Why religion is dumb - reason 3 (lightning)

Originally posted by David C
For that matter, the Christian god is not called God, either. Someone may be able to explain in greater detail, but the xtian god is called YHVH, Yahweh, or some derivative thereof.

Vishnu most certainly is big-G God to the Hindus of the world.

Vishnu most certainly is big-G God to the Hindus of the world.

Er ... no.

Vishnu is God to the Vaishnaivites. Shiva is God to the Shaivites. All Being is God to the Advaitins.

Originally posted by orfeo
Not only are you again confusing scientific-type issues with the questions that religion is really interested in, you are assuming that one explanation precludes the other. Why can't God control thunder and lightning to voice a little wrath once in a while?

Excellent point.

Also note to howardgee - not every instance of thunder or lightning was considered "wrath of God" by ancient peoples.

Originally posted by RatX
No. ...beat up their god[b]s

They have a god for every object and past-time. They might even have one for you![/b]

"Hindu worship of deities is monotheistic polytheism and not simple polytheism.

Hindus declare that there is only one Supreme Being and He is the God of all religions. There is no "other God." Thus the Biblical Commandment "Thou shalt have no other God before me," really means, "Thou shalt not deny the Ultimate Reality or worship any power other than the Ultimate Reality." " (http://www.koausa.org/Gods/)

Wrap your head around that.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
"Hindu worship of deities is monotheistic polytheism and not simple polytheism.

Hindus declare that there is only one Supreme Being and He is the God of all religions. There is no "other God." Thus the Biblical Commandment "Thou shalt have no other God before me," really means, "Thou shalt not deny the Ultimate Reality or worship any power o ...[text shortened]... her than the Ultimate Reality." " (http://www.koausa.org/Gods/)

Wrap your head around that.

these hindu's are crazy people-are they saying that the bible was really written by the supreme being, or is that your interpretation of the two schools combined?

Originally posted by genius
these hindu's are crazy people-are they saying that the bible was really written by the supreme being, or is that your interpretation of the two schools combined?

I imagine they believe much the same thing as you--that scripture is inspired. I've always believed that the various scriptures were written by scribes, myself. The beliefs contained therein stem from oral tradition, whose origins are difficult to trace.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
I imagine they believe much the same thing as you--that scripture is inspired. I've always believed that the various scriptures were written by scribes, myself. The beliefs contained therein stem from oral tradition, whose origins are difficult to trace.

erm-that really doesn't answer my question...

Originally posted by genius
erm-that really doesn't answer my question...

They might say that all scripture emanates from the same source.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
They might say that all scripture emanates from the same source.

might? so it was just your interpreation then?

Originally posted by genius
might? so it was just your interpreation then?

I posted a quote above there, not an interpretation. Of course I say might--I'll change it to probably if you like--because I don't speak for Hindus--although I'll quote them.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
I posted a quote above there, not an interpretation. Of course I say might--I'll change it to probably if you like--because I don't speak for Hindus--although I'll quote them.

ah-i understand now. i wasn't sure if you stuck the "it really means" in, or if that was part of the site.

well, i think i understand. ach, i'm off to my lecture...

Originally posted by howardgee
Nowadays, whenever there is a storm and it thunders and lightnings, you would be mocked for claiming it was God's vengeance.
Little more than 500 years ago, most people thought that this was exactly what it was - God voicing his wrath.

Luckily mankind has discovered through empirical reasoning, that there is a natural explanation for the noise and lig ...[text shortened]... hen do no explanatory work whatsoever, and will cease to have meaning as a concept for everyone.

How and why do we get rainbows?

Originally posted by howardgee
Nowadays, whenever there is a storm and it thunders and lightnings, you would be mocked for claiming it was God's vengeance.
Little more than 500 years ago, most people thought that this was exactly what it was - God voicing his wrath.

Luckily mankind has discovered through empirical reasoning, that there is a natural explanation for the noise and lig ...[text shortened]... hen do no explanatory work whatsoever, and will cease to have meaning as a concept for everyone.

Science cannot really explain what causes storms and other natural phenomena. If it could, we would be able to predict them. All scientists have been able to show are the mechanisms by which these things operate. We still don't even understand how lightening works, so I think it may be premature to say with certainty what we will discover, or what the ultimate nature of the cosmos is.

Originally posted by RBHILL
How and why do we get rainbows?

If you do not understand how a rainbow is created, then thank-you for illustrating how dumb religion is (or certainly how dumb its followers are!)

Any fool knows that a rainbow is generated from the refraction of light from the bum hairs which ripple whenever God farts.

Originally posted by The Chess Express
Science cannot really explain what causes storms and other natural phenomena. If it could, we would be able to predict them. All scientists have been able to show are the mechanisms by which these things operate. We still don't even understand how lightening works, so I think it may be premature to say with certainty what we will discover, or what the ultimate nature of the cosmos is.

Science has explained lightning; it is electrical discharge from charged particles in the clouds.

Whilst science can explain the microscopic causes of storms and other natural phenomena, the predictive nature of such knowledge is limited by the sheer amount of data necessary to know. This is known as the butterfly effect, or chaos theory.

Originally posted by howardgee
Science has explained lightning; it is electrical discharge from charged particles in the clouds.

Whilst science can explain the microscopic causes of storms and other natural phenomena, the predictive nature of such knowledge is limited by the sheer amount of data necessary to know. This is known as the butterfly effect, or chaos theory.

http://onlypunjab.com/fullstory2k5-insight-news-status-15-newsID-3560.html

Our latest theory is that lightning is caused by cosmic rays from outer space. See the above link.

Perhaps some of this data you refer to is Gods will.