Let's Think....

“Gods are all in the mind. They are the imaginations of wishful thinkers who do not think enough because they have not learned enough. In short, gods exist only inside the head, and not outside of it.” Terence Meaden. Atheistweb 17 February 2008

Let's Think....

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

Steven Weinberg American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics

Let's Think.... Wednesday 12/12/2012

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."

(Marcus Aurelius, 

Born: April 26, 121 AD, Rome

Died: March 17, 180 AD, Vienna)

Let's Think....

It has been a mission of mine for many years now to isolate and ridicule superstition and primitive mythology that masquerades as genuine science, to the detriment of all around. My usual target is religion.

Arguing evolution with creationists has been likened to hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope. This is getting tedious for now, and in the interests of equal opportunity scepticism I will turn my jaded eye to the world of New Age alternative healing methods, and just how much of a holy racket these are too.

Creationism and religion seem to hold themselves above science, in the misguided view that science is fallible due to it’s rejection of the supernatural. Religionists hold that their views transcend the human mind and because of their divine origins, are beyond analysis.

One way of getting around the pesky laws of physics – simply invalidate the scientific laws that invalidate your own viewpoint. However, when it comes to pseudo-science such as the esoteric New Age alternative therapies, they simply lie and claim false science to back up their claims.

This is disingenuous to the extreme, and the fact remains that the large majority of these so-called therapies have no positive medical effect on an organism.

Reiki Healing.

Basic tenets – There is a universal and inexhaustible spiritual “energy” which can be used for healing purposes.  Through an attunement process carried out by a Reiki Master, any person can gain access to this “energy”. This “energy” will flow through the Reiki Master’s hands when he/she places his/her hands near the patient.

This “energy” has human-like intelligence. As this “energy” is intelligent, there is no need for diagnosis. This “energy” will automatically judge the disease and will heal the patient.

That’s right. A smart-android type of healing app that does not even need a diagnosis to heal the affected area. Whoa. Back up there. All I have to do is lie down and let some hippy move their hands all over me, and presto! The magic Jedi-energy will locate, analyse, diagnose and effect remedial therapeutic action all on its own!

Simply put, if this is true, there would be no need for the entire medical or pharmaceutical industry as a whole. It has only been around since 1922, having been invented by a Japanese gentleman named Usui Mikao. So it is not traditional ancient oriental medicine, it is new pseudoscience aimed at emptying people’s wallets whilst pandering to their belief that anything ancient must be wise. Wrong on all counts.

As a pointer to its efficacy, it is claimed that the healer does not have to be in the same room, city, or even continent as the sufferer. Useful for treating people without even having to get off your arse to do so! But although the healing power is so pervasive that it auto heals with no knowledge of the ailment or patient, without any contact at all, fortunately payment can be done via sending your credit card number or cheque!

Really, if anyone needs alerting that this is pure and unadulterated bovine stool, you probably deserve it.

(Matthew Bailey)

Let's Think....

I don't believe in 2500 gods, you don't in 2499, so we are very close to "what we believe" don't you think?