Life experience and the soul

I'd just like to point out that never once in my post did I write the word "all." Some people are going to find things like God important . . . and those people will engage in those pursuits. Have you ever considered where facts come from? Facts come from research and observation, which springs from curiosity. Why would you observe something if you weren't curious about it? That's not at all what I was implying. I said that humans are curious about all sorts of things, one of which is heaven. Once again, facts have to come from somewhere. Where no facts are present, people still get curious, which results in them doing research or making observations, and presto! they establish facts.

I was actually posing a rhetorical question to respond to your previous statement: But you're right, I failed to acknowledge the presence of the past objective evidence that cookies are likely to reside in the kitchen. Let me rephrase my point. If I have a closed box, the belief that some cookies are in the box and the belief that there are some goblins in the box both technically lack evidence. Obviously, cookies are more likely to be in the box because cookies exist elsewhere. But by your argument, one of these arguments is no more rational than any other, as they both have no support.I understand, and largely agree with, your assertion that there cannot be a "one true way" where unevidenced beliefs are concerned. Yet I disagree that all these beliefs are on common ground; some are obviously more far-fetched than others.

I'll let you have the final word on the facts, as you probably know much more about this area than me. But I disagree on the logic. Remember, correlation is not equivalent to causation. The cognitive process of rumination may correspond to people given to religious thought, but that does not necessarily mean the religious thought causes the rumination.

Agreed. But I in no way suggested that acting as if there is a heaven always gives comfort. In some people, it may cause discomfort, but my point is that it helps, not hurts, the majority of people. Eating dairy products causes abdominal pain, flatulence, and diarrhea in some people (lactose intolerance); does that mean that everyone should reject dairy products?