Symbols of Salvation
Pedro Perez is poor. A 40-year old factory worker, his salary is barely enough to feed his five children — let alone send them to school — and his wife has one more on the way.
But he has hope. Kneeling in front of a tiny TV, he waits, holding in his hands the symbols of his salvation — a lottery ticket on the left hand, a rosary on the right.
Our hypothetical hero, however poorly I’ve caricatured him, is not alone. With the jackpot reaching a record P348 million, millions of Filipinos have been flocking to PCSO lotto outlets for weeks.
And every Sunday, especially on that fateful Sunday when the winning number would be revealed, Pedro joined his flock, fervently praying in church that his ticket be blessed, instead of the tickets of those praying beside him.
Because for millions like Pedro, pious and poor, the only solution that can save them is a miracle. And who better to create a miracle than the Creator? What better miracle than turning one piece of paper into millions of Pesos?
As the lottery TV show starts, Pedro tightens his grip on the ticket and rosary. In their fight against poverty, these weapons are more related than we realize.
The Improbable and the Unprovable
To bet on a ticket, Pedro pays ten pesos, and once a week waits in line for a piece of white paper.
To bet on Pascal’s Wager, Pedro tithes ten percent, and once a week waits in line for a piece of white wafer. (Of course, faith and obedience are requirements, too. But the same can be said for the lottery, especially for those who believe that faith and obedience increase the probability of winning.)
Yet with these infinitesimal investments the payoffs are infinitely big. The February 22 prize was 34.7 million times larger than the price of a lotto ticket. Similarly, an infinity in Heaven is, infinitely longer — and more livable — than a lifetime lived in pious poverty.
But in both cases, the probability of winning is depressingly low (though ignorant and always hopeful, pious Pedro is rarely depressed). To win the 6/49 Super Lotto jackpot for sure, he needs to buy 14 million tickets; to win the 6/45 Mega Lotto jackpot, 8.1 million; the 6/42 Lotto jackpot, 5.3 million. Pedro’s friends who realized this play jueting instead, where the probability of getting the right combination is just 1 in 666 (though I’m sure knowing this number many of them would be turned off).
Yet however low these odds are, Pedro could still win the lottery. With more than 1,300 Filipinos who’ve won since 1995, there is proof. Which is a lot more than can be said for the existence of a supernatural being. The probability of the already complex universe being created by an infinitely more complex creator is infinitely low. Besides, if there were proof, Pedro wouldn’t need faith.
Lottery Players and Rosary Prayers
In spite of all this, millions of people around the world still play the lottery, and billions still believe in God. And just like lottery and religion, these people have a lot in common.
In 1999, four professors in Duke University authored a study on the demographics of lottery players. They found that the highest lottery spenders were the lowest paid and least educated.
In 2003, the United Nations’ Report on the World Social Situation revealed that 39 of the 40 poorest nations, and the 35 most illiterate nations (in terms of youth illiteracy) are more religious than their wealthier and more literate counterparts.
In his study, “Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns,” Phil Zuckerman concluded that nations with high organic atheism (atheism freely chosen) are more likely to have healthy societies, indicated by low poverty rates, high per capita income, low illiteracy rates and high educational attainment (not to mention low homicide rates and high gender equality).
However, Zuckerman reminds readers that these findings don’t necessarily prove that religion causes societal ills, nor does atheism cause societal health. Rather, healthy societies are attracted to atheism while unhealthy societies turn to religion.
Yet although there is no proof that religion and the lottery make people poor and uneducated, some evidence suggests that it keeps them that way.
So how has Pedro been kept poor by lottery and religion?
Victims of a Vicious Cycle
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon found that people who were made to feel poorer buy more lottery tickets. They noted that “lotteries set off a vicious cycle that not only exploits low-income individuals’ desires to escape poverty but also directly prevents them from improving upon their financial situations.”
With only elementary education, Pedro cannot get a job that pays enough to support his wife and five children. And with the recent hit to the global economy, the situation is only getting worse. So instead of saving the little money he has left, Pedro spends it on the lottery, his last “Hail Mary,” as David Just calls it.
“This is not something they do for fun,” says Just, an associate professor of economics at Cornell University. “It’s ‘If I don’t do this, I have no chance of ever pulling out from where I am’.”
So Pedro continues to spend on tickets, which makes him poorer, and thus more likely to spend on and rely on tickets, all the while keeping him from doing something truly worthwhile — thus, the vicious cycle.
