BBC: The Story of God - Robert Winston

[Scepcop]

Part 1 of 18:



Description:

The Story of God (2005)

Episode 1:
"Life, the Universe and Everything . . ." (Parts 1-6)

Episode 2:
"No God but God" (Parts 7-12)

Episode 3:
"The God of the Gaps" (Parts 13-18)

Runtime: 02:56:27

Professor Robert Winston presents a definitive three-part documentary series from the BBC on the history of mankind's quest to understand the nature of God.

First aired in 2005, "The Story of God" is an epic journey across continents, cultures and eras exploring religious beliefs from their earliest incarnations through to the development of today's major world faiths.

Among many highlights, the series examines the roots of religious beliefs in prehistoric societies and the different ways in which humanity's sense of the divine developed. It takes a look at the divergence between religions that worship a range of deities and those that represent strict monotheism. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are explored in order to understand the ideas they share about God and the issues that divide them. The question as to why mankind started to believe in God at all is investigated, as is another question: If God really did create humanity, why does God allow humanity to suffer? Finally, the series examines how belief in God has been challenged by modern, secular ideas, even presenting a mathematical formula that can be used to calculate the probability of God's existence.

[Arouet]

I'm reading a good book on this topic:

The Evolution of God: http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-God-Rob ... 0316734918

[Twain Shakespeare]

This is my favorite book on the subject, Doubt, by Jennifer Hecht. I actually lent it to a friend as an intro to philosophy.

http://www.amazon.com/Doubt-Doubters-In ... 377&sr=8-1

[Craig Browning]

STOP PUTTING MORE BOOKS ON MY "TO DO" LIST!

[Arouet]

STOP PUTTING MORE BOOKS ON MY "TO DO" LIST!

lol, I know! my amazon wishlist is way too long! Especially since I'm usually so tired from work, kids, etc. that I do very little bookreading these days (much easier to multitask message boards!)

There's so much that I want to read, but I know I won't get to it. Course I keep buying books, reading a chapter then letting it gather dust!

[Craig Browning]

I hate to say it this way, but there is a reason why the Loo is known as "The Library" and why men tend to take so long when "relaxing"

[Scepcop]

Check out this clip from the film. In it, a scientist finds a gene that makes some people more spiritually inclined than others, but that doesn't make the experience any less real. Then you get to see a Creationist Museum being built.



Here Robert Winston explains to Richard Dawkins why absolute certainty on either end is not a good thing.



In this clip you will see how believers in a typical Church are brainwashed with fanaticism. Skeptics, how would you feel if you were there?

[Arouet]

Check out this clip from the film. In it, a scientist finds a gene that makes some people more spiritually inclined than others, but that doesn't make the experience any less real. Then you get to see a Creationist Museum being built.

You say that, but the fact that "spiritual" feelings can be brought about by our biology is telling. See also Michael Persinger's God Helmet, where by stimulating the brain with magnets, he can induce spiritual feelings. To me, this implies that these are internal bodily reactions. Sure the experience is real, and it may be awesome. But supernatural?

Here Robert Winston explains to Richard Dawkins why absolute certainty on either end is not a good thing.

Has Dawkins ever expressed absolute certainty of his views? I don't think so.

[Scepcop]

Check out this clip from the film. In it, a scientist finds a gene that makes some people more spiritually inclined than others, but that doesn't make the experience any less real. Then you get to see a Creationist Museum being built.

You say that, but the fact that "spiritual" feelings can be brought about by our biology is telling. See also Michael Persinger's God Helmet, where by stimulating the brain with magnets, he can induce spiritual feelings. To me, this implies that these are internal bodily reactions. Sure the experience is real, and it may be awesome. But supernatural?

Here Robert Winston explains to Richard Dawkins why absolute certainty on either end is not a good thing.

Has Dawkins ever expressed absolute certainty of his views? I don't think so.

Did you watch the clips? You can smell the rose and a scientist can explain how your brain recognizes the smell, but that doesn't make the experience or the rose any less real.

Dawkins says that it is a certainty that God doesn't exist.

Stop arguing basic facts.

[Arouet]

Did you watch the clips? You can smell the rose and a scientist can explain how your brain recognizes the smell, but that doesn't make the experience or the rose any less real.

I didn't say the experience wasn't real. I said that this was evidence towards the proposition that the experience was not supernatural in origin but originates from the body.

Dawkins says that it is a certainty that God doesn't exist.

Can you provide a reference for this? I've never heard him say that or read him say that.

Stop arguing basic facts.

These are hardly basic facts.