Added two bits to "What Causes Religion and Superstitions?" by Vexen Crabtree (2011):

• Added a paragraph to section 2.2: Some sociologists explain religion - especially new religion, as a form of reactionism against the modern world. So, religious argumentation appeals because it helps justify a rejection of features of the modern world. Main (2002) describes one set of such reactions as "romanticism", where intuition, imagination and holistic-sounding ideas are espoused in opposition to the cold sciences and practicalities of life.
• I've added section 2.6 - Culture and Myth. This is about how many cultural and mythological beliefs are confused as being a deliberated religion.

 

• 4:13 PM
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I have:

• Updated "Religion in the United Kingdom: Diversity, Trends and Decline" by Vexen Crabtree(2007) with two bits of data: * Opening paragraph: Four in five Brits want religion to be private, not public, and to have no part in politics. * Section "belief in god": added another major poll that showed belief in God to be at 34-35% in Britain.
• Added a new section to "The Food Chain", 7. Fad Diets and Supplements: Shady Industries and Pseudoscience.
• Clarified the section on the major symbols of Satanism and reduce the number of them to four, moving others to the "Minor Symbols" section. "The Symbolism of Satanism" by Vexen Crabtree(2010)
• Added comments from al-Qaeda's Abu Yahya al-Libi who mockingly declared six easy methods that could be used to reduce extremism, to "Fundamentalism in Single-God Religions: Literalism, Intolerance and Sectarianism" by Vexen Crabtree(2003)
• Added a conclusion to "Religious Tolerance for Competing Ideas: Why is Monotheism Intolerant?" by Vexen Crabtree (2008) that rates tendency towards violence intolerance for each major type of religion.

• 5:47 AM
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I've updated "The Food Chain" by Vexen Crabtree (2007) with a positive little bit from The Economist on the state of GM in the world:"25 countries now grow GM crops, with the total area under cultivation now larger than Peru. Three-quarters of the farmland used to grow soya is now sown with a genetically modified variant, and the figures for cotton are not far behind. [...] Such stories of success will strike fear into some hearts [...] but lacking supporting evidence they have never been compelling. On safety, the fear which cuts closest to home, the record continues to look good."

• 2:37 AM
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I've added some text to "Christianity v. Astronomy: The Earth Orbits the Sun!" by Vexen Crabtree (2006).The context is those christians who for a long time refused to believe that the earth wasn't flat. St Augustine and Martin Luther both argued that no-one lived on the bottom side of the flat Earth because when Jesus appears in the sky, they wouldn't be able to see him and couldn't float up to be with him! So, I've added:The end of the world starts with the rapture, when approximately one in two men and one in two women will be raptured and taken into heaven, suddenly, by God (Matthew 24:40-41). 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says that first, the dead will rise to meet Jesus in the sky ('the air'). Then, the living will also float up to be with him forever. St Augustine and Martin Luther both argued that no-one lived on the bottom side of the flat Earth because when Jesus appears in the sky, they wouldn't be able to see him and couldn't float up to be with him.Crazy! Given that (as my page discusses) the ancients knew for a few hundreds years before that that the earth orbits the sun and wasn't flat, it is a real shame that the Christians held the truth back, with violence and oppression.

• 2:51 PM
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The trick is, to get as much of life as possible, in a balanced manner. Cheap thrills now, means failure later. Too much long-term planning, means too little enjoyment now. You must have both meaning in the things you do, that will last; and some fun. Find a balance. And don't waste time. Wasting time means poor enjoyment now, and failure later. Too much fun, and too much seriousness, will both lead to regret later on.

Think about stuff!

• 11:54 AM
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