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New page: "The Number 12: Disciples, Tribes and the Zodiac" by Vexen Crabtree (2007):
Why is the number respected my mathematicians and mystics? On what basis do such opposite mindsets come to agree that such an arbitrary number is worth getting excited about? Let's see!
- The Mathematics
- The Zodiac
- The 12 Tribes of Israel, 12 Disciples of God
- Conclusions
The conclusion reads (briefly; many interesting tid-bits are iterated through first!):
When you see the number twelve, watch out. If the number is employed in a practical sense to divide time, measurements, or angles, then the chances are it makes awesome mathematical sense to utilize such a factorable number as the number twelve. But if you see it used in a superstitious, religious, magical, paranormal, holy or weird way, be warned that it is based on ancient sun-worship, star warship, and ridiculous astrology. As a species we have been using it to divide the solar realm into twelve divisions, assuming that each one is ruled by a personification, a god, a divine being, a teacher, a prophet or a son of the sun. Now we understand what stars, planets and stellar objects are, it makes no sense to retain the mystical, nonsensical connotations of the 'holy', 'perfect', 'divine' or 'special' number 12. Such superstitions have made their way into major religions; there are 12 tribes of Israel as founded by the 12 sons of Jacob, the 12 disciples of Mithras and Christ, the 12 Gods of Olympus and according to Shi'a Muslims, 12 successors to Muhammad. The number 12 is useful because we use a base 10 numbering system (using 10 digits: 0123456789). It makes no sense to say that Gods would use a base 10 numbering system: Therefore gods would not divide the skies, their sons, their chosen ones or the message into twelve parts just because we have ten fingers! So applaud the usefulness of number 12... but watch out for those who are deluded by the pagan, irrational, magical and nonsensical claims made about it! It is, after all, only a number. Tags: 12, 144, astrology, disciple, disciples, factors, god, gods, israel, jacob, mathematics, olympus, religion, sons, superstition, tribes, twelve Current Location: Mönchengladbach, Germany Listening To: Wumpscut's "Totmacher" by Haujobb
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New Page: "The Four Dimensions and the Immutability of God" by Vexen Crabtree (2007) - Two, Three and Four Dimensional Objects
- Existing Outside of Time
- The Immutability of God
I haven't got access to any of my physics books (like John Gribbon's books) that no doubt have some commentary on issues like these... so for now this page is merely a bit of a rant. Tags: 2d, 3d, 4d, dimensions, eternity, everlasting, fourth dimension, god, omniscience, philosophy, physics, theology, time Current Location: Starbucks, Hammersmith, London, UK Current Mood: tired
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New: "What Causes Religion?" by Vexen CrabtreeThe conclusion reads: "Religions arise as collections of popular beliefs, codified and institutionalized by the progression of Human organisation. Eventually, the changing beliefs of the masses out-evolve the more dogmatic, established religions. The causes of the religious beliefs of Humankind are rooted in our psychology. Psychologists, sociologists, ethnographers and scientists tend to view religious beliefs as the result of mostly normal psychological systems being applied in the wrong context. A prime example is the way we get angry with cars and computers, and shout insults at them, or the way we tend to see patterns in random behaviour such as brownian motion (our 'hyperactive agent detection device'). Historical investigators such as William James have found that outstanding religious innovaters and leaders have frequently been psychotic, suffered from various mental problems and nervous instability. Experiments on the Human brain have allowed us to discover many of the specific neuronal networks that can misfire to cause us to have 'religious' feelings and experiences. Childhood fantasies, including an absence of death and the seemingly all-present, ever-caring and all-knowing parental figures who give us comfort, often become the basis for religious beliefs in adults. This hidden wishful-thinking mechanism feeds our ego (that someone cares about everything we do) and gives us consolation from death in the idea of an afterlife. Many strange things we 'experience' are cultural (therefore an aspect of upbringing), and once a scientific and critical understanding of them is attained, the beauty of the natural world displaces the appeal of the supernatural. Religion is self-inflicted delusion, illusion, smoke and mirrors." Related to: "Experiences of God" by Vexen Crabtree (2002)</p> </div> Tags: belief, beliefs, experiences, faith, fantasy, god, illusion, irrationality, myth, religion, science, sociology, supernaturalism, theology Current Location: Germany Current Mood: happy Listening To: "Aiges Mortes" by Ataraxia
