My only problem with your constant push in the direction of "they're wrong and following folly" is that you still don't have anything to prove them wrong. You believe in something, just as they do. They believe they're right, without proof. You believe they're wrong, without proof. It's all the same.
That's a good point. In the spirit of my last post, I'll grant that it's a good point. But it isn't one that I haven't already considered, or am unable to rebut. You want proof...proof is everywhere. Look at what religion has done for us! It has deceived us, turned our own creativity against us, corrupted our power, and led us to do great harm to others and to our world, and especially to ourselves...all because of conflicting beliefs, or beliefs that were just plain rotten to begin with. Religion offers truth, but never the real truth, because the real truth invalidates all religion. Some people say it brings them comfort for a cruel world. I say if they want comfort they should take up hot cocoa.
And look also at what religion has
failed to do. Creating "knowledge" inside ourselves and then projecting it onto the universe shields us from true discovery, and therein retards our capacity for meaningful accomplishment. If prayer and piety could trump the power of science and engineering, they certainly would. But they cannot. When your house is on fire, do you put out the flames with a prayer or a fire extinguisher? Religious beliefs produce no tangible goods; plenty of tangible evils.
This is the biggest obstacle that separates pseudo-intellectuals from truly enlightened folks. Many people claim, in their arrogance, that faith-based knowledge is somehow guaranteed to lead to objective truth simply by virtue of their believing it does. Religion is the institutionalized form of this, given airs of credibility by virtue of large memberships. Oh, I grant how nice nice a thought it is to believe that we can simply
think our way to the truth. But it's a delusion. And although many people try to live out this idea anyway, preaching their own homemade wisdom based on "absolute truths" that they
invented, you might notice that homemade belief systems are a dime a dozen; everyone's is different and people regularly find their absolute truths to be contradictory with one another. So much for absolute truth! Yet there is no universal authority to prohibit people from believing in lies, and so all of this nonsensical claptrap persists down through the generations. But in every generation they are exposed as frauds; you need only look: intuition, superstition, religion...they all fail to achieve what science and engineering accomplish every day: the expansion of human power, and thus the intimation of our legitimacy with respect to absolute truths!
So when it comes to exposing yourself to risky behavior, like participating in an event known for its human stampedes, is it really worthwhile to take such a risk simply to gratify your sense of religious faith? What will it earn you, other than an even deeper slavery to your beliefs? I know you mean well when you say that people's behaviors can be validated by the sincerity of their beliefs, but you're being all lovey-dovey and no substance. Bad behaviors based upon the sincerity of one's convictions are still bad behaviors.
If I have explained myself properly, there is nothing erroneous or logically inconsistent with my position. It simply comes down to whether or not you agree with my principles. That sort of disagreement is perfectly acceptable.
But people...see the easier choice now, and not the harder path that choice will take them. Typically, the easier choice leads down the rougher path, while the harder choice leads down the happier path. Typically. And sometimes it takes a damn long time to finally see the fruit of your efforts.
It's all true. You're completely right on these counts.
Logically, the only solution is stealing children from their parents and brainwashing them to prevent their parents from doing the same. But, of course they'd have to make that illegal. Bah.
I'm way ahead of you, man. I came up with the "raise children by the state" idea a long time ago! It's so controversial, though, that I seldom talk about it in places like this. But I think it would be the single best way to solve so many of humanity's problems once and for all. I think we'd be surprised just how easily eradicated many ancient human failings would be, if only we could prevent their transmission from generation to generation.