<div>Bryan Bishop wrote:</div>
<div>But frankly, when you have a live demonstration right in front of a young kid, who are<br>they going to believe? Prayer for a cure to a disease, or a machine<br>that can deliver? Hmm.</div>
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<div>I don't think it is an either/or proposition. They will (for example...) more likely accept the machine and then later pray and thank their higher power for receiving it. </div>
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<div>Bryan Bishop continues:</div>
<div>Breaking up old, crusty social institutions is an interesting topic. How<br>would you do this without stepping on too many toes? Reform of<br>institutions isn't exactly something that humans are specialized in.<br>
Especially since most institutions are supposed to last forever (the<br>U.S. Experiment didn't have a due date).</div>
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<div>Religion has an amazing power to adapt to the changing times. It can be a painful and drawn out process, but still necessary for it's survival and success. The coming century/possible Singularity will *greatly* speed this up.</div>
<p>M1N3R wrote:<br>> posthuman believing in God... Can you?</p>
<div>Bryan replied:<br>Yes. It's very easy to imagine that.</div>
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<div>I agree. I think the old saying, "the more we know, the more we realize we don't know," may help to explain the future religiousosity of the coming generations/sentient forms. But how they envision a higher power may be quite different from the average citizen of Earth, circa 2008. I was fascinated by Richard Dawkins, speaking in my area, saying that he envisioned a SETI-like program decades/centuries from now that would actually try to scientifically contact "God/god." </div>
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<div>John Grigg<br><br></div>