tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5057848876106210255.post7176923771847584367..comments2023-07-03T11:58:26.947+01:00Comments on Friendly Humanist: A perilous experiment?Timothy Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00373801153623991221noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5057848876106210255.post-35688985367734721812009-09-23T17:42:09.354+01:002009-09-23T17:42:09.354+01:00Interesting experiment. Of course, you've not ...Interesting experiment. Of course, you've not disproved that God exists. You've only proved that He/it didn't talk to you. Many who believe in God would expect exactly this sort of result from your experiment. Still... it was brave of you to give it a try. Shows faith in your convictions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5057848876106210255.post-44901690398396434242009-07-02T21:47:10.044+01:002009-07-02T21:47:10.044+01:00MH, you are quite right. In fact, several of the ...MH, you are quite right. In fact, several of the features of Mormon proselytizing quite neatly exploit certain weaknesses in the natural human reasoning and decision-making process. Another is the highly social nature of it. The two (American) missionaries always brought along a local church member when they visited us (different ones), so by the end of our meetings we already had several acquaintances at the church. Imagine the power of that on someone who occasionally feels socially isolated (a common-enough feeling, even among well-adjusted people).<br /><br />I certainly don't get the feeling, at least at the lower levels of the Mormon church, that any of these clever psychological tricks are actually used cynically. I think the people we met really do believe that praying over and over again, with the hope of hearing the voice of God, is a reliable way to come to an objective understanding of reality.<br /><br />By the way (this goes for anyone), as long as it is on-topic, don't be afraid to link to your own blog. There is an extended version of the above comment in a <a href="http://mtnhumanist.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/the-human-brain-a-fertile-place-for-prayer/" rel="nofollow">post on the Mountain Humanist blog</a>.Timothy Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00373801153623991221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5057848876106210255.post-80959939926063979962009-07-02T19:03:05.826+01:002009-07-02T19:03:05.826+01:00The reason the Mormons use this technique is based...The reason the Mormons use this technique is based on the idea (and my brain science is a little fuzzy here but I think I have the general idea) that the human brain will fill in the blanks if given an "assignment" absent any other stimulus (like "Brain, locate the voice of God"). <br /><br />We have evolved as creatures who use our intricate brains to fill in any gaps in our understanding almost automatically.<br /><br />Someone who is not as philosophically aware as the Friendly Humanist is bound to eventually feel a presence of hear a voice given all the positive reinforcements by the missionaries. From a technical standpoint, the Mormons have developed a pretty smooth tactic.<br /><br />The Mountain Humanist<br />mountainhumanist.wordpress.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com