Health and Religion

[stats]

Are you fucking kidding me?  Are you going to bring the Mass Murder card?  I ask you how many people had to die to convert nations on ALL continents to Christianity.  In North America, Christians slaughtered the natives, almost wipe them out completely.  What did the Spaniards do in South and Central America?  Drink wine and dance? What did your buddy Pope, Mussolini and Hitler do?  Go to church on Sunday, that is it?

Mass Murder?  Please stop this shit.  You have never been to been to Baptist Christian churches.  Checkout Westboro...More guys like them and you would have a mayhem in the US.
Mass murder?  These guys just cannot wait....

Your Bible has many examples of mass murder and genocides.

My dad used to tell me that the symptoms of tiredness and laziness were very similar.

The point? If someone says, "I'm a Chriatian," it's very difficult to tell if he is one, simply by listening to his words, if you haven't seen him in action.

Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them."

A person isn't a Christian if he doesn't follow the ideals and directives of the New Testament. He can shout from the rooftops day and night that he is a Christian. But if he doesn't follow the directives of the N.T., he really isn't one.

By your definition, there are no Christians then....or they are all locked up.

I hope nobody is following the New Testament:

Matthew 5:29 - plucking out eyes
Matthew 5:30 - cutting off hands
Matthew 10:34 - waging wars by a sword
Corinthians 14:34-35 - women should be quiet and obey
Mark 10:11-12 - only marry once otherwise you commit adultery and you should be killed
Luke 19:26-2 - genocide
Romans 1:20-32 - killing sinners
Revelation 2:5 - more killing
Revelation 2:23 - killing children
Psalm 137:9 - killing babies

As usual, taking it all out of context.   

As usual, ignoring the reality of what is written.

[CoinCube]

Hitler told a lot of lies. Here are some more.

A 1942 List of Hitler’s Lies
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2016/05/18/a_list_of_hitler_s_lies_compiled_by_the_off

He typically lied to put an enemy at ease to make them easier to destroy later. This is an obvious part of the historical record and he did this multiple time with great success. Notice the quote from Hitler was from 1928 before he had consolidated power.

Hitler as Christian? That is somewhat comical considering that Hitlers plan was to destroy Christianity.

The Case Against the Nazis; How Hitler's Forces Planned To Destroy German Christianity
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/weekinreview/word-for-word-case-against-nazis-hitler-s-forces-planned-destroy-german.html?pagewanted=all

''The Persecution of the Christian Churches,'' summarizes the Nazi plan to subvert and destroy German Christianity, which it calls ''an integral part of the National Socialist scheme of world conquest.''

In the 1920's, as they battled for power, the Nazis realized that the churches in overwhelmingly Christian Germany needed to be neutralized before they would get anywhere. Two-thirds of German Christians were Protestants, belonging to one of 28 regional factions of the German Evangelical Church. Most of the rest were Roman Catholics. On one level, the Nazis saw an advantage. In tumultuous post-World War I Germany, the Christian churches ''had long been associated with conservative ways of thought, which meant that they tended to agree with the National Socialists in their authoritarianism, their attacks on Socialism and Communism, and in their campaign against the Versailles treaty'' that had ended World War I with a bitterly resentful Germany.

But there was a dilemma for Hitler. While conservatives, the Christian churches ''could not be reconciled with the principle of racism, with a foreign policy of unlimited aggressive warfare, or with a domestic policy involving the complete subservience of Church to State.'' Given that these were the fundamental underpinnings of the Nazi regime, ''conflict was inevitable,'' the summary states. It came, as Nazi power surged in the late 1920's toward national domination in the early 30's.

According to Baldur von Schirach, the Nazi leader of the German youth corps that would later be known as the Hitler Youth, ''the destruction of Christianity was explicitly recognized as a purpose of the National Socialist movement'' from the beginning, though ''considerations of expedience made it impossible'' for the movement to adopt this radical stance officially until it had consolidated power, the outline says.

