjorie Hanley deserved it. She gave selflessly throughout her life and the idea that Christ would deny her just becasue she didn't kiss his butt strikes me as perverted.

So Ive been studying a lot recently and it's really kind of sad how little the christian churches is built on. I don't think I can go back. Then again I dont know what I'm doing right now and I'm not exactly in my right mind. Even I know that. So I guess I just need to work it through and use my comic to show my mental proceses.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this thread so far. Its been interesting reading.

[Rkolter]

Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't. I think the general consensus has been that you should take some time to sort out what's happened to you of late, and try to make sense of it. If religion has a place in your life, great. If not, great.

We draw a wide crowd with diverse opinions. You're probably not going to be judged one way or another here.

[Skylark King]

I hope you manage to get through your crisis of faith one way or the other, but I continue to encourage that if you want to look for God or Jesus or whoever that you don't look in the Bible. They're not there and never have been. The Bible's words that have been overtranslated and contain contradictions and inaccuracies because of that. The Bible SHOULD be taken as a docatrane of Faith and NOT literally. Many of the stories are illustrations of Faith and likely untrue.

I'm not saying the Bible is crap, mind you. There's a lot of good in there, but it is folly, I believe, to take the letter so strictly.

If you want to find God, I suggest you get your head out of a book and start looking at people around you and the world around you... That's a phenominal place to start...

But wherever you do look I would highly suggest NOT looking into Scientology, besides being dangerous it's total bunk. All you really need to know about scientolgy was that it was founded by the guy responsible for Battlefield Earth, which sucked.

Lastly, and most importantly, I'm very sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was a genuinely good person. I bet she made the world around her a better place by being in it and a little darker by leaving. Shine brighter for it. Don't let a question of "yes God," "No God," or "yes God and he's a dick" stop you from doing what you believe is right.

[Jesusabdullah]

And I might as well post it but my mother confessed on her literral deathbed that she'd never believed in Jesus. According to the bible that means shes burning in hell. I cannot reconcile the idea that a woman who did such good works in her life is for some reaason denied the kingdom of heaven. If heaven is real than Marjorie Hanley deserved it. She gave selflessly throughout her life and the idea that Christ would deny her just becasue she didn't kiss his butt strikes me as perverted.

This is one of the biggest reasons why I have a tough time accepting Christianity myself. Most of the people I know (and a majority of the world's human population as far as I know) don't believe in Jesus, and I can't see them going to Hell. They don't deserve it, anyway.

I'd like to think that any decent God would allow people into Heaven that didn't believe in Him, as long as those people themselves were fairly decent in real life. I mean, many people in the world have not had much exposure to Christianity, nor would their conversion be accepted by their peers (I'm thinking, like, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc).

One of my friends was telling me about something called Pascal's Wager. It's on wikipedia, if you want to read about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager

It's interesting!

[Rkolter]

Now, to be fair, there is tremendous proof of the existance of a human named Jesus, who willingly or not ended up founding a religion.

Believing in Jesus isn't silly - it's as reasonable as believing in any major historical figure.

Believing he is the son of God on Earth. That takes faith.

[KittyKatBlack]

Now, to be fair, there is tremendous proof of the existance of a human named Jesus, who willingly or not ended up founding a religion.

Believing in Jesus isn't silly - it's as reasonable as believing in any major historical figure.

Believing he is the son of God on Earth. That takes faith.

You know what? I was just about to make a comment that Jesus and God were two seperate things and that the chances of a man named Jesus actually existing is not far fetched, but I thought it would have been a pointless addition to an already bloated conversation. That's what I get for thinking...

[Terotrous]

Now, to be fair, there is tremendous proof of the existance of a human named Jesus, who willingly or not ended up founding a religion.

Believing in Jesus isn't silly - it's as reasonable as believing in any major historical figure.

Believing he is the son of God on Earth. That takes faith.

You know what? I was just about to make a comment that Jesus and God were two seperate things and that the chances of a man named Jesus actually existing is not far fetched, but I thought it would have been a pointless addition to an already bloated conversation. That's what I get for thinking...

Thinking has no place in a conversation about religion!

*runs off*

[Yeahduff]

Guys seriously I'd really not rather talk about ghosts. I mean seriously. MY MOM JUST DIED. Sound like a good discussion topic to you?

And I don't feel that "God" doesn't "give a rat's ass" about me. I feel like theres a strong possibility that "God" doesn't exist. I just realized that I've been following a book for a very long time and that book has no proof behind it. Its been translated through Ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin Before it even got to English. And I might as well post it but my mother confessed on her literral deathbed that she'd never believed in Jesus. According to the bible that means shes burning in hell. I cannot reconcile the idea that a woman who did such good works in her life is for some reaason denied the kingdom of heaven. If heaven is real than Marjorie Hanley deserved it. She gave selflessly throughout her life and the idea that Christ would deny her just becasue she didn't kiss his butt strikes me as perverted.

So Ive been studying a lot recently and it's really kind of sad how little the christian churches is built on. I don't think I can go back. Then again I dont know what I'm doing right now and I'm not exactly in my right mind. Even I know that. So I guess I just need to work it through and use my comic to show my mental proceses.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this thread so far. Its been interesting reading.

Threads around here tend to jump off-topic pretty quickly around here. So sorry about that, but it's nothing personal.

From what I gather from Christianity is that if Jesus was in fact who he said he was, your mother is fine. He said himself that it wasn't the pious or the reverent or the good who needed a saviour. It's the flawed soul he's after, and he wouldn't be much of a saviour if he didn't save us all. Being good and offering your life to Jesus was never the key to heaven. HE himself would destroy death. Nothing we can do can change that, it's all him. By following the bible, we can attain the "Kingdom of God," which many scholars suggest is more like heaven on Earth, a godly state of mind, not entry into the afterlife. Your mothers sins were paid for on the cross, and will enter heaven.

That, of course, is if you believe in Christ. I can't tell you what's out there any better than anyone else can. Sorry to contradict Skylark, but I suggest you do go read a lot, as well as interact with people, learn from them. A book I can suggest is Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse. It's loosely based on the founder of Buddhism, but the story is universal, and existential in many ways. It changed my life, maybe it'll help you out too.

What I can tell you with certainty is that you're gonna be doing a lot of searching. In reality, we all are, but you're feeling it quite a bit more urgently than most of us.

Good luck.

[McDuffies]

Then again, maybe it's better to avert your mind from thinking too much while the pain is still fresh.

[Killbert-Robby]

And I don't feel that "God" doesn't "give a rat's ass" about me. I feel like theres a strong possibility that "God" doesn't exist.

Hence my caps-ed IF.

[Boogiebop]

This has always dissapointed me, the same as people saying the human brain can only store 40 TB of data or whatever. I don't like to think that human potential can be measured by in such a simple way.

Dude! That's, like, a million mp3s right there!

(Seriously--That's about what it came to based on back of the envelope calculations!)

I'm now terrified of the RIAA ripping out my brain and using it in court.