Why Won't God Heal Amputees? vs Soul Mates:Religion, Sex, Love, and Marriage

pictured below is Marshall David Brain  author of howthingswork and Why Won't God Heal Amputees?




his bio, CV, qualifications

Marshall Brain was born in Santa Monica, California.[1] He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York[1] in 1983[3] with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering.[4] He was a member of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. Brain earned a master's degree in computer science from North Carolina State University (NCSU).[1]

his claim on religion


http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/

Understanding the Problems with Religion


Let's start by asking a question: Does it matter? In this book we have proven, conclusively, that God is imaginary. God does not answer prayers, God did not write the Bible and Jesus is not God. In other words, the God of popular religion is completely imaginary.

But does it really matter? What difference does it make if half of the people in the United States want to believe in an imaginary being? What does it hurt?

Let's ignore the danger that can be found in the ashes of 9/11/2001, and the subsequent events in Afghanistan, Iraq, Madrid and London. There are many zealous and misguided Muslims who believe that, through Jihad, they must kill non-Muslims -- Christians and Jews in particular. And there are many Christains who, ignoring Jesus' teachings, wish to retaliate in kind. Let's ignore that.

Let's ignore the ill effects of religion around the world over the last several decades. We have Muslims killing Christians (and vice versa), Jews killing Muslims (and vice versa), Protestants killing Catholics (and vice versa), Shiites killing Sunnis (and vice versa), etc., etc. All of it is completely pointless, because all human gods are imaginary. But let's ignore all of that killing and destruction.

Let's also ignore all of the insanity that religion has brought us through the ages -- the crusades, the witch hunts and all the rest.

And let's ignore all the people that religion oppresses -- the women, the people who have been enslaved, the people who happen to be homosexual, etc. Let's ignore it because it is all water under the bridge.

Even today in the United States -- a modern, advanced nation -- religion creates problems. The delusion created by Christianity is so extreme and so pervasive at the moment that we have Supreme Court justices and politicians who publicly claim that God handed down the Ten Commandments to us in the Bible (see chapter 13). These justices and politicians are speaking about a book that openly advocates slavery and misogyny along with many other notions that are beyond absurd. Yet no one can question their claims in public because it is far too dangerous (see next section for details).

To have otherwise intelligent Americans babbling on about an imaginary God like this is dangerous, if for no other reason than this one: If so many people are this delusional in the area of religion, it makes you wonder where else they harbor equally significant delusions in their thinking. In addition, religion in America is now actively restraining scientific research and social progress. The problem that American scientists are having with stem cells is just one of the many manifestations of the problem today.

is this true?

recently this book was published

W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas H. Wolfinger, Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Love, and Marriage among African Americans and Latinos, Oxford University Press, 2016, 248 pp., $27.95.



this is qualifications of the authors W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas H. Wolfinger,

W. Bradford Wilcox is Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. He also serves as a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Nicholas H. Wolfinger is Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the University of Utah.

2 professors of sociology, doing sociological research, using sociological theory and methdology and data taking, vs a guy with a masters in computer science, commenting on the sociology of religion.

this is what the book is about, from amazon

n 1994, David Hernandez, a small-time drug-dealer in Spanish Harlem, got out of the drug business and turned his life over to God. After he joined Victory Chapel-a vibrant Bronx-based Pentecostal church-he saw his life change in many ways: today he is a member of the NYPD, married, the father of three, and still an active member of his church. David Hernandez is just one of the many individuals whose stories inform Soul Mates, which draws on both national surveys and in-depth interviews to paint a detailed portrait of the largely positive influence exercised by churches on relationships and marriage among African Americans and Latinos-and whites as well.

Soul Mates shines a much-needed spotlight on the lives of strong and happy minority couples. Wilcox and Wolfinger find that both married and unmarried minority couples who attend church together are significantly more likely to enjoy happy relationships than black and Latino couples who do not regularly attend. They argue that churches serving these communities promote a code of decency encompassing hard work, temperance, and personal responsibility that benefits black and Latino families.

Wilcox and Wolfinger provide a compelling look at faith and family life among blacks and Latinos. The book offers a wealth of critical insight into the effect of religion on minority relationships, as well as the unique economic and cultural challenges facing African American and Latino families in twenty-first-century America.

editorial review

Editorial Reviews
Review

"Breaks new ground...In explaining how religion influences (and fails to influence) black and Latino couples, Soul Mates can equip church leaders to better serve couples of all races."--Books and Culture


"The social transformation of American family life over the last half century has produced complex and varied consequences in people's lives. Soul Mates closely examines those experiences among two important minority groups, contributing particular insight on the often-neglected question of how religion interacts with family structure to shape life outcomes." --Christian Smith, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame


"In Soul Mates, Wilcox and Wolfinger show that churches foster 'a code of decency' that has helped to modulate the impact of family breakdown for Latinos and African Americans while recognizing that religion does not fully protect churchgoers from the earthquake in the American family. Their important book should be of great interest to scholars of the family and to others concerned about family life among African Americans and Latinos." --Isabel Sawhill, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution


