Tag Archives: psychology of religion

Bible Stories Fit Common Patterns of Magic and Wizardry

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Part 3 of a 7-Part Series – Why People Believe in Miracles and Other Kinds of Magic One person’s religion is another person’s magic and vice versa. — Unknown (Read Part 2 here.) The Bible is full of magic. In … Continue reading

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From Your Mouth to God’s Ear—How We Jump from Wishing to Believing

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Part 2 of a 7-Part Series – Why People Believe in Miracles and Other Kinds of Magic Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. –Arthur C. Clarke (Read Part 1 here.) Human beings have told stories about miracles and … Continue reading

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Miracles are Magic by Another Name

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Part 1 of a 7-Part Series — Why People Believe in Miracles and Other Kinds of Magic If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a … Continue reading

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What the unborn and the undead have in common

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Religious opposition to abortion is based on a kind of magical thinking much like that in zombie stories. One freakish thing about zombies is that they look like people even though they aren’t. What does it mean to be a … Continue reading

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Can Bacteria Help Us Understand Religion? Part 4: Religion – Symbiote or Parasite?

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Missed Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3?   Given that our world is plagued by religious conflict and cruelties, some antitheists have suggested that religion as a whole is a form of pathology. But as worried and angry as we … Continue reading

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