One can acknowledge the possiblity of something but still be inclined to disagree with it.

I just remembered that it was The Rabbi, sorry my mistake.

I think Clifford is the closest one to explaining it plain and simple, don't be scared.

Just because your smallest parts are arranged in a different way than any old rock outside, doesn't make it magically different.

Judging from the information on this site, I don't know how credible it is since I just stumbled on it today, I say that scientifically minded people have a harder time believing in religion. This has to do with the superior activation of their prefontal cortex which is highly developed in them which is what makes them smart. The temporal lobes which religious people get highly actiavated is impeded by the activation of the Prefontal cortex. That is why scientifically minded people tend not to be religious.

http://neuropolitics.org/defaultoct06.asp

" IQ and Cult Membership

Cult membership is obviously providing some sort of neurological "reward" or psychological payoff, which it does by combining the human neurological wiring for social interaction with hyperactive small group behavior. This provides a high level of excitement for a new cult member, with a substantial increase in demand for neural resources devoted to social cognition and relationship management.

But a few things are happening to the new cult member during this explosion of small group relationships, one of which seems to be a inhibition of the prefrontal cortex in personal decision-making. One of the things noticed in the study of ex-cult members was their progressive improvement in IQ scores as they transition from cult membership back into secular society.

The decline of conventional IQ scores among cult members is related to both their increased load of new social relationships and the corresponding demands to coordinate their cognition with the cult members. Small isolated groups have greater requirements for cognitive coordination, and a new cult member's brain seems to be limiting prefrontal cortical activity in favor of temporal cortical activity, which was most likely already elevated prior to joining the cult. Outside of the medial portion, the prefrontal cortex does a very poor job of coordinating beliefs with others.

As we have discussed previously in Who Killed JFK, the left temporal lobe is the center for the phenomenon of belief-bias, which is the brain's center for the maintenance of beliefs in the face of contradictory information. This is also the primary religious area of the brain. In contrast, the right lateral prefrontal cortex seems to be the major anti-religious locus of neural activity, and the primary reason why the "right-brained" Liberals are less religious than the "left-brained" Conservatives.

But the persistence of belief-bias in human cognition has at least two evolutionary advantages. The first is to promote self-interest. Almost as importantly, it facilitates the formation and stabilization of social groups. In short, humans have evolved to coordinate their beliefs in order to facilitate the functioning of their social groups, and the left temporal cortex is the primary neural locus of the continuity of those socially-managed beliefs.

The drain on human cognition placed by small isolated social groups, such as cults, takes resources away from non-social cognition. The development of urban and suburban social lifestyles have the added benefit of reducing the cognitive demands of tightly organized small groups, and allows the diversion of neural resources into non-social cognition, spurring the development of science and technology. "

What evidence?

For the same reason we assume that when storms dissipate they do not continue to "live on" in another dimension/form. There is not enough evidence of any soul or mechanism in which the thunder storm I saw last week could exist after it has physically dissipated. This is just like that there is not enough proof of any way afterlife.

We are, as far as we can prove, physical beings. And when the physical processes through which we maintain consciousness stop there is not enough significant evidence to support we continue nor is there any real logical reason to think we do.

It’s been years since I have studied physics as I am a designer at heart, but I remember being taught that energy can not be created or destroyed, it simply changes form. From that, I gathered that what people call our ‘soul’ is all of the energy that is contained within our physical state, and thus our soul can never die, it just changes form, and when our physical self dies, our soul carries on living as a different energy form, i.e. stored energy in nutrients as we rot and such. So that we are still alive in a sense, on a completely different plane of existence and the way we experience reality and the universe is completely different. Sorry if that sounded like a ramble, It’s hard to explain.

Please feel free to correct everything that is wrong with what I have just said.

So the chemical energy stored in our fat and other sources is somehow linked to our experiences? And then that energy magically, without leaving detectable signs, leaves and gos off to another dimension?

I for one would say that. I think that string theory will no longer be seriously considered in 50 years. Also, it may one day be testable, whereas the existence of God will probably never be verifiable.

This shows that you can take the need for evidence too far. Faith is like salt: a pinch of it may be good, but that doesn't mean you should swallow handfuls of it!

As long as a religion doesn't try to impose their beliefs/world view on others, I'm fine with it. They can believe in whatever they want if it improves their lives, and doesn't negatively impact mine. The problem is people who have too much faith in faith; people who (for example) are unable to even entertain the possibility that they are incorrect in believing they'll get dozens of virgins after death if they kill non-believers.