God's Emotions 6: Pleasing a High Status Deity (Supplication, Adulation, and Subservience)

Do people think I am crabby? Or insecure? Or jealous? Do they think I am easily pleased? Happy? Contented? One way to tell would be to ask them. Another would be to watch how they interact with me. Christians spend a lot of time interacting with God, or at least attempting to. We may not be able to tell what is happening on God's side of the conversation (that is highly contested), but we know a good deal about the human half. How humans attempt to approach, influence or simply relate to God tells us about how they perceive him.

The writers of the Bible provide pages and pages of advice on how to ...

Music composed and performed by TruthSurge

Category:

Education

Tags:

• trustingdoubt
• Valerie Tarico
• affective science
• psychology of religion
• Christianity
• Christian belief
• fundamentalism
• social hierarchy
• atheism
• nontheism
• emotion
• educational

[AziMeX]

@TrustingDoubt

The God's Emotion's series is the most original look at the very human origins of most of the religions that prevail (and plague) our modern world.

I have seen countless videos regarding contradictions in the Bible and Koran, but the psychology behind these old manuscripts reveal a great deal about the psyche of its authors

In fact had I seen this video series back when I was still a believer, it wouldn't have required reading the whole Bible and Koran to reject religion!

[TrustingDoubt]

@AziMeX Thank you! That is a high compliment.

[zytigon]

Guerrilla prayer :-) Let us celebrate the expansion into the sceptical dimension of beliefs & rejoice to allow our imagination to continue the great tradition of testing all things 1 Cor 2v17 Also 2 Thess 5v21 Test everything, hold onto the good, avoid every kind of evil. John 16v13 be guided into all truth. Matt 7v5 first take the cross out of your eye 1 cor 13v12 that you might no longer see through a glass darkly. But only accept ideas that make sense, not because others assert them Gods

[TrustingDoubt]

@zytigon The essence of spiritual wisdom requires gleaning from those old texts that which is worth keeping and discarding the rest. You go!

[zytigon]

However, imagine a world where everyone thought it was almost certain that everyone went to a happy afterlife, a super holiday in a nice new world. This world might be no more safe. Would those in suffering or financial ruin have little hesitation to throw themselves off cliffs like lemmings? Or be quicker to agree to assisted suicide, abortion? Would there be reduced qualms about murder ? Maybe a hint of hell helps to balance the picture & cause 2nd thought before offending. A useful myth ?

[TrustingDoubt]

@zytigon Your idea that myths can be useful is an interesting one. Evolutionary biologist Susan Blackwell has come to believe-based on evidence-that religion is adaptive from an evolutionary standpoint because religions imbed memes to increase birthweight. Of course, as competitive breeding becomes harmful to our species it pits an individual's selfish genes against the wellbeing of society. In otherwords, like behaviors that religions call sin, it is adaptive and immoral at the same time.

[peyo001]

I absolutely LOVE your videos!!

[TheSkunkCat]

@TheSkunkCat

I guess it could say that I want to be in an alpha position myself, but I really really don't. I don't want to be in charge, although I would always be happy to advice and help nice people, or people in need. I got a bit of a soft spot there I suppose.

But I don't take well to authoritarian pricks. Fuck 'em, and they can hear that from me straight to their smug faces. I think people like that NEED some opposition. Keeps them honest if they are at al salvagable.

[TheSkunkCat]

I wonder what this says about me. I've ALWAYS had an irrepressible desire to knock down high status people who are assholes a peg or ten. And in spite of mixed sometimes negative results I've always went about doing exactly that. Sometimes succesfully too. But succes or failure I've never regretted it. I've told plenty of high status fuckers exactly where to stick it, and only ever followed nice ones willing to ask nicely and explain things.

I loathe being TOLD what to do instead of asked.

[euzebiogb]

that was simply outstanding! Makes much sense.

[zytigon]

Guerrilla prayer :-) Dear Lord of love, truth, goodness and mercy, As we seek life in all its fullness by living a virtuous life, filled with wonderful caring, creative thoughts. Let us be thankful for our brains to think and explore the many issues and aspects of life. May we also be grateful for the rational and sceptical analysis found in books like “Trusting doubt “ , “ The reason driven life “, “Loftus WIBA “ That enrich us with rational memes and help broaden our perspectives.

[zytigon]

Maybe the trick to Christianity is to have read both sides of the argument, to have a broader perspective by reading all the reasons against the bible as well as the reasons for. I believe in the golden rule & the riddles of love your neighbour & enemy & live within civilian secular law. I pick out the bits which say be careful, educated, smart. I know the reasons to think the plot & problems are mostly fiction. I trust a hypothetical good god would make things ok . There are no problems there.