Religions put down the mind of mankind.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
FMF is speaking of religion being an inspiration which is not at all the same thing as what Sonhouse was saying. Once again, Sonhouse was saying that God Himself is not the source.

Sonhouse claims that religions put down the mind of mankind. By issuing this sweeping statement, I think he is mistaken, as I have explained. Whether sonhouse personally believes that there is a real god behind any of the various religions that have clearly and undeniably inspired the human mind to achieve great things is neither here nor there.

Originally posted by @fmf
Sonhouse claims that religions put down the mind of mankind. By issuing this sweeping statement, I think he is mistaken, as I have explained. Whether sonhouse personally believes that there is a real god behind any of the various religions that have clearly and undeniably inspired the human mind to achieve great things is neither here nor there.

You seem to suffer from the same affliction as jaywill. You take a sentence or two out of context and then pretend that they were said in a vacuum.

Try reading and understanding what sonhouse wrote in his OP in context.

Keep in mind what I posted in my response to DG:

Here's the key sentence from the OP:
"Claiming all that stuff comes from God, a god, the god, whatever, denigrates the creativity of mankind. "

Clearly Sonhouse's position is that God Himself is not the source.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
Clearly Sonhouse's position is that God Himself is not the source.

Quite frankly, sonhouse's atheism is of little or no interest to me. I don't care if he wants to assert that there aren't any gods. However, what he has claimed about the impact of religion on the human mind is demonstrably untrue.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
sonhouse said: "Claiming all that stuff comes from God, a god, the god, whatever, denigrates the creativity of mankind. "

I don't think it "denigrates the creativity of mankind" at all. I think religious inspiration [i.e "Claiming all that stuff comes from God, a god, the god, whatever"] has had the opposite effect, regardless of whether there is a god or gods.

Originally posted by @fmf
Quite frankly, sonhouse's atheism is of little or no interest to me. I don't care if he wants to assert that there aren't any gods. However, what he has claimed about the impact of religion on the human mind is demonstrably untrue.

lol. Even here you've taken what I wrote and are pretending that it was written in a vacuum.

You're really too funny.

Try reading the OP in context as I suggested in my previous post. Hopefully the penny will drop for you.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
lol. Even here you've taken what I wrote and are pretending that it was written in a vacuum.

You're really too funny.

Try reading the OP in context as I suggested in my previous post. Hopefully the penny will drop for you.

The OP is written in the context of sonhouse's atheism which has caused him to make a faulty, sweeping claim about the impact of religions on the human mind. This is what I have addressed.

Originally posted by @fmf
The OP is written in the context of sonhouse's atheism which has caused him to make a faulty, sweeping claim about the impact of religions on the human mind. This is what I have addressed.

The only thing that you've addressed is a misconstrued and distorted understanding of Sonhouse's position of your own making.

He wasn't making the claim that you think he did.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
He wasn't making the claim that you think he did.

He claimed that religions put down the mind of mankind and he claimed that there are no gods that are actually affecting anyone. The first claim is not true and the second claim is irrelevant to the inspirational and motivational impact of religious belief on the human mind.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
lol. Even here you've taken what I wrote and are pretending that it was written in a vacuum.

You're really too funny.

Try reading the OP in context as I suggested in my previous post. Hopefully the penny will drop for you.

Explain to me how those who were not there to hear Jrsus knew the Pharisees were not righteous.

Originally posted by @eladar
Explain to me how those who were not there to hear Jrsus knew the Pharisees were not righteous.

Take this to the thread on which it belongs.

Originally posted by @fmf
He claimed that religions put down the mind of mankind and he claimed that there are no gods that are actually affecting anyone. The first claim is not true and the second claim is irrelevant to the inspirational and motivational impact of religious belief on the human mind.

And what did he have in mind when he wrote "religions put down the mind of mankind"?

He explains it in the OP. Try reading it in context. It's not what you think it is.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
And what did he have in mind when he wrote "religions put down the mind of mankind"?

He had in mind that religious people claiming that all stuff comes from god or gods denigrates the creativity of mankind. I think it does nothing of the sort. And I explained why.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
sonhouse explains it in the OP. Try reading it in context. It's not what you think it is.

I understand the role sonhouse's atheism has played in his error (a.k.a. the context). His OP is one of his many exercises in earnest atheism. I have simply tackled him on his mistake - regarding the impact of religion and religious inspiration - that his lack of belief in god or gods has given rise to.

Originally posted by @fmf
I understand the role sonhouse's atheism has played in his error (a.k.a. the context). His OP is one of his many exercises in earnest atheism. I have simply tackled him on his mistake - regarding the impact of religion and religious inspiration - that his lack of belief in god or gods has given rise to.

It's clear you still don't understand what he wrote.

So I'll restructure and simplify what he wrote in the OP. Try clearing your mind of all preconceptions of what you think he was claiming and then read the following:

Mankind is intelligent enough to have come up with every word of every religious document on the whole planet for the last 10,000 years.

The stories in the religious texts all make the underlying assumption that mankind is too stupid to have come up with the subtle stories, allegories, advice and such that occur in religious texts around the planet.

Claiming all that stuff comes from God, a god, the god, whatever, denigrates the creativity of mankind. Mankind is intelligent enough to have come up with every word

Understand now?

Originally posted by @thinkofone
It's clear you still don't understand what he wrote.

On the contrary, I do understand what he wrote and what he meant. Completely. And I have addressed it head on.