Attracted by the strategic value inherent in the churches' ''historic mission of conservative social discipline,'' the Nazis simply lied and made deals with the churches while planning a ''slow and cautious policy of gradual encroachment'' to eliminate Christianity.

The prosecution investigators describe this as a criminal conspiracy. ''This general plan had been established even before the rise of the Nazis to power,'' the outline says. ''It apparently came out of discussions among an inner circle'' comprised of Hitler himself, other top Nazi leaders including the propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, and a collection of party enforcers and veteran beer-hall agitators.

Of course, the churches stayed in Hitler's good graces for only as long as the Nazis considered their cooperation expedient. Soon after Hitler assumed dictatorial powers, ''relations between the Nazi state and the church became progressively worse,'' the outline says. The Nazis ''took advantage of their subsequently increasing strength to violate every one of the Concordat's provisions.''

In 1937, Pope Pius XI denounced Nazi treachery in an encyclical that accused Hitler of ''a war of extermination'' against the church. The battle had been joined on some fronts. Nazi street mobs, often in the company of the Gestapo, routinely stormed offices in Protestant and Catholic churches where clergymen were seen as lax in their support of the regime.

Still, in a society where the entire Jewish population was being automatically condemned without public protest, care was taken to manipulate public perceptions about clergymen who fell into Nazi disfavor. ''The Catholic Church need not imagine that we are going to create martyrs,'' Robert Wagner, the Nazi Gauleiter of Baden, said in a speech, according to the O.S.S. study. ''We shall not give the church that satisfaction. She shall have not martyrs, but criminals.''

But once they had total power and set off to launch a world war, the Nazis made no secret of what lay in store for Christian clergymen who expressed dissent.

In Munich, Nazi street gangs and a Gestapo squad attacked the residence of the Roman Catholic cardinal. ''A hail of stones was directed against the windows, while the men shouted, 'Take the rotten traitor to Dachau!' '' the outline says, adding: ''After 1937, German Catholic bishops gave up all attempts to print'' their pastoral letters publicly and instead ''had them merely read from the pulpits.''

Then the letters themselves were confiscated. 'In many churches, the confiscation took place during Mass by the police snatching the letter out of the hands of the priests as they were in the act of reading it.''

Later the same year, dissident Protestant churches joined in a manifesto protesting Nazi tactics. In response, the Nazis arrested 700 Protestant pastors.

Objectionable statements made by the clergy would no longer be prosecuted in the courts, the Nazis said. Statements ''injurious to the State would be ruthlessly punished by 'protective custody,' that is, the concentration camp,'' the outline says.

[BADecker]

Are you fucking kidding me?  Are you going to bring the Mass Murder card?  I ask you how many people had to die to convert nations on ALL continents to Christianity.  In North America, Christians slaughtered the natives, almost wipe them out completely.  What did the Spaniards do in South and Central America?  Drink wine and dance? What did your buddy Pope, Mussolini and Hitler do?  Go to church on Sunday, that is it?

Mass Murder?  Please stop this shit.  You have never been to been to Baptist Christian churches.  Checkout Westboro...More guys like them and you would have a mayhem in the US.
Mass murder?  These guys just cannot wait....

Your Bible has many examples of mass murder and genocides.

My dad used to tell me that the symptoms of tiredness and laziness were very similar.

The point? If someone says, "I'm a Chriatian," it's very difficult to tell if he is one, simply by listening to his words, if you haven't seen him in action.

Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them."

A person isn't a Christian if he doesn't follow the ideals and directives of the New Testament. He can shout from the rooftops day and night that he is a Christian. But if he doesn't follow the directives of the N.T., he really isn't one.

By your definition, there are no Christians then....or they are all locked up.

