[quote=FlyerInHi]Plaster brought up a good point about money. I wonder how God and capitalism work together.[/quote]
seems not everyone appreciates my irreverent super genius analysis which is based on logic and reason
[quote=scaredyclassic]
in the old days it was rude to discuss politics religion and money. i see now why.
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FWIW in a modern world IMHO its beneficial to have to have a moral compass and given established religion(s) have “ideals” and long term traditions, this reinforces behavior (which is a double edge sword)
[quote=ocrenter] Religion was a very necessary human creation that helped us as we moved from hunters and gatherers to an agrarian society and beyond. I find all religions were created and centered along the line of some form of mediative practice to help one deal with human suffering and also to aid in the need to explain the unexplainable.
Religions are the Proza and Zoloft and Lexapro of human societies before the advent of modern psychology and psychiatric practices. Unfortunately some folks are so into their “brand” of “SSRI” that they find the need to pray for others on other brands of “SSRI.”
Would recommend all to read the following book, it was quite enlightening:
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to illustrate the point about how religion is useful to adapting to life in the modern world,… let’s consider my catholic school education (prior to attending a public university), basically it was a reminder throughout my formidable years that life is terminal and greed is a sin that one should always be aware of,…. or said another way, I learned from an early age that more money does not mean more “happiness”
specifically looking at the first commandment,… note that it includes the phrase “thou shall not have any other gods before me” (in a modern world to me this means don’t worship money),… then depending upon the translation another commandment states “thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods” (which means to me, be happy w/ the shit you have)
as it relates to the bigger picture about how economies are run,… I think a religious grounding is an immunization of sorts which help one recognize the various downsides of greed,… or said another way established religions are suppose to help remind oneself that in a world of various temptations, its important to keep in mind there are “needs” which are vary different from “wants”
[quote] Michael Munger on Crony Capitalism “AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS”
Michael Munger:… I worry that economics has abandoned the position of emphasizing character, norms, and morality. And, one of the reasons that I’m a political scientist and philosopher rather than an economist in terms of my academic affiliation, is precisely that I’m worried about the structure of preferences and the sustainability of the willingness of people to try to act in the right way, even if it may be illegal. And let me emphasize: The real problem here is the ability of rational state actors to restructure the legal rules in ways that over time could corrupt moral character that might otherwise prevent a move in this direction. So, the real problem is we have to take the public choice objection seriously. Members–people who work for the state, elected officials and bureaucrats–are rational and they are entrepreneurs. They are looking for ways to increase their power.
guess what I’m trying to say is the enemy from w/ in is “Crony Capitalism” and a religious belief system could be a way to combat this threat to organized society
as for the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, the author does make an vary good point about “storytelling”
given human nature, people fall back upon gut instinct (i.e. “storytelling”) to make sense of the world around them,… for example in another thread, I recalled a homeless character that was able to see the truth,…
I mention this specific movie character because if one uses nothing more than middle school math concepts and basic common sense, it should be vary apparent that individuals in various leadership positions,… are in reality, false prophets (i.e. no talent a$$ clowns!!!)
and due to the leadership corruption and mismanagement by self-serving preachers, politicians, etc., this leads to hell on earth (i.e. outcomes where lots of people suffer)