But why doesn’t Pedro just get out? The simple answer: he does not know what he’s gotten into. Because pious Pedro’s faith has kept this truth from being revealed to him.
In two recent studies led by Assistant Psychology Professor Michael Inzlicht, researchers found that believers are “less likely to feel anxious about making errors.”
“Obviously, anxiety can be negative because if you have too much, you’re paralyzed with fear,” says Inzlicht. “However, it also serves a very useful function in that it alerts us when we’re making mistakes. If you don’t experience anxiety when you make an error, what impetus do you have to change or improve your behaviour so you don’t make the same mistakes again and again?”
But even if Pedro could find out, getting out of this trap would be torture. Imagine continually betting on one combination most of your life, suddenly stopping, only for your lucky number to win the jackpot the following day. Such a cruel fate would make life a living Hell for anyone. And for people who believe in Pascal’s Wager, not playing for a chance at Heaven could also be Hell — literally.
Thus, Pedro is doomed to live his life the way he always has, pious and poor, underpaid and uneducated, but always faithful, always hopeful. Unless of course his God answers his prayers and he wins the lottery.
But tonight, like many nights before this, he does not win. He crumples the lottery ticket, lets it go, and holds the rosary solemnly with both hands.
Pedro bows his head, crosses himself, and prays:
“Lord,
I know I’m not worthy,
with sin I am weak,
But if it’s in your will,
please let me win next week.
Amen.”
Popularity: 1% [?]
Kawawang Pedro. Utterly imprisoned in poverty by a mind filled with rubbish by his own culture.
this is exactly the result of unemployment and lack of options and opportunities. Our culture is wonderful but the people in charge to maintain it are corrupt.
Poor Pedro, his ignorance has been taken advantage by another ignorant of the worst kind- the officialdom. Philippines is a country managed by a team of confused, obsolete with backward mentality of governance. Pedro will never win a lotto and he will never find a new job that will pay him higher to feed his children.
There’s no one except GOD who will represent Pedro as his agent. There’s no employment, no unemployment benefits, no social benefits for his children , healthcare benefits except free burial benefits :) itapon benefits…
The wonderful culture of hope is taken for granted. That to me is the lack of ethics, values and moral conduct in public service. Our foundation of being hardworking, adaptable, and friendly are considered non skilled by officialdom. Therefore Pedro will never find options within his own environment. He doesn’t an agent or a recruiter for real change.
A fact-filled narrative of misplaced religiosity fed by rampant poverty of the mind and stomach. On a more serious note, freethought will not aid anyone in winning the lottery jackpot, but it will certainly help in deciding to moneyed the Church or not. No need to bet, the author knows how to deliver the goods. Nice work Ryan Tani!
fact-filled narrative? There is no Pedro Perez.
Pedro Perez did not get the jackpot because Mang Pandoy won it. Common guys ten pesos is not so much for one to dream to change one’s station in life.
Even intelligent millionaires get Ponzied by a smarter chap like Madoff.:)
The problem is people like Pedro don’t do this just to dream — they believe it’s a valid investment, a wise one they can count on.
there is a Pedro Perez in each and everyone of us. :O)
Ryan,
Firstly, a warm welcome to FV. I hope your have a deep reservoir of lamig ng ulo ang good humor.
Thank you for the links as they help deepen the understanding for the issue and where you are coming from.
Mabuhay ka sir. :)
Hi Ding,
Thanks for the tips and especially the warm welcome :)
Had no idea you guys wake up so early (or sleep so late) :D
Hey Ryan, real gem of a piece there! It so succinctly describes the Filipino’s only semblance of a collective investment strategy. Great stuff. :)
Jueteng, lotto, other lotteries – all these are presented in their best light – as having sprung out Pedros and more of them from abject poverty.
Unfortunately, these gambling machines or schemes of fraud are legalized and not even CBCP is inclined to raise the big howl of protest, why is that?
Is it so because they also receive monies from these fund-raising projects of government (euphemism for immorality, etc.)?
Pedro has been dead for so long now…juan de la cruz is also dying.
Everyone is strugling…except the politicians and govt officials hahaha
everyone is corrupt in the Govt. From the top guy to the security guards. The top guy is collecting millions, while the security guard is picking up coins pangyosi or pamasahe or panginum.
pero malapit na election…pwede na uli kumita ang botante..galing kay sir politician..100 lang jan para sa ikamamatay ng pamilya hahahaha
the “probability” that the universe was created by a creator is “infinitely low”? balderdash! what is your basis for that unmitigated pretension?
one thing that separates humanity from all other creatures in this world is the ability to hope and believe. even alleged “atheists” hope and believe every waking moments of their lives – they just deny doing them.
