Just like video killed the radio star, God kills rational thought.

It is bred in to Mormons that there is an answer for everything and that answer can only come from God. This type of thinking kills your reason muscles, my reason muscles had atrophied to the point of uselessness until a few years ago. It has taken a lot of exercise to break the impulse to immediately pass judgement.

I bring this up because (don't kill me, I love you all) RfM is guilty of black and white thinking all the time. Black and white thinking kills conversation and discourse, and that is what most of us are here for.

This just in......Video did not kill the radio star....repeat....video did not kill the radio star!!!

Have you seen MTV lately?!? The radio star is alive and well.

Thank you, that is all.

I don't think they even play music videos on MTV any more!

That's kind of black and white, aint it? Are some things *really* black and white and other things just a shade of gray?

greatest and most rational thinkers believed in deity of some kind.

Who?

You are right, but what are you trying to say.

William of Ockham, Copernicus, Kepler, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Linnaeus, Michael Faraday, Max Planck to name just a very few.

I don't believe in any god, personally, but it's clearly not true that a belief in deity is necessarily inconsistent with the ability to think rationally and well. What IS necessarily inconsistent with rational thought is the blind acceptance of and adherence to religious dogma that clearly contradicts observable fact.

Agreed

Sorry for the hyperbole, as has already been pointed out, video didn't kill the radio star and god doesn't kill rational thought (people with gods kill rational thought).

Your question is a good one and is an example of being able to reason. Had you stated, some things are black and white, instead you would would be guilty of black and with thinking.

I think that religion-defined right and wrong is subject to to many exceptions to be universal

You talk about black and white thinking like it is an automatic negative. It's not. As long as you are dealing with facts and not feelings, it is valuable to be able to establish probable absolutes. The sun is shining. Jane hates rhubarb. No need for any grey subtleties there. The church robs people of their self worth and ability to think. I'm OK with that black and white.

You are right, there is a lot of black and white thinking here which is usually then chewed on until there are not only shades of grey but a few teeth marks and butt kisses as well. And everybody gains, and maybe everybody comes away with their own black and white.

The less black and white the harder to make a decision. The more black and white the easier it is to choose what to do.

Loads of Grey: My husband beats me, but then he's so sorry and he's usually good with the kids as long as they behave so I guess I will stay.

Black and White: My husband beats me and he's a dangerous asshole. I'm outa here!

I wouldn't compare the way RFM'ers think to the way mormons think because there isn't a lot of serious thinking going on with the latter. It's not that they have been taught to think black and white, they have been taught not to trust their own intellect or power to reason.

The whole goal in life for me is to muddle through all the grey stuff until finally, there's that moment when the sorting out paid off and everything is suddenly Black and WHite.

Makes me think of that @#$%^ Gordo telling GC listeners there was no middle area. It's either ALL false or ALL true.

Dumbfuck jackass.