Study Proves That You Can Offend Everyone – Too Funny

So this is just begging me to write about it. The headline alone jump started my brain. Oh Oh Oh it is too good!

University of Toronto and York University Scientists have found that “Religious” people have less anxiety in stressful situations but a little more difficulty solving a problem – compared to people who do not believe in God. And they did it all by a series of questions on Questionnaires as the study participants had electrodes attached to their person.

The piece was written/prepared by Omar El Akkad in yesterday’s Globe and Mail newspaper.

Quoting Omar…
"[Religious people] were much less anxious and stressed when they made an error," said Michael Inzlicht, an assistant psychology professor at the University of Toronto and a co-author of the study. "I don't think this has to do with fundamentalism, it's something deeper - religion provides meaning in peoples' lives."

“But Prof. Inzlicht said that while a low level of anxiety can boost performance, it also functions as a sort of "alarm bell," and too little activity in that part of the brain can hurt the ability to correct mistakes.” End quote… Thanks Omar.

As a “Professional Religious Person” you just have to believe that I will react. If I was a pastor now – I could feel a sermon illustration coming on – for now a Blog Posting works.

“Religion and Religious” is what Ministers of Religion do – we are “Professional Religious Persons” – PRPs. We have spent our whole working career doing this – telling people about God and helping them strengthen their belief in God.

Taking the University study a bit further as a “PRP” I sum it up this way… people that have a belief in God, praying, reading and walking with God – tend to be very cool during tough and much pressured situations. Yet when it comes to coming up with an answer they are slow to produce. Silly enough – through faith they believe God will! DUH!

As a “PRP” I have been saying this for ages. Take a look at Moses for example, Prince/Shepherd Leader with a major speech impediment led about three million people out of Egypt, into a desert and kept them walking for 40 years with sand in almost everything they had. Pressure you betcha! The part where he has all of these people watching him at the edge of the water too deep to swim over… and most people couldn’t swim anyway and there was no time to teach people the “Red Cross Quick Swim Lessons for Three Million People”… the entire Egyptian army was close enough that they could hear the hoof beats of their horses coming.

Pressure on religious leadership is pretty much as high as you could get at that stage. God talks to him… or somebody did… and made some big promises… told him what to do… “slap the old coat on the water trick”… he did what was said to be done… and he walked across the DRY SEA BED… and watched the water swallow up the entire army behind them. Talk about a Good Movie!

If Moses is not good enough for an example… check out three Hebrew Youth and the time the Big Dude King had them thrown in the Furnace that was so hot that it killed the ones stoking the fire. And the Kids didn't burn up!

If that wasn’t enough of a test – look at Daniel an his leadership skills – they checked him out with a Lion’s Den Experience – you know one night stay in a pit with a bunch of hungry lions… and no kidding – he came out alive.

But the University Profs couldn’t do these tests today in that they would be in trouble with Child Abuse people.... Animal Rights groups – i.e. hungry lions in a whole in the ground… and Water Pollution folk from the EPA would be having a fit about people walking on the dry sea bed and leaving their garbage behind… and even foot prints on the sea bed… and the problem as a result of a whole army drowning… well the Anti Terrorist folk would be going nutso…

So the U of T and YU folk settled for electrodes and questions. Okay? I can accept that.

But Omar did a “side slide” on me in his article… he contacted Pat O’Brien, the Non God Representative of the Humanists Canada, a “professional non religious person” – a “PNRP” that had to say something…

Quoting Omar again... who quoted Pat… the PNRP…
Pat O'Brien, president of Humanist Canada, could not comment specifically because he had not seen the study, but said he has heard about others that correlate religious belief with well being. Such studies, he added, still don't answer a fundamental question.

"It probably still doesn't answer the question of whether there's a God or not," he said. "[Even] Santa Claus can make you feel good." End quote…

So for the fun of it I looked at Pat O’Brien’s Humanist Canada Web Site. Tada – Perfect timing for them… on January 30, 2009 it was announced that the CH folk would be starting their new ad campaign telling people that “You can be good without God”.(every Big Time TV Evangelist knows that!)
Quote…
Toronto, ON, January 30, 2009 –This is the message Humanist Canada plans to put on bus terminals and in subway stations in the next few weeks. “We want people to know that belief in a god is not necessary to live a full, moral and happy life. Humanists embody this concept every day”, says Humanist Canada president and spokesperson Pat O’Brien.

For too long, religion has assumed the authority of moral teacher and the Humanists are here to say that the teachings of progressive thinkers, such as philosophers Epicurus, Baruch de Spinoza, Bertrand Russell and Noam Chomsky, physicists such as Albert Einstein and Steven Weinberg, and other freethinking individuals are just as good, or even better, than many of the teachings of religion.

The “Good Without God” transit campaign was created to reach out to non-believers everywhere that there is an organization that will protect their rights, values, and the separation of religion and state.

“We are not interested in telling people to discard their faith. We are interested in educating people about facts and the values of Humanism and encouraging them make up their own minds.” adds O’Brien. End Quote..

PRP and PNRP going head to head… both needing money… both wanting donations… Hmmm… who do you believe?

No wonder people are a little confused.

One final Lab Test that is sure to find the answer… it happens just before the “Long Dirt Nap” – LDN for short. And all the PRP and PNRP and the CP (confused people) and the BP (believing people) will all take it…. Two things will happen… and it always does…
1.) They pray or don’t pray at the every end – I have been there often and watched both take place…
2.) One of two statements are made somewhere – just seconds after they depart the old body… there is one of two very loud statements made when they arrive… “I knew it!” is one… and the other is “Ooops!”

But that is my very personal take on it all as a PRP. Pat O’Brien has a very different opinion and I respect that.

Musings…
The thoughts will not stop now… the Hindus who believe in a host of Gods.. must be the most relaxed people going and the slowest to solve any problem – based on the U of T and YU guys studies… but that is another blog some day…

And Pat O’Brien would likely get a very interesting reaction in Pakistan, or Iran or Iraq or Saudi Arabia… just try posting an Ad at a Bus Stop or Subway Station in their countries…. He might get up one poster….but only one and he would be pasting them himself…. hmmm

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com

Source:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090305.wbrains05/BNStory/Science/home
http://www.humanistcanada.com/humanist-bus/