Lottery (and religion) is also a big thing here in Singapore.
“the “probability” that the universe was created by a creator is “infinitely low”? balderdash! what is your basis for that unmitigated pretension?”
And where is your basis for yours? :))
“one thing that separates humanity from all other creatures in this world is the ability to hope and believe. even alleged “atheists” hope and believe every waking moments of their lives – they just deny doing them.”
And therefore god exists! :))
missed it again, missingpoint. ask the poster, it’s his assertion, not mine.
that’s right. God exists and i never waver in that belief. got any problem with that?
Damaso lives! He runs Pagcor.
Nice one, Red!
Bencard,
there is an infinitely low probability that Pedro worships the God you imagine: aloof, distant, infinite, cerebral, untouchable. He prays to the God of Chance, who is blind, deaf and senseless. Your god, if he existed, would not be so cruel and insensitve to Pedro as you are for looking down on his god.
But I think his god is known to exist since SWS and Pulse Asia are his High Priests, while we have only your profession of faith in the altogether phantasmagorical hallucination of the Nicene Creed. Moreover, his Church produces many miracles every week, of varying degrees of incredibility, while yours puts on magic shows involving yeasty solids and liquids and the promise of rewards in the NEXT life.
@Red
you say “But why doesn’t Pedro just get out? The simple answer: he does not know what he’s gotten into. Because pious Pedro’s faith has kept this truth from being revealed to him.”
how does this conclusion come from the carnegie mellon paper findings?
here’s the abstract:
“Despite a return of only $.53 on the dollar, state lotteries are extremely popular, especially among the poor, who play the most but can least afford to play. In two experiments conducted with low-income participants, we examine how implicit comparisons with other income classes increase low-income individuals’ desire to play the lottery. In Experiment 1, participants were more likely to purchase lottery tickets when they were primed to perceive that their own income was low relative to an implicit standard. In Experiment 2, participants purchased more tickets when they considered situations in which rich people or poor people receive advantages, implicitly
highlighting the fact that everyone has an equal chance of winning the lottery.”
in what sense do you use ‘faith’? religious faith?
if so, that didn’t come from the study.
basically, the paper says:
1) lottery tickets are a bad investment (per USD1 cost, the return is .53 USD)
2) poor people buy more, they theorize, because of relative wealth considerations…
3) the poor, on average, get poorer (see [1]).
you suggest, its coz ” researchers found that believers are “less likely to feel anxious about making errors.””
but lowenstein, et al result makes no claim about anxiety of making errors.
i’m sorry, @Ryan pala…
@Bencard
You being proud of your irrationality is not my problem :)) Good luck with that though.
My neighbor, who’s a best friend, who owns 6 cars plays the lotto too, in bulk if the prize is good. He’s a fervent prayer also, but he upped the odds 2000% or more at times when the prize is right.
His God was kind to him two times already.
Congrats for “introducing” a “new” form to FV blog posts! An article that is supposedly evidence-based, replete with scientific studies to back up assertions. But do they exactly back up your assertions?
Just some heads up though on your flow of presentation:
“Yet although there is no proof that religion and the lottery make people poor and uneducated, some evidence suggests that it keeps them that way.
So how has Pedro been kept poor by lottery and religion?”
I’d say the “proof” that religion makes poor and uneducated is not presented. And no, it is not even “suggested”. There are missing hypothesis/es to bridge your premise to your conclusion.
This one study: Brain Differences Found Between Believers In God And Non-believers is left “hanging” or is lost in your exposition. Where do the lottery-crazy folks fit in there? And where does poverty? And anxiety (that you seem to linked to being more “aware” of making better decisions next time whereas, relaxation as one benefits of religion gives Pedro no room for being more “aware” of one’s situation)?
Lots of concepts, unproven hypotheses lost in translation ika nga. You presented some evidence for your your premise, but your conclusion/s is lacking in proof or evidence.
Ryan,
You are right about “anxiety”–it is embodied in the old PCSO slogan: “The winner never quits, the quitter never wins!”
Belief in God is a similar wager, Pascal’s version of which goes a long way to explaining why people Religion is a lot like the Lottery, and why people so closely associate the two.