I hope nobody is following the New Testament:

Matthew 5:29 - plucking out eyes
Matthew 5:30 - cutting off hands
Matthew 10:34 - waging wars by a sword
Corinthians 14:34-35 - women should be quiet and obey
Mark 10:11-12 - only marry once otherwise you commit adultery and you should be killed
Luke 19:26-2 - genocide
Romans 1:20-32 - killing sinners
Revelation 2:5 - more killing
Revelation 2:23 - killing children
Psalm 137:9 - killing babies

As usual, taking it all out of context.   

As usual, ignoring the reality of what is written.

Actually, acknowledging the reality of what is written while you ignore reality.

[CoinCube]

...
Mass Murder?  Please stop this shit.  You have never been to been to Baptist Christian churches.  Checkout Westboro...More guys like them and you would have a mayhem in the US.
Mass murder?  These guys just cannot wait....

The OT is a 'book' from the Bronze Age, NT is a 'book' from the time people where shitting in the bushes, what did you expect?
You would not want be near Jesus for one reason, he probably stunk and had a bad breath.

Like I said, it is irrelevant today.  All of it is nonsense written to manage the primitive people.

Ah I understand now af_newbie. Your are showing us that you are kin to those in the Westboro group. That 'church' spews forth hatred against Jews, Muslims, gays and others pretend their beliefs somehow justify this.

Their mirror image are atheist who spew similar filth and likewise pretend to justify it. The only difference seems to be the target of the hate.

Are you like our friend Moloch who chooses to name himself after the pagan god of burning children alive and calls for the killing of all religious people?

You can't... just kill everyone who believes in any religion... they'll go to heaven, and the world will be much better without religion

FYI the name "Westboro Atheist Group" is still available if the two of you want to grab it.

[CoinCube]

A song that highlights the fundamental nature of Christianity.

Ryan Stevenson - The Gospel

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NTdFEZhjiko

[CoinCube]

.  
You are looking through the cruel, evil, vile Christianity glasses.  You are projecting....

Sorry I am not Christian so that's impossible try again.

Honestly, as a non Christian non atheist I see very little difference between you and Moloch and those Westboro church members you despise. Two slightly different shades of extremism.

[ananas99]

.  
You are looking through the cruel, evil, vile Christianity glasses.  You are projecting....

Sorry I am not Christian so that's impossible try again.

Honestly, as a non Christian non atheist I see very little difference between you and Moloch and those Westboro church members you despise. Two slightly different shades of extremism.

In my opinion, all these wars of religions and ideologies will never lead to peace and understanding of each other. This is a time bomb that can destroy the world.

[Babyrica0226]

Religion is nothing but a disciplinary way, it shows the way how you behave and how you maintain your Life. If you follow the instructions of any religion then you can lead a peaceful life. Discipline can bring your good health. So regular life is the way of making good health.
So there is a relationship between religion and good health.

If taken in moderation.  Too much of it, and you become paranoid, schizophrenic, serial or mass murderer.

Regardless, it is a very dangerous poison IMHO.  Just like alcohol or drugs, religious ideology can fuck up your thinking.

I agree. Too much religion has a negative impact on the mental, and over time and on the person's physical health.

Sometimes too much religion give confusion to others people, because of different doctrine that they are teaching so the result in the end their physical mental ability was affecting it and sometimes health was being affected by it.

[BADecker]

Religion is nothing but a disciplinary way, it shows the way how you behave and how you maintain your Life. If you follow the instructions of any religion then you can lead a peaceful life. Discipline can bring your good health. So regular life is the way of making good health.
So there is a relationship between religion and good health.

If taken in moderation.  Too much of it, and you become paranoid, schizophrenic, serial or mass murderer.

Regardless, it is a very dangerous poison IMHO.  Just like alcohol or drugs, religious ideology can fuck up your thinking.

I agree. Too much religion has a negative impact on the mental, and over time and on the person's physical health.

Sometimes too much religion give confusion to others people, because of different doctrine that they are teaching so the result in the end their physical mental ability was affecting it and sometimes health was being affected by it.