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Conclusion reads:
The historical battles between religious institutions and science, such as those in physics, astronomy and biology, indicate there is something wrong with the religious approach to the study of reality. The underlying problem extends to individual intelligence and education, and is not just limited to the actions of religious bodies. Hardly any of the several-hundred Nobel Prize winning scientists have been Christians. Only 3.3% of the Members of the Royal Society in the UK and 7% the National Academy of Sciences in the USA, believe in a personal God. The more senior and learnéd the scientist, the less likely they are to believe in God. This effect is not limited to scientists. The children of highly religious parents suffer diminished IQs - averaging 7 to 10 points lower compared to their non-religious counterparts in similar socio-economic groups. As you would expect from these results, multiple studies have also shown that IQ is opposed to the strength of religious belief. 39 studies since 1927 (out of 43) have found that the more educated a person is, and the higher one's intelligence, the less likely someone is to hold religious beliefs. Tags: anti-religion, astronomy, belief, biology, education, god, intelligence, iq, national academy of sciences, nobel prize, physics, religion, royal society, science, scientists, statistics, stupidity, theism Current Location: Germany Listening To: "Pushing Me Away" by Linkin Park
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New statistics on belief in God in the UK (and 4 other European countries), which I've added to my page on "Religion in Brtain: Belief in God", resulting in the following table:
| Date | Details | Belief in God |
| 2006 | 12507 people were polled, finding that only 35% in Great Britain believe in any kind of God or supreme being, compared to 27% in France, 62% in Italy, 48% in Spain, 41% in Germany and 73% in the USA.18 | 35% |
| 2006 | Poll of 4000 older teenagers in Cornwall found that only 22% could affirm that they believed in God, and 49% said they didn't.12 | 22% |
| 2003 | 1001 British adults surveyed9 | 60% inc. those unsure |
| 2003 | 55% of the British public do not believe in a higher being1 | 45% inc. those unsure |
Tags: god, religion, secularisation Current Location: Germany
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Added the following text on 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 and 2 Samuel 24:1-2 to "The Biblical Christian God is Evil":
As various authors copied copies of the Hebrew Scriptures, changes accumulated in the stories. Sometimes, the same story appears twice. There are even two accounts of the Creation that contradict each other in the details. One such doubled story shows us clearly that the Old Testament God is evil, and Satan itself is not a separate being, but is actually part of God, a face of God. There is one occasion when David took a census of his men in order to count how many could fight in the armies of Israel. 1 Chronicles 21:2 and 2 Samuel 24:2 both contain a copy of the exact same text:
| “So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."” [1 Chronicles 21:2]
| “So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, "Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are."” [2 Samuel 24:2] |
What had happened is that God had a rule: That David was not allowed to 'number' Israel. But, for some reason, David went ahead and done so. As a result, God punished them all for breaking his rule. But, it is very telling when we examine the preceding verse: Who inspired David to count Israel's fighting men? | “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel” [1 Chronicles 21:1] | “The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."”[2 Samuel 24:1] |
In one copy of the story, we are told Satan told David to do so. In the other, it was God. How can this be? It is because in the Old Testament, Satan and God are the same being. Satan in the old testament is merely the face that God puts on when it is testing it's people. "The anger of the Lord" is Satan. It was common in old religions (Hinduism, Roman religions, etc) for gods to have multiple faces, each associated with different emotions. In the Christian Bible, Satan is God. It is not just the Old Testament that contains such revealing truths, the New Testament tells the same story, God is Evil. Tags: christianity, evil, god, religion, satan Current Location: Germany Current Mood: busy Listening To: "Dying Freedom" by Paradise Lost
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"God and Pronouns: God has no gender" by Vexen Crabtree (2006) Tags: english, female, feminine, gender, god, male, masculine, philosophy, pronouns, religion, semantics, theology, tradition Current Location: Germany Current Mood: busy Listening To: "Country" by Synthetic
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