It is a safer bet, Pascal says to believe in God, just in case it turns out he does exist!
Likewise if you don’t bet on the Lottery, you are sure not to win. But in case God does exist and does hear your prayer, you could win.
Thus the hope in winning the Lottery through God is even more vain than the belief in God’s existence, for God must further choose among many competing prayers, on top of having to first exist. The chances of God existing are greater than God existing and YOU winning over everybody else.
Go directly to the God of Chance, it’s a more direct appeal!
“Bencard,
there is an infinitely low probability that Pedro worships the God you imagine: aloof, distant, infinite, cerebral, untouchable…”
Ouch. How the GP going DJB?
@DJB on March 12th, 2009 3:36 pm
quick question:
aren’t u forgetting that pascal’s wager is interesting not just coz there no downside risk, there is no cost as well to having faith.
do you believe there is a ‘cost’ to having faith? how?
the ‘cost’ to having faith is when one drink the herb instead of the antibiotics; one might die. just me.
@Bert on March 12th, 2009 4:28 pm
drink the herb, meaning faith means some actions must be done, say, in a certain religion?
correct me if i a wrong, but isn’t pascal’s wager indifferent to any specific religion.
his idea is faith alone. we don’t need to follow up with action…
Well, we really don’t have to complicate this, guys.
Whether its Pedro or Madoff, rich man or poor man, etc. they are praying to Mammon, the god of material wealth and avarice.
GabbyD,
The “cost of faith” is that you give up on the opportunity to live this life as if it were the only one you have!
GabbyD,
I think that means, if you have faith and believe in an after life, you will be more likely to be willing to live a mediocre, even self-absorbed life, in exchange for the expectation of glorious, blessed and eternal after life!
The poor will always be with us. It is a product
of the State who sponsors Lottery or Gambling.
And the Church, who promote Religion. That these
poor people pin their last hope for a Miracle
to better their condition.
It is a False Hope. But, it is better than none.
It is a tragedy because they spend their last
money for a wager.
God helps those who help themselves…
@ Gabby D,
The Carnegie Mellon study was meant to support the vicious cycle I described here:
“So Pedro continues to spend on tickets, which makes him poorer, and thus more likely to spend on and rely on tickets, all the while keeping him from doing something truly worthwhile — thus, the vicious cycle.”
The anxiety of making errors was not in their study but in two other studies I mentioned shortly after:
“In two recent studies led by Assistant Psychology Professor Michael Inzlicht, researchers found that believers are “less likely to feel anxious about making errors.”
Hope this clears things up. Btw, Red is fine :)
“My neighbor, who’s a best friend, who owns 6 cars plays the lotto too, in bulk if the prize is good. He’s a fervent prayer also, but he upped the odds 2000% or more at times when the prize is right.
His God was kind to him two times already.”
Hi Bert,
I’m not sure what your purpose is for saying this. Because giving an example of how God has helped someone who obviously does not need it anymore doesn’t exactly support your cause. What you have shown us is not God’s kindness but his neglect of millions who needed the money more.
And about your friend, if he is a fervent prayer, why did he have to up the odds by “2000% or more”? Seems quite unfaithful to me. Btw, how do you up the odds by 2000%? :)
@DJB
“Go directly to the God of Chance, it’s a more direct appeal!”
Good advice for all the Pedros out there :)
@red
hey, red…
i was making the point that the poor want to continue buying tickets NOT necessarily coz of faith in god, but rather from the mechanism lowenstein himself identified.
But you want to say more than that…
you want to link “less anxiety in making errors” to “continued buying of lotto tickets”
to make that link you need:
1) buying lotto tickets is an error
2) suppose it is an error, poor people are less anxious about it and buy lotto tickets anyways.
regarding (1), there is no evidence that it is irrational. one hypothesis is that they are buying a dream. for 50c to the dollar, thats not bad. note that lowenstein et al don’t make the claim they are irrational either.
even assuming (1), we still have a problem with (2) coz the link to faith is “less anxiety”… if lowenstien et al are right, then anxiety is the PUSH FACTOR that is driving them to buy lotto tickets (i.e. “i’m poor, i’m anxious about my social standing, then i’ll buy lotto tickets).
this is an equally valid interpretation.
therefore, if you believe what you wrote, you actually end up with the opposite conclusion: FAITH does not link to buying lotto tickets.
if you want to link faith and lotto, the best way would be to look at the converted (movements from faith to non-faith or vice versa) and observe if they are related to increased or decreased lotto ticket purchases…
Hi Gabby D,
Buying lotto tickets is an error in the sense that it is no good at fulfilling what the poor buyers intend it to do — save them from poverty. As Just said, they’re not doing this to dream, they’re doing this as a last ditch effort to solve the problem of their poverty.
