God Vs. Science 1

Well, you knew it was only a matter of time before I weighed in on the most heated debate in Midwest School Board curriculum setting meeting rooms and public hearings related to it. So ready yourselves, and I'll try to power through it without getting obnoxious.

First, I found a #Psychiatry study that proposed an interesting premise, though finding any summarizations that remained untouched by bias was difficult, but I think I found one. Either way, upon reading the various different synapses, I got the impression that they gathered 159 subjects of varying age and religiosity, and all diagnosed with some variant of depression. The subjects were essentially rated on a scale of 1-10 in terms of belief, and then rated on a similar gradient for severity of their diagnosis. It seems that those with a high amount of faith tend to be more receptive to this specific treatment than those who are more disillusioned about magic. I don't know what to make of it, so I'll post the results of the study, and also a link to a peer-reviewed site that has the short form of the findings and processes.

"RESULTS: Belief in God was significantly higher among treatment responders than non-responders F(1,114)=4.81, p<.05. Higher levels of belief were also associated with greater reductions in depression (r=.21, p<.05) and self-harm (r=.24, p<.01), and greater improvements in psychological well-being (r=.19, p<.05) over course of treatment. Belief remained correlated with changes in depression and self-harm after controlling for age and gender. Perceived treatment credibility/expectancy, but not emotional regulation or community support, mediated relationships between belief in God and reductions in depression. No variables mediated relationships to other outcomes. Religious affiliation was also associated with treatment credibility/expectancy but not treatment outcomes." -
Faith aids Psychiatric treatment of depression?

It's weird to see any kind of credit given to faith being constructive to the human experience, right? Especially in a peer-reviewed journal. even if it's not a really accurate type of experiment. However, now that religion has had it's short moment in the sun, I must attempt to drown it in torrential storms of #logic and #morality that will flood that news for 40 days and 40 nights, because this next study is amazing news for the morality debaters.

#Frans de Waal,
a prominent primatologist, recently completed a long-term study on chimpanzees and bonobos that explored their capacity to display morality. Understanding, without any outside entity bestowing the knowledge of, what was right and wrong to do.
"For example, Lody, a bonobo in the Milwaukee County Zoo, bit the hand -- apparently accidentally -- of a veterinarian who was feeding him vitamin pills.
'Hearing a crunching sound, Lody looked up, seemingly surprised, and released the hand minus a digit,' de Waal said. 'Days later the vet revisited the zoo and held up her bandaged left hand. Lody looked at the hand and retreated to a distant corner of the enclosure where he held his head down and wrapped his arms around himself, signs of both grief and guilt.
And here's the amazing part. About 15 years later the vet returned to the zoo and was standing among a crowd of visitors when Lody recognized her and rushed over. He tried to see her left hand, which was hidden behind the railing. The vet lifted up her incomplete hand and Lody looked at it, then at the vet's face, then back at the hand again.'"That's right, a lower primate understanding that they did something wrong, and felt bad about it, and bore the guilt for at least 15 years afterwards. How much of it came from some deity claiming to be the source of all morality? None, and the study continues...
The chimpanzees and bonobos also display empathy for the less fortunate in their troops, mothers will take in orphaned young, thievery is punished, and other amazingly moral-like mechanisms are in place in these species. There's so much more, but I provided the link and I don't want to spoil the best part.
Primates answer God and morals debate!

Now that I have provided scientists that have straddled either side of this issue, the time has come to weigh in myself, I suppose. Those of you who know me  already know where I stand on this debate, and won't be disappointed by my vote. I have to go with science, the evidence is still in favor of it actually existing and doing useful things, unlike God. I was really surprised to even find any real scientists entertaining the idea that God affected any kind of treatments since the last batch of #prayerasmedicine experiments that pretty much resolved that issue. If that study didn't get the point across, then I refer you to the #PAcouple prays baby to death instead of getting it medical treatment, PART 2!!! Meaning they failed to have that work before, in 2009, had a child die from a totally curable illness that God was powerless against. The parents got a smack on the hand, charged with "Unintentional Manslaughter" for the first instance of this. Now that it's happened again, to the same family AGAIN, and another child of theirs died AGAIN, and their prayers failed AGAIN, these people and EVERY member of the congregation they are members of should be arrested and tried as accomplices and hazards to public safety, as well as intentional murderers that allow defenseless children die from something that could have been treated by science instead of faith.

There it is, the first of an inevitably long series of #GodVs.Science articles that I will probably end up writing for the sheer amusement of reading the source materials.

This article uses excerpts from outside materials, and is intended to be used for educational and satirical purposes only, any infringement is strictly accidental, and will be noted in future revisions if any action is brought forward. All sources cited and linked, except the smartest family in PA, but you can Google them later.