Here's what I'll never get: people who do things "because god told them" (or whatever deity) that they would never do is that person were physically present.
If I said, "Hey, guys, let's go burn that place to the ground and kill the people inside," I hope most people would be horrified. But if i say that I have a feeling that someone they've never met said it, they think it's a great idea.
I was talking about the former example. If I could blow stuff/cities/families/seas/etc up with my mind, convincing people to do what I want would be relatively easy.
I'm not so sure... Law enforcement, the military, these entities fit the 'blow up' (or at least make life miserable) criteria, but they seem to fail at easily convincing people to do what they want.
My understanding is the gods are currently engaged in some sort of soccer-like game. Sure, they could pick up the ball or indeed teleport it directly between the appropriate goalposts, but there are rules.
Except I see no mention of an invisible friend in the story. There's the visible friend, the 'psychic' that told them to do it, but no invisible being mentioned, just the invisible powers of the visible friend. Said invisble powers are stupid and crazy, but I would exactly call them a religion. Just a delusion.
Exactly my point. Probably a) your friends bob is a loon or b) you just misunderstood. If I believe that your friend bob really IS omnipotent, then the latter seems very likely.
Also, there's no reason that your friend Bob can't be an omnipotent asshole with bad ideas.
If God is omnipotent, why does He ask people to do stuff like this? Either a) because He's not actually omnipotent, or b) He likes fucking with people.
True, but of course THEY are not omnipotent. I mean, I even believe in gods and I think their logic sucks. Let's say (cause it's true) that I believe that gods exist. That's all well and good, but I also believe that I'm a flawed person who doesn't know hardly anything about them. So if I think that the gods are telling me to take a dump on the salad bar at Wendy's or burn down a daycare, odds are pretty good I'm getting the message wrong.
What if "that place" contained a group of Moonies who were raising giant flesh-eating cockroaches (or at least that's what Jimbo said they were)? And what if your cousin, who liked to pick wildflowers near "that place", had gone missing...
And what if they were SPACE ALIENS who had GIVEN YOUR DOG BRAIN CANCER and MADE YOUR KARMA ALL STICKY, HUH? What THEN?
Crazy is crazy. Murder is bad. Murder in the name of crazy is an inevitable result of religion, and is one of the many reasons why religion is inherently bad.
Of course crazy is crazy and murder is bad. My point is it's easier for regular folk to mob up and do inherently bad actions when the target is an outsider who does weird stuff.
That is almost always true. In the end this was probably less about superstition and more about the people inside being different and the locals being afraid. These sorts of things generally come down to fear of the unknown.
For example, a good tactic when dealing with the hypothetical moonies might have been to ... you know ... ask them. Maybe get a look at the cockroaches. And if it still seems off, you call the cops. Or, hell, call the ghost of Steve irwin for all i care. But killing people is not a logical reaction unless you're fighting for your life and they were not.
More important than a climate of fear, I think that the villagers were responding to authority (in the form of the 'psychic') and social support, along the lines of the Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment.
If I really did suspect the Moonies, I'd call the cops first. Then I might suspect the cops of being in cahoots with the Moonies. But really, it's all too rediculous and I think I'm not 'crazy' enough to suspect the Moonies to begin with.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-08 11:01 pm (UTC)If I said, "Hey, guys, let's go burn that place to the ground and kill the people inside," I hope most people would be horrified. But if i say that I have a feeling that someone they've never met said it, they think it's a great idea.
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Date: 2010-09-08 11:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-09-09 03:52 pm (UTC)The only difference is that the priest's delusion/fakery is more common, and somehow more acceptable.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-09 12:27 pm (UTC)Also, there's no reason that your friend Bob can't be an omnipotent asshole with bad ideas.
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Date: 2010-09-09 02:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-09-09 12:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-08 11:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-08 11:16 pm (UTC)Crazy is crazy. Murder is bad. Murder in the name of crazy is an inevitable result of religion, and is one of the many reasons why religion is inherently bad.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-08 11:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-09 08:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-09 12:26 pm (UTC)For example, a good tactic when dealing with the hypothetical moonies might have been to ... you know ... ask them. Maybe get a look at the cockroaches. And if it still seems off, you call the cops. Or, hell, call the ghost of Steve irwin for all i care. But killing people is not a logical reaction unless you're fighting for your life and they were not.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-09 06:34 pm (UTC)If I really did suspect the Moonies, I'd call the cops first. Then I might suspect the cops of being in cahoots with the Moonies. But really, it's all too rediculous and I think I'm not 'crazy' enough to suspect the Moonies to begin with.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-09 12:23 pm (UTC)