In the
Physical Laws ....What if they were different before? thread, foreveryoung wrote:
That alternate reality still has the capability to interact with the physical reality today but chooses not so as not to make itself obvious. It did so in the past but mankind was much more willing to accept a reality beyond the physical in the past.
The following response would be off topic there, so I am proposing a new thread.
In the past mankind was very limited in his understanding of his surroundings, and felt powerless to affect his destiny. Because of this helplessness, any hope or chance of affecting his surroundings was eagerly seized upon, whether it was hunting magic, attempts to control the weather, solstice and equinox ceremonies, healing rituals or what have you.
And into this environment emerged the shamans (of all kinds) who opportunistically promised to fix things, to lure animals to the hunters, control the weather, provide the proper solstice and equinox ceremonies, heal the sick and so on. This is the origin of the "alternate realities" of which you write, brought to us by shamans.
But the slickest con ever perpetrated on mankind was the one put forth by those shamans promising eternal life. Without a shred of evidence that they could deliver what they promised, the shamans made glowing promises of eternal life--if only people would do as they directed. Not surprisingly, this involved payments to the shamans. But what choice did the victims have? They desperately wanted what the shamans claimed to be able to deliver, and the shamans were the only game in town. They still are.
Which brings to mind the following Heinlein quotes, that say much of what I have just said in a much more professional manner:
The profession of shaman has many advantages. It offers high status with a safe livelihood free of work in the dreary, sweaty sense. In most societies it offers legal privileges and immunities not granted to other men. But it is hard to see how a man who has been given a mandate from on High to spread tidings of joy to all mankind can be seriously interested in taking up a collection to pay his salary; it causes one to suspect that the shaman is on the moral level of any other con man. But it is a lovely work if you can stomach it. Time enough for Love, 1973
The most preposterous notion that H. sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least productive industry in all history. Time enough for Love, 1973
In any other field of human endeavor such behavior would end up with the ones making those grandiose promises in jail or worse. Only in the realm of religion do the shamans (of all kinds) get a free pass to make the most outrageous promises, and profit thereby, while providing no evidence that they can deliver on their promises.
But there is hope: as our knowledge of our surroundings grows through science and rationality, there will be less and less need for superstition, mythology, and shamanism. Mankind will grow up and learn to stand on his own two feet, accepting reality courageously and without the need of shamans and their empty promises.
Edited by Coyote, : New title
Religious belief does not constitute scientific evidence, nor does it convey scientific knowledge.
™ Version 4.2
