Thats because the Divine is inaccessible to reason. It hangs out where only poetry can describe it. Atheists model everything in terms of cause and effect yet if you entertain the possibility that we don't know what we can't know the way a dog doesn't know anything about literature, then we have to lay down our argument and soak up some humility for what just might be the Truth ...however. Even Einstein agreed on what a mystery existence and creation ultimately is. "My sense of God is my sense of wonder at the Universe". That sounds good to me.
That's understandable. Which is why they prefer to think otherwise and give rise to feelings that are supported by those more comforting thoughts. And so it goes... And since you are reading about him, it was Freud himself who said that as long as there is a fear of dying and as long as there is wishful thinking, there will be religion. And so it goes...
Einstein's sense of God as universe is certainly good enough for me. But that's more of a poetic definition than what true believers subscribe to. The only cause and effect I was describing in this thread is one of thought-to-feeling, which has been clinically proven. As for what we don't know and can't know, isn't it a bit presumptuous to worship what we don't know and can't know (and therefore don't know or can't know if it even exists)? And wouldn't it be a tad pretentious to assume that what we don't know and can't know should give a shit about us? I'm just saying. As for your reference to cause and effect in general, we may as well make some use of the little that we do know.
I'm not ascribing to any catechism here, I"m simply submitting that in the face of existence and creation, however it occured, we recognize the majesty of it and that it is ultimately a mystery. And my allusion to cause and effect didn't consider anything mentioned previously in this thread ...or at least not too far back in it.
We're all good on this one. Now, I must return to one of the other fifteen arguments I was in yesterday. Whew, busy schedule. ; )
Still not agreeing on thought being instantaneous though. I think thats something we have to hold the line on.
Actually, I don't agree on that bit either. I agree that after we have acquired memories, ie. language (not merely the predisposition to learn one) and images, then thought exists and can thus influence emotion/feeling. Before that time, as I said re an infant, no, thought does not precede emotion. I guess I'm saying that thought must have symbolic content. No doubt philosophers have debated that idea.
Until you gents at least read the book, or any other on this subject matter, we are just going around in circles. You are pitting your opinions against clinically proven fact. Guess which way I'll go. Cognitive therapy is not some NLP psychobabble. It has more actual science behind it than any other form of talk therapy and the understanding of human behavior and emotion, aside from genetic predisposition.