Quote:
Originally Posted by HydrogenBond
Religion is based on faith in things that can not be proven with science. That is the basis of faith; things unseen. Although this mythological aspect of religion is not scientific, this does not mean some of their techniques, using this state of mind, can not lead to positive results in a science sense.
I used the example of gluttony=sin. I am not saying this is true or scientific. But if we work under this assumption, the composite effect of faith in the unproven plus sin, creates a constant self awareness when one eats. The atheist may not be able to see this. For the religious, big-brother is always watching, so one is self conscious. Maybe this is not real, but it does lead to more self control over appetite. Just having an external social censor works, until you can get alone. A religious censor is there when you are alone. The constant self awareness and the need to control impulse is more perpetual with such a system. Religion was the beginning of will power apart from blind impulse or the ingenuity to hiding and use blind impulse so the social censor could not see. You can train a dog with a social censor. But once the owner leaves, the dog is a dog. Religion adds extra so when the owner is away, he is still thinking.
In modern time, over weight is getting more common and has been proven to lead to various medical conditions. The gluttony=sin angle, although irrational, was a means that led to be healthier ends. It may cause other psychological affects, being too self aware of natural appetite, but the sin was targeted to improve health by making people self aware of impulsive eating behavior.
Weight gain follows a simple energy equation. Input - output = accumulation. One can not gain weight as energy value, unless energy value is inputted. If this could occur that would be perpetual motion. There are genetic factors that affect how the body burns its fuel and the way it stores extra energy. But there needs to be input to create accumulation. The gluttony=sin targeted the input, but did not take into consideration genetic conditions that can affect energy output and accumulation. It was not a perfect system but led to less bulk affect within the population as a whole.
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You have an interesting theory, HydrogenBond, but I am under the impression that there are at least as many fat people in Southern churches as there are among Free Thinkers. I suspect the overly religious see no connection between their excessive weight and "gluttony." You know how annorexics think.
I propose still another theory: it has been shown in animal experiments that stress cause weight gain. Our society is filled with stress because we are over-crowded on this planet. Overcrowding in animals results in the exhaustion of the adrenal glands. It also causes depression (in us) and even a collapse in behavior which, in our case, can be called "social problems."