Too much religion isn't the problem. There is no way to get away from religion. The closest we can come to getting away from religion (outside of death) is going to sleep. Otherwise we actively live our religion.

Too much religion isn't the problem. Rather, too much religious contemplation might be a problem at times, especially when it is contemplating about some single aspect of religion.

Religion is the thing that shows us how to live good lives with each other on earth, and, if one has the correct religion, the way to everlasting life.

[BADecker]

.  
You are looking through the cruel, evil, vile Christianity glasses.  You are projecting....

Sorry I am not Christian so that's impossible try again.

Honestly, as a non Christian non atheist I see very little difference between you and Moloch and those Westboro church members you despise. Two slightly different shades of extremism.

In my opinion, all these wars of religions and ideologies will never lead to peace and understanding of each other. This is a time bomb that can destroy the world.

This shows you how weak people really are. All this difference of religion and opinion, and world population is the highest it has ever been.

[CoinCube]

Faith and Future

In my opinion, all these wars of religions and ideologies will never lead to peace and understanding of each other. This is a time bomb that can destroy the world.

Too much religion isn't the problem. There is no way to get away from religion. The closest we can come to getting away from religion (outside of death) is going to sleep. Otherwise we actively live our religion.
...
Religion is the thing that shows us how to live good lives with each other on earth, and, if one has the correct religion, the way to everlasting life.

For those that like science fiction I recently read the Doom Star Series by Vaughn Hepner. It is interesting social commentary underneath a good story.
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Soldier-Doom-Book-ebook/dp/B003SNJVH4

It envisions a dystopian future where humanity has terraformed and spread throughout the solar system and traditional religion appears to have has died out or been suppressed.

Humanity has splintered into various ideological factions. Earth is under the control of a stifling planet wide socialism. Mars and Venus are under the control of genetically engineered super humans who believe their superiority gives them the right to rule. Jupiter is controlled by philosopher kings who value only logic. Total laissez-faire capitalism dominates the outer planets and on the edges of the solar system a group seeks to create the ultimate controllable soldier by mixing man and machine.

As the story progress the various groups compete for dominance committing ever more horrific acts of evil that are completely justified by their various philosophies. It is quite clear that in this future humanity is in danger of extinction as the self-inflected horrors worsen and billions start to die.

The series is subtle social commentary the reader slowly realizes that while some ideological groups are better then others they are all pretty bad.

It is a vision of a future without God where religion in the form of various ideological and political constructs is very much alive and well.

Religious/ideological wars certainly have the potential to destroy the world. These conflicts are unavoidable. The question is what can save us? I do not pretend to know the answer with any certainty but here is an answer provided earlier by Miscreanity. I have yet to hear a better one.

What is actually the worst possible outcome is to have one strategy, religion, or culture adopted by everyone.

This is the point I disagree with. I think we both agree that the optimal way to increase degrees of freedom for individuals is to allow and enable instead of controlling. A universal strategy is an essential foundation that enables freedom. Without that, we have the situation that is developing now with varying viewpoints where some sets are progressing toward destruction and others are being dragged into declining entropy. Competition can take place when there is room for growth but on a globally saturated scale, nobody wins.

Reproductive strategy is likely to become essentially irrelevant for humanity, possibly within our lifetimes. It seems inevitable that our existing biological bodies will give way to different forms that will carry us off-planet. At that point, allowing and enabling all individuals to thrive in a constructive environment becomes paramount. What then is the protocol that keeps that freedom from becoming destructive? Of course, my thinking is that the protocol is outlined in the Christian bible.

The following two (relatively) short videos may be of interest regarding previous discussion:
The moral argument for God
Why Does God Allow Evil?

See: The More Rational Model for more.

[CoinCube]

China Experiencing an 'Explosion of Faith', Says Pulitzer-Prize Winning Author
http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/70279/20170428/china-experiencing-explosion-faith-pulitzer-prize-winning-author.htm

Despite increasing persecution, China is in the grip of "one of the world's great spiritual revivals" that shows no signs of slowing down, says a Pulitzer-prize winning author.