"Soul Mates is an important and timely work. Wilcox and Wolfinger deftly synthesize data from many sources to argue that religious institutions, practices, and beliefs can strengthen marriages and families among African Americans and Latinos, thus countering the corrosive effects of racism and structural disadvantage. Rigorous and highly readable, this volume deserves careful attention from scholars, practitioners, and the wider public." --Christopher G. Ellison, Professor of Sociology and Dean's Distinguished Professor of Social Science, the University of Texas at San Antonio


"There's no question that marriage is floundering. Many people aren't sure there's still a benefit to being married. But this groundbreaking research by Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Wolfinger shows what those of us who are regular churchgoers know: having faith can help you have a happy marriage. Nonetheless, their findings also indicate churches still have a lot to do to help reduce divorce among their members. One thing that is clear about the importance of this research: The more we know about what it takes to create healthy, happy marriages, the better our society will be."--Michelle Singletary, Washington Post Columnist


"The skillful use of large national data sets to weave a coherent narrative of two groups (Blacks and Latinos) is both compelling and easy to follow. Soul Mates never seems to downshift in rigor. The reports (whether qualitative or quantitative) have a feel of validity, accuracy, and authenticity that makes the participants come alive. This book will not only be on my shelf, it will be within reach on my academic desk, because of the wide array of useful data it contains. For scholars of family, and minority families in particular, this is a goldmine."-Loren Marks, Kathryn Norwood and Claude Fussell Alumni Professor of Child and Family Studies, Louisiana State University

a summary of the findings by these 2 sociologists, in a peer reviewed journal, using methodology of sociology on religion and adverse outcomes

Soul Mates, by academic sociologists W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas H. Wolfinger, has one central message: Religious blacks and Hispanics lead more upright, family-oriented lives than their irreligious peers. The authors use an impressive array of statistics, along with personal interview data, to conclude that religion is associated with less violence, criminality, infidelity, and idleness, and with more civility, hard work, honesty, and monogamy.

now i happen to agree with Marshall David that the bible is total b.s. but at the end of the day, sociological research using scientific methodology and data gathering, does not support his claim that the net difference of positive vs negative, results in a loss. the net difference using scientific methodology is less violence, criminality, infidelity, and idleness, and with more civility, hard work, honesty, and monogamy in religious communities like mormons vs nonreligious communities.

the entire book summarizes the data and evidence they collect and their analysis of that data.

recently this woman
32-year-old Rebecca Wood was  murdered for $20





redpill's safety lesson -

her killers


Deanthony Bradley

William Bounds

Anton Mukes

Jeremiah Flowers


if those 4 killers were church going bible believing born again mormon christians, chances are, rebecca wood would still be alive.

the ID channel



talks about all kinds of murders.

i myself attended an atheist public school full of atheists, many of whom delighted in drugs, bullying, killing animals, partying, dropping out of school, promiscuous sex, etc.

here are some girls who partied and did drugs and died


Desiree Gonzales, 17



allyson porter was 16 death





Leah Schweiss, 17,




Alexia Springer, 17



22-year-old Jinny Park




Erika Reiner 15 died after possibly trying heroin for the first time.



Briona Jawhari died at age 17 after an apparent heroin overdose.


this girl was actually murdered inside the girl's school bathroom




13 yo Daniel Fitzpatrick



committed suicide due to years of bullying at school via hanging in the attic



so while marshall brain is claiming these girls







is a huge problem for him

he doesn't comment on something like this

Jessica Chamber was burned to death

by this guy

Quinton Tellis


i *dare* -no double dare - marshall brain to write and blog about all the instances a black male murdered a white female, then make the same kind of comments about black males as he does about born again christian girls. there is a segment of the population that commits violent crimes way out of proportion to their numbers, and i'm not talking about the christian girls below

19 year old  Brooke Carol Wilberger






Paige van Zant






16 year old Erica Montague



Marlise Saige Hamblin













grace abbott



[quote]

the question i have is would marshall brain feel safer around the above christian girls, or safer around black atheist thugs with a rap sheet?



attacked





attacked





in my mind, the ideal solution would be to invent a new religion that avoids bible b.s as described by marshall david, as the bible is total b.s, but incorporates religion in a way that convinces the masses to be more civilly behaved. i agree with marshall brain the bible is b.s. unlike marshall brain the possible benefits of religion outweight downsides, provided it is engineered correctly. using rational design engineering.

the christian idea of satan battling god is total nonsense.  one reason i'm a fan of star wars is that it depicts a religion - the Force, and priests -jedi and sith. star wars religious idea of the force, and the dark side and light, comes close to my own religious ideas. the new religion i have in mind basically is a rip off of star wars, where there is a light and dark, and the followers of my religion will follow the light side.   the problem is that skeptics will say my religion is plagiarized from star wars, which it is.