Posts by Islander
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"PS: the low wooden A-frame design is wise."
Might have something to do with 800yrs experience eh?
The one thing that didnt get factored in (tho' it is part of the legend myth corpus) is tsunami.
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And aside from ludicrous 'rationalisations' like 'If all humans were obedient muslims/catholics/whatevers, god wouldnt visit earthquakes upon his (always his) beloved creation'
they cant give an answer.
Earthquakes dont care about how good, wise, nice, pretty, just, compasionate, rich, foul, evil, ugly you are - the force just kills you. -
OK, it's just a myth (sorry, folks!)
When Tane forced the primeaeval parents apart (one could interpret that as the separation of Rakinui (sun) and Paptuanuku (earth)),all his godlet siblings (and there were a *lot* of those) were free to pursue their godly crafts except for one - who hadnt quite been born. Which is why a resentful godlittle in his Earth-Mother's womb still kicks against the pricks-Ruaumoko, kia ora!
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"So let's just be nice to each other and our environment. Is that so hard?"
Nope.
And I'm sure most of us posting here would so agree.
But - if you're a religious fundamentalist - or a pyschopath - or a capitalist banker/moneymachine person- or a fervent hunterkiller who wants to introduce more huntable/killables like wallabies into places where they dont belong...yes. yes. I know, sublime (!) to ridiculous (!).........Those humans dont care - at all- for niceness or environments. They only care about themselves & their wants.
And - as far as I can ascertain - that kind of human/hominim has been around since we evolved to be us.
And, generally speaking, religions have helped the alpha males/females do this, rather more than religions have helped equality, equity, compassion & respect spread through our lovely cruel desperately uncertain planet-
when I get into a...erm...discussion with prosyltising religious people, I always ask them about earthquakes*...
*Maori have the answer!
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WH - I'll skip over 'overman & whatnot.'
There is no evidence that "our spiritual impulses must have evolved."
There is some evidence that our kind of primate has a propensity to
ascribe meaning to random events. There is quite a lot of evidence that our kind of primate 'personalises' much of what occurs, happens to us, as a way of dealing with the summary chaos of being. And again, some evidence that we do this by inventing an outside-of-ourselves factor/being that causes/determines.
Hence the 40,000 or so godlets/entities thus far created by us (goodness knows what Neanderthals or H. floresensis thought about all this, but given they were almost certainly homonins also-) -
Yessssss-
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O I *do* Sacha, I do!
(Now, where was that recipe about 3-yrold palms???*)
(*I hate to say it, there is one...) -
Robert Fox - really enjoyed that Grayling article.
A bit sad that no-one has taken my carefully-offered fly about the underlying physiological/psycological/indeed,*genetic* reasons as to *why* humans believe in irrational things.
Also a bit sad that some posters seem to think there is mystery associated with the bush (or the sea) that is somehow spiritual/religious (according to human definitions.) I once had 7 giraffe weevils (te waka-a-Maui/te-waka-atua) appear/hatch-out? on one of my large indoor plants...this year, it was bumble bees (dozens, literally, inside, and wanting egress.) In good cicada seasons, I have many many patiently waiting for me to open my ranchsliders out into the sun...they will climb upon my forefingers & wait until the glass is gone-
There are really good reasons to explore these circumstances, and they have nothing to do with spookiness. There is mystery associated with bush & sea - because we dont know enough yet-
This from a person who has kept dream diaries for 40 years - and found ZILCH correlation with anything that occurs in reality - and from a person who loves insects (and not just to eat!)
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I studied - and practised- religion for over 30 years.
I am an atheist - neither weak nor strong - just an atheist- since 1989.
That was when my knowledge of other animal behaviour (paticularly that of fellow primates) joined my knowledge of human history & psychology,and my own examined life experience, and some matters became glaringly obvious. Cartesian duality was a sick joke, and ALL religions rather pathetic (but dangerous) methods of social control (often, control of female or 'other' sexuality.)
H. sap.sap is an hierarchical, status-driven. omnivorous. omnisexual
sentient/self-aware ape.
We can tell stories.
We do.
Our stories are reflections of us, our perceptions of 'reality'(which we define for ourselves); our needs/sorrows/joys, and our very deep innate understanding (as long-term omnivores) that *death is death*. The only recycling of a dead body is as shit or left over bits & pieces. We - normally- dont like this fact. We have invested emotional energy in the -our!- future...and the longterm future is extinction, personal, species-wise, and planet-wide.
Cheers! Slainthe! Kia ora!
(-raising a dram with Kracklie-) -
A millenium ago, when I was a card-carrying journalist for the "Greymouth Evening Star". Russell Nelson said - "OK you can write. What you have to do now, is write yourself out of the story. Remember:what, who, when, where & how. Dont speculate on why.
Get the names right."