As for number two, I think you’re still not referring to the right study. Here it is again:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090304160400.htm
Now in case you don’t want to read it, the study shows that believers tend to not have the necessary anxiety that would prevent them from recognizing errors, thus keeping them from self-correcting, and dooming them to repeat the same mistakes again.
As I’ve explained above, and in the post itself, relying on the lottery as a solution to poverty is an obvious error. (Do you doubt this for one moment?)
Now let’s say Pedro keeps on betting on these losing odds week after week, year after year. He relies on this to save him from his situation, therefore not doing anything apart from what he has already done in his current job as a factory worker.
Even if he loses his job and continues to lose at lotto he has little hope of realizing his error (that the lottery is a bad investment) because the necessary anxiety that would alert him to his mistake is absent. Here’s the study again: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090304160400.htm
Thanks!
@red
1) re David Just….
the article is referencing this paper:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1061809
the abstract reads:
“State-sponsored lotteries are a lucrative source of revenue. Despite their low payout rates, lotteries are extremely popular, particularly among low-income citizens. State officials laud the benefits of lottery proceeds and promote the fun and excitement of participation. This entertainment value is one explanation for lottery demand by the poor: individuals with lower incomes substitute lottery play for other entertainment. Alternatively, low-income consumers may view lotteries as a convenient and otherwise rare opportunity for radically improving their standard of living. Bad times may cause desperation, and the desperate may turn to lotteries in an effort to escape hardship. This study tests these competing explanations. We examine lottery sales data from 39 states over 10 years and find a strong and positive relationship between sales and poverty rates. In contrast, we find no relationship between movie ticket sales, another inexpensive form of entertainment, and poverty rates.”
from above he wants to answer the question: are movie watching and lotto buying related? the answer is no.
we shouldn’t be surprised :)
second, is there a relationship between poverty? yes. i haven’t read the actual paper, but i will assume the empirical work is sound and that ‘yes’ is a good answer to this question.
if so, he (they) haven’t made a connection between irrationality and buying lotto. the only thing they have proved is that relatively more poor people buy lotto. thats it.
what is quoted in the news article is his own take. alternative takes are possible. see lowenstein etal…
2) Anxiety
i have two comments. first, quoting from the article:
” a portion of the brain that helps modify behavior by signaling when attention and control are needed, usually as a result of some anxiety-producing event like making a mistake. The stronger their religious zeal and the more they believed in God, the less their ACC fired in response to their own errors, and the FEWER (EMPHASIS MINE) errors they made.”
if they make fewer mistake, and if buying a lotto ticket is a mistake, religious people must buy fewer tickets NOT MORE.
second comment:
even if it went the other direction, the study references “some anxiety-producing event” IN GENERAL… if being relatively poor makes one feel anxious, he might buy a lotto ticket…
to conclude:
i think to study the link between religiousity and lotto buying, you have to DIRECTLY link them in some kind of experimental setup.
you can’t just put two disparate studies together and presto, conclusion!
i suggested before that we need to look at conversions and subsequent changes in lotto purchasing behavior. this is the best , DIRECT TEST for such a link.
this is interesting stuff :) if you’re interested, you should study this question directly…
Hi GabbyD,
First of all, do you really think investing in the lottery is a rational way to get out of poverty? Yes, playing the lotto itself is not irrational. But *depending* on the lotto for salvation IS. Do you need me to cite scientific studies that prove this?
“The stronger their religious zeal and the more they believed in God, the less their ACC fired in response to their own errors, and the FEWER (EMPHASIS MINE) errors they made.”
This statement is indeed ambiguous. But I think what should have been written is “the fewer errors they THOUGHT they made.”
If you look at the statement you quoted in the context of the whole article, my interpretation — broken error detector leads to more errors — is more likely.
About your conclusion. I’m not trying to publish a study here — last I heard FV is not a scientific journal. I’m not trying to prove something. I’m just sharing with you what I’ve thought on the matter.
I’m glad it got some people thinking, too, and I’m thankful to you for taking the time to read and comment.