In an op-ed for The Atlantic, Ian Johnson contends that China is experiencing an "explosion of faith."

"The decades of anti-religious campaigns that followed the 1949 communist takeover are giving way to a spiritual transformation-and among the fastest-growing drivers of that transformation are unregistered churches," the author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion after Mao writes.

These unregistered churches, he says, have "become surprisingly well-organized, meeting very openly and often counting hundreds of congregants."

"They've helped the number of Protestants soar from about one million when the communists took power to at least 60 million today," he writes.

Johnson, who spent six years exploring the "values and faiths of today's China", explains that the persecution China's Christians experience at the hands of the Communist government hasn't deterred church growth.

"Any casual visitor to the country can tell you that the number of churches, mosques, and temples has soared in recent years, and that many of them are full," Johnson writes.

"While problems abound, the space for religious expression has grown rapidly, and Chinese believers eagerly grab it as they search for new ideas and values to underpin a society that long ago discarded traditional morality."

In a separate interview, Johnson explained that Christianity is growing in the country because people are looking for new moral guideposts or "some sort of moral compass to organize society.

"So they are turning to religion as a source of values to help reorganize society," he said. "Hundreds of millions of Chinese are consumed with doubt about their society and turning to religion and faith for answers that they do not find in the radically secular world constructed around them."

Johnson's findings echo those of Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule. Last year, Yang told The Telegraph that the number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily, that by 2030, it could have more churchgoers than America.

Similarly, a 2016 report from persecution watchdog ChinaAid revealed that a total of 20,000 Chinese Christians suffered religious persecution in 2015 - but Christianity continues to grow at a dramatic rate.

"In 2015, ChinaAid documented 634 cases of persecution in which 19,426 religious practitioners were persecuted, representing an 8.62 percent increase from 2014's 17,884 religious practitioners persecuted," reads the "2015 Annual Report Chinese Government Persecution of Christians and Churches in China."

However, in response to this persecution, Christians fasted, prayed and organized protests, and the "steadfast response of these churches spread to other places, producing widespread public opposition to the government's brutal cross demolitions."
In addition, the faith of many church members was strengthened by the victories of human rights lawyers who took to court Christian cases in the form of civil law, administrative law, and property rights law, the report notes.

Because of this, ChinaAid is optimistic that the Christian faith will eventually overcome all obstacles.
"Despite the worsening situation of religious freedom in China in the last decade, China Aid sees great hope in the fast growth of the house church movement across China and firmly believes that God's love and justice will eventually cover the vast expanse of this nation," concludes the report.

[BADecker]

Coincube, I just wanted to thank you for all the interesting information, and the quotes and sources, that you have posted throughout this thread and others. Thanks.

[CoinCube]

Coincube, I just wanted to thank you for all the interesting information, and the quotes and sources, that you have posted throughout this thread and others. Thanks.

My pleasure. I started this thread to highlight the interplay between health and religion especially the empiric studies on this issue as until recently I was unaware of this link.

I have found the data on the topic to be substantial convincing and interesting and I am happy that others have found it interesting as well.

[Okurkabinladin]

In my opinion, all these wars of religions and ideologies will never lead to peace and understanding of each other. This is a time bomb that can destroy the world.

Too much religion isn't the problem. There is no way to get away from religion. The closest we can come to getting away from religion (outside of death) is going to sleep. Otherwise we actively live our religion.
...
Religion is the thing that shows us how to live good lives with each other on earth, and, if one has the correct religion, the way to everlasting life.

For those that like science fiction I recently read the Doom Star Series by Vaughn Hepner. It is interesting social commentary underneath a good story.
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Soldier-Doom-Book-ebook/dp/B003SNJVH4

It envisions a dystopian future where humanity has terraformed and spread throughout the solar system and traditional religion appears to have has died out or been suppressed.

