Who/what do you turn to for support/explanations in times like these?-the God of your choice, scientists, family, the man in the moon, no one?

I believe a higher power/Creator/Mother Nature placed us in a universe that consistently follows natural and physical laws. We were given the brains to develop scientific and mathematical tools to understand those laws, the language skills to pass that information on to others, and the ability to recognize patterns so we can predict the future based on past events.

Current scientific modeling tells us that if we do not practice social distancing and frequent hand washing, this is going to get a lot worse. That includes avoiding gatherings. Like churches on Easter Sunday, for instance.

I often wonder why people refuse to place faith in the tools God gave us, preferring to follow charlatan preachers or lying political leaders who ignore science and bend truths to suit their own agendas.

Will we have the faith to learn and remember the lessons being taught by this virus? I certainly hope so.
 

raybar said:
This may boil down to the definitions of words.

I define faith as belief without evidence. Of that, I have none.

Where there is evidence, I have varying degrees of confidence that the conclusions based on that evidence are correct depending on how solid the evidence seems to be.

In your two examples, the sun rising and death, there is plenty of evidence. The sun has risen every day for all people all over the world throughout all of history. And every person who was ever born has died (except those currently living, all of whom were born within the last century or so). So I have confidence, based on the absence of even a single counter-example, that the sun will rise tomorrow and that I will die someday.
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Well, Pepper spilled the beans, 🤣. The sun won’t rise tomorrow, your evidence was wrong.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Well, Pepper spilled the beans, 🤣. The sun won’t rise tomorrow, your evidence was wrong.
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No. Raybar is still right, IMO. He did say: "This may boil down to the definitions of words." and it was You who chose the example of the sun rising; Raybar was following your example. I merely showed that he shouldn't have.
 

Pepper said:
No. Raybar is still right, IMO. He did say: "This may boil down to the definitions of words." and it was You who chose the example of the sun rising; Raybar was following your example. I merely showed that he shouldn't have.
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It’s all good. He can be right. I just enjoy talking to people, but you are right, he should have checked his evidence. That’s the problem with evidence, he had faith/trust in the evidence of rising sun. So, IMO, he is not without faith which is what we were really talking about.
 
Aneeda72 said:
So, IMO, he is not without faith which is what we were really talking about.
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I believe you are misquoting him. Also, I should not have said 'right' although I did add IMO, so I shouldn't be too hard on myself. Sigh. Going nuts once, twice, three times.....................Sold 🤪
 
Aneeda72 said:
And that is interesting as well, as AIDS is totally avoidable, like many other illnesses, if only we, the human race, would listen. (Correct me if I’m wrong.)
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Dysentery and malaria are highly preventable as well. The problem is that all three kill poor people in Asia, Africa and Latin America, so they don't get as much attention as they might otherwise.
 
Pepper said:
I believe you are misquoting him. Also, I should not have said 'right' although I did add IMO, so I shouldn't be too hard on myself. Sigh. Going nuts once, twice, three times.....................Sold 🤪
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I‘ll confess to it all, I am catholic after all 🤪🤣
 
ROFLOL!!! What door have you opened? This should go well.....like a train wreck. 😂
As a non believer & atheist, in times like these, I am amused & entertained by discussions like these. :giggle:
 
I see confusion here, people seeking answers.
Those of us on this site have no answer.

We are kind, gentle people SEE JIM BOB post # 11,
then repeat we are kind and gentle people.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Well, Pepper spilled the beans, 🤣. The sun won’t rise tomorrow, your evidence was wrong.
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Well . . . I just went along with your initial phrasing. I hope we all know that the apparent rising of the sun is really due to the earth's rotation. It looks like the sun is rising, and saying that it's rising is the standard thing to say in English. I have never heard anyone say anything like "when the earth's rotation brought the sun into view this morning ..." outside of a physics lesson.
 
fmdog44 said:
What I don't get about this forum is the refusal to allow political crap yet permitting religious crap. Both smell.
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Stuck indoors this form of social interaction is safe and for sure is way past the guideline of 6ft. space between posters.
 
Wow - another thread like the one that I started and then wanted to shut down - So, as happened in mine, I'll join the off-topic crowd and just say that "horizon sinks" doesn't sound as nice as "sun rises."
 
Maybe I'm crazy, but...

I don't see any problem with having "faith" (which I define as belief in some sort of higher power, plus a belief that humans have a purpose and are not just a biological/evolutionary accident) and also acknowledging that the universe operates by its own rules, which we call science.

God is not going to intervene in the COVID-19 crisis. Even if God exists, it's clear that our well-being on the planet is up to us. After that, who knows.
Pecos said:
Well, first I am going to have a good cup of coffee in the morning light of our sunroom while I try to get my own head straight. There is much that I will simply never understand, and my role may just be that of giving help where I can.
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"Giving help where I can" just about sums it up. My wife does a great job of this. I'm trying to learn how to do more.
 
raybar said:
Well . . . I just went along with your initial phrasing. I hope we all know that the apparent rising of the sun is really due to the earth's rotation. It looks like the sun is rising, and saying that it's rising is the standard thing to say in English. I have never heard anyone say anything like "when the earth's rotation brought the sun into view this morning ..." outside of a physics lesson.
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Well, ray, as you may remember (sssh!) 🤫 my son graduated with a degree in Physics from MIT and I refer to his knowledge in many things.
 
Empty said:
Wow - another thread like the one that I started and then wanted to shut down - So, as happened in mine, I'll join the off-topic crowd and just say that "horizon sinks" doesn't sound as nice as "sun rises."
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Actually it’s a bit different. More of a question on who your support system is during this time. A support system could even include your favorite pet. Pets listen to us without judgement which is a nice change of pace.
 
Pepper said:
The last thing it would be is fun. It would be passionate anger. It would destroy this group. It's easy to tell who here is for what, but in not actually discussing it we can concentrate on the things we do "like" about each other instead of what we hate about each other.
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I really am not a passionate person and I find humor in most things. It always amazes me when someone gets angry over someone’s else’s opinion. Opinions are neither right or wrong they are just someones point of view as they understand the facts and apply those facts to their situation.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Actually it’s a bit different. More of a question on who your support system is during this time. A support system could even include your favorite pet. Pets listen to us without judgement which is a nice change of pace.
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I just thought you were very brave! And, I really miss the love-looks that I received from my dog... never saw that in human eyes.
 
Empty said:
I just thought you were very brave! And, I really miss the love-looks that I received from my dog... never saw that in human eyes.
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Oh, I’m brave, you know, because the whole sticks and stones thing, tar and feathering thing, and those that live in glasses houses thing cannot affect me as this is blog and not an in person town meeting. 😂

Even eating is a support mechanism. As an uncontrolled diabetic, I should not be eating sugar-candy. But I’m not going to heaven or hell (please not hell, I dislike hot weather) without a piece of candy.
 

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