I, too, find it interesting, and if I were a social scientist would consider conducting the study myself. :)
But for now, here’s my humble hypothesis ;)
@Ryan Tani on March 13th, 2009 4:14 am
you are right — a blog isn’t a study…
but if you are using academic work to convince people (which is a good thing! we should encourage this!), then we need to recognize what the academic work says first.
there lots of opinion pieces out there that use the results of scientific studies inappropriately, and we need to think critically about what these studies REALLY say, before invoking them, or combining them to form an argument…
at the end of the day, it may be true that there is a link between relgion and lotto buying… but these two papers don’t do the job…
Enlightening but true nonetheless. Poor Pedro. It’s true that faith is indeed good, but sometimes when one believes only in the hope of earning something in return, then what kind of faith is that.
djb, maybe you’re right that the kind of god pedro believes in is different from mine. but what is important is he believes, and that is the whole ISSUE in contention. different people have different comprehensions of a Supreme Being. many of them find and adhere to a common faith and belief – that’s why there is organized religion.
unbelief in organized religion doesn’t translate to unbelief in God’s existence. btw, the omnipotent God encompasses pedro’s “god” and is not defined, nor limited by, the latter
or by anything else.
i have no desire, nor intention, to rehash our interminable argument on this matter in previous threads. we will never be on the same plane of thought unless you are able to comprehend God not in terms of being just a “human deity”.
GabbyD,
I did not use the academic studies to say anything they did not say. I think it is clear from the piece that the conclusions I’ve made were mine — nowhere did I say I had the studies to prove those.
At the end of the day, if those two papers already did the job, then I wouldn’t have needed to write my post. And though I haven’t done the job fully, I did my best to move it forward, even by a bit.
By the way, you still haven’t answered my question:
Do you think the lotto is a rational way to invest a poor person’s money?
Thanks :)
@Christa
Sadly, it’s hard for anyone to have faith without expecting anything in return, when the benefits are of the grandest scale — eternal pleasure or eternal torture.
Saying you have faith just to be thankful — and not because you want to go to heaven or want to avoid burning in hell — is like saying you play the lottery just to have fun, without expecting to win at all.
Could it be that the pleasure or fun in faith comes from these expectations? If these expectations of grand prizes were removed, would believing still be pleasurable?
i just want to express a religious point of view.
i think, religion should stop poisoning peoples minds.
sure blessed are the poor, ask and you shall received. it is ingrained in us to rely on god.
but old testament stories, and the Acts shows godly people that are empowered. that i think is what the church should do for its multitude of followers.
rather than the misconception of begging god for a miracle. let faith empower us.
david defeated goliath not by hiding and praying and trusting in random chance, begging that the giant will go away. instead he went out into the battle field.
faith is not relying on lotteries. faith is believing that you have the power in you to rise from your circumstances.
@Ryan Tani on March 13th, 2009 4:37 am
oh yeah, i forgot to answer that…
so the idea is that the lotto is usually an expected loss. i accept the numbers by carnegie mellion/ lowenstein’s article. thanks for mentioning that article btw, good read…
this suggests the possiblity that people are not buying an investment vehicle, but are buying something else, i.e. its consumption not investment…
the challenge is to know what exactly they are ‘buying’… thats a hard question.
they have constructive suggestions to turn this demand for lottery ticket into a savings vehicle. pretty good suggestions… i don’t know if i can liberally quote the paper itself…
also, so you didn’t use these studies to bolster your opinions?
ok. but it seems like you did. if i was wrong then, ok.
again, its a GOOD thing to use academic results to persuade. thats what they were written for — to advance human knowledge. i wish more people would do it.
opinions are OK. opinions bolstered by solid evidence are better!
as long as we’re clear about what these studies are saying and their limitations… i’m fine with it :)
Bencard,
God is no mystery to me for the idea is an invention of Man and bears the stamp of his lowly origins at every turn. It is Man that is the real mystery and our concern. For he is clearly the subject of his own delusions. Look in the mirror. You will see “God”.
djb, God’s nature and omnipotence doesn’t depend on man’s “delusion”. He exists whether or not there’s a single man in the universe who believes in Him.
@Ryan Tani: Very true. But material-wise, many people do only look to religion as a means of gaining something through “faith”. It is something to think about, if faith could exist beyond hoping for something material or eternal.
I do think though that there are people who would join the lottery without expectations of winning, and simply for the heck of it. Honestly, I think I’d fall into that category. :)