Humanity has splintered into various ideological factions. Earth is under the control of a stifling planet wide socialism. Mars and Venus are under the control of genetically engineered super humans who believe their superiority gives them the right to rule. Jupiter is controlled by philosopher kings who value only logic. Total laissez-faire capitalism dominates the outer planets and on the edges of the solar system a group seeks to create the ultimate controllable soldier by mixing man and machine.

As the story progress the various groups compete for dominance committing ever more horrific acts of evil that are completely justified by their various philosophies. It is quite clear that in this future humanity is in danger of extinction as the self-inflected horrors worsen and billions start to die.

The series is subtle social commentary the reader slowly realizes that while some ideological groups are better then others they are all pretty bad.

It is a vision of a future without God where religion in the form of various ideological and political constructs is very much alive and well.

Religious/ideological wars certainly have the potential to destroy the world. These conflicts are unavoidable. The question is what can save us? I do not pretend to know the answer with any certainty but here is an answer provided earlier by Miscreanity. I have yet to hear a better one.

What is actually the worst possible outcome is to have one strategy, religion, or culture adopted by everyone.

This is the point I disagree with. I think we both agree that the optimal way to increase degrees of freedom for individuals is to allow and enable instead of controlling. A universal strategy is an essential foundation that enables freedom. Without that, we have the situation that is developing now with varying viewpoints where some sets are progressing toward destruction and others are being dragged into declining entropy. Competition can take place when there is room for growth but on a globally saturated scale, nobody wins.

Reproductive strategy is likely to become essentially irrelevant for humanity, possibly within our lifetimes. It seems inevitable that our existing biological bodies will give way to different forms that will carry us off-planet. At that point, allowing and enabling all individuals to thrive in a constructive environment becomes paramount. What then is the protocol that keeps that freedom from becoming destructive? Of course, my thinking is that the protocol is outlined in the Christian bible.

The following two (relatively) short videos may be of interest regarding previous discussion:
The moral argument for God
Why Does God Allow Evil?

Hello CoinCube,

sorry for quoting your text in its entirety, but I think it is not only one of more insightful comments written on importance of Faith in this forum, but also one of best ones in this thread.

I hope everybody here will take a minute or two to read and consider it, regardless, if they believe in God or not.

Thank you.

[AiloveYouks21]

Religion is poison. They are reasoned by books that have no evidence or witness. and i don't know if there are any cure

[BADecker]

Religion is poison. They are reasoned by books that have no evidence or witness. and i don't know if there are any cure

People who believe that science theory is truth, have a science religion going for themselves.

Nobody knows that science theory is factual. Why not? If they knew, it would not be theory, but science law.

When they believe in something that they do not know is truth and fact, they have religion.

[stats]

When they believe in something that they do not know is truth and fact, they have religion.

Finally, you agree that religion isn't truth and fact.

Well done little fella, you are growing up!

Religion is all faith.... no truth!

[Barrymore]

When they believe in something that they do not know is truth and fact, they have religion.

Finally, you agree that religion isn't truth and fact.

Well done little fella, you are growing up!

Religion is all faith.... no truth!

Faith is good, but I don't understand how you can believe in something that has no evidence? That faith has helped someone live a better life, or the poor made rich, or stopped the war? Maybe faith had cured someone of a terminal illness? So it is not a belief, and deception.

[CoinCube]

People who believe that science theory is truth, have a science religion going for themselves.

Nobody knows that science theory is factual. Why not? If they knew, it would not be theory, but science law.

When they believe in something that they do not know is truth and fact, they have religion.

Finally, you agree that religion isn't truth and fact.

Well done little fella, you are growing up!

Religion is all faith.... no truth!

Stats you are not understanding what BADecker is saying here. He is simply highlighting the fact that many of the worshippers of "Science" with a capital S are members of a religion even if they do not acknowledge it.

Here is an article from Dr. Jeremy Samuel Faust is an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston that highlights this issues.

Hive-Mind Worship Of "Science" At The March For Science
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/04/the_march_for_science_was_eerily_religious.html

Hundreds of thousands of self-professed science supporters turned out to over 600 iterations of the March for Science around the world this weekend. Thanks to the app Periscope, I attended half a dozen of them from the comfort of my apartment, thereby assiduously minimizing my carbon footprint.

Mainly, these marches appeared to be a pleasant excuse for liberals to write some really bad (and, OK, some truly superb) puns, and put them on cardboard signs. There were also some nicely stated slogans that roused support for important concepts such as reason and data and many that decried the defunding of scientific research and ignorance-driven policy.

But here’s the problem: Little of what I observed dissuades me from my baseline belief that, even among the sanctimonious elite who want to own science (and pwn anyone who questions it), most people have no idea how science actually works. The scientific method itself is already under constant attack from within the scientific community itself and is ceaselessly undermined by its so-called supporters, including during marches like those on Saturday. In the long run, such demonstrations will do little to resolve the myriad problems science faces and instead could continue to undermine our efforts to use science accurately and productively.

Let’s start with my contention that most “pro-science” demonstrators have no idea what they were demonstrating about. Being “pro-science” has become a bizarre cultural phenomenon in which liberals (and other members of the cultural elite) engage in public displays of self-reckoned intelligence as a kind of performance art, while demonstrating zero evidence to justify it. On any given day, many of my most “woke” friends are quick to post and retweet viral content about the latest on what Science (and I’m capitalizing this on purpose) “says,” or what some studies “prove.” But on closer look, much of what gets shared and bandied about is sheer bullshit and is diagnostic of one thing only: The state of science (and science literacy) in this country, and most of the planet for that matter, is woefully bad.

For example, the blog IFLScience (IFL stands for “I f---ing love”) seems singularly committed to undermining legitimately good science half the time, while promoting it the other half—which, scientifically speaking, is a problem. Here’s a neat one that relays news about a study that suggested that beer hops may protect against liver disease. I’ll be sure to mention that to the next alcoholic with hepatitis and cirrhosis that I treat. To date that article has been shared 41,600 times. Very few of those readers, I should mention, were mice, though the research was carried out in, you guessed it, mice. (And of course, this type of coverage is not refined to cleverly named blogs.)

That’s not to say plans to cut back funding for research are wise (though so far most of those plans seem contained to a meaningless budget proposal). Nor should we tolerate it when our policies are poised to undercut genuine scientific expertise for politically expedient purposes...

But there is very little indication that what happened on Saturday will counter these misconceptions. Instead, the march revealed the glaring dissonance of opposing that trough of ignorance by instead accepting a cringe-worthy hive-mind mentality that celebrates Science as a vague but wonderful entity, what Richard Feynman called “cargo cult science.” There was an uncomfortable dronelike fealty to the concept—an oxymoronic faith that information presented and packaged to us as Science need not be further scrutinized before being smugly celebrated en masse. That is not intellectually rigorous thought—instead, it’s another kind of religion, and it is perhaps as terrifying as the thing it is trying to fight.

Let’s face it: People like science when it supports their views. I see this every day. When patients ask me for antibiotics to treat their common colds, I tell them that decades of science and research, let alone a basic understanding of microbiology, shows that antibiotics don’t work for cold viruses. Trust me, people don’t care. They have gotten antibiotics for their colds in the past, and, lo, they got better. (The human immune system, while a bit slower and clunkier than we’d like it to be, never seems to get the credit it deserves in these little anecdotal stories.) Who needs science when you have something mightier—personal experience?

Sadly this worship of "Science" is sometimes accompanied by a rejection of faith and God. This replaces one religion with a far inferior substitute and is probably very bad for your health.

The main propose of this thread is to highlight what science (with a lower case s) tells us about the relationship between health and religion.