In the 1950s, Harvard psychologist Kurt Richter conducted a brutal experiment: he put rats in a pool of water to see how long they would cling to life.

It turned out that, on average, they gave up and drowned after 15 minutes. This was the case with one group of rats.

As for the second, before the test subjects gave up, the researcher took them out of the water. He dried them, fed them, let them rest for a few minutes, and threw them back in. The rats were given hope.

How long do you think they could last in the second round? Another 15 minutes? Ten minutes? 5? No, the whole 60 hours!

The conclusion is obvious: because the rats believed in their continued salvation, they were able to force their bodies to perform the impossible and expanded their limit.

This story illustrates hope.
It’s been said that a person can live forty days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope. Why? Hope provides the power that energizes us with life. Hope is a powerful thing.
It creates excitement in us for the future. It gives
us reasons to live. It gives us strength and courage.
A major realm of hope is religion.
Religion is of the notion that we are his most special creatures created by an invisible being called God, he has interests in our lives and has destined us for greatness.

This gives us a purpose driven life. It gives us the assurance that life has meaning.
Remove religion and life seems purposeless without hope.

Materialism is of the notion that we are made of matter , no soul or spirit and when we die that's the end. Life is random.

The End of religion is the end of hope.

I agree. There are hundreds of religion though.

But yes, religion is hope. That's the reason I don't like it.

When I was younger, I used to pray a lot cause things were really difficult. I was raised Catholic. I would pray the rosary everyday and novenas... I wasn't a fanatic tho. I was sincere.

I was 15 when I realised that God doesn't exist. I used to think he never answered my prayers cause I was too imperfect but that's bullsh**. I'm a good person. I didn't deserve the crap I went through. No one does.

I turned to God because I needed hope. I wanted to be sure that someone out there loved me dearly, that he was aware of all I was going through and he would someday help me.

But if I had spent all my life hoping, I would be dead. I've taken control of my life. I now know bad things happen, so I don't punish myself when they do. I take responsibility. Things haven't been great but I'm happier than I've ever been.

The rats still died, no matter how long they lasted. No one saved them and that's the lesson. If they were intelligent, they would have helped themselves. Humans are intelligent, we aren't rats.

I used to be scared of death but not anymore. When I'm dead, I'm dead. It's inevitable. So I'm gonna truly live. It's one short life we've each been given.

Religion is not the problem of Africa but the people in it fails to adhere strictly to what religion teaches

Kalatium:
...How long do you think they could last in the second round? Another 15 minutes? Ten minutes? 5? No, the whole 60 hours!

The conclusion is obvious: because the rats believed in their continued salvation, they were able to force their bodies to perform the impossible and expanded their limit.

This is not true. This is just a trick to use our own powerful spirit to interpret a situation which is presented, knowing exactly how we react to stimulus.

Thus, this is hearsay.

But what is the Truth, we already know it which is hope is a very powerful thing we have as human beings. We have all experienced the power of hope and how it took propelled us.

But after that, there is God and real eyeity eg there is no way anyone can use hope to survive a 2012 movie type tsunami which started while you were at the beach or where you are in a 20 storey building collapse.

Hope only kicks in when you find that you are still alive after the calamity.

So, live first. Hope is for the living, not for the about to be killed.

Banilla:
I agree. There are hundreds of religion though.

But yes, religion is hope. That's the reason I don't like it.

Religion is not hope. You already had hope before you learnt whatever God/god thing you choose to be regularly interested in.

Banilla:
IWhen I was younger, I used to pray a lot cause things were really difficult. I was raised Catholic. I would pray the rosary everyday and novenas... I wasn't a fanatic tho. I was sincere

Catholic again!

Proof that Catholic church is not a church of God.

I was Catholic myself but I did not stop thinking that the things I see and they say is wrong, which is even something I had before reading the Bible.

So now you can see that it is not God Who was wrong but that you were born into the devil's house, therefore you were caught up in the way the devil has already forelaid to keep people within his evil hands.

And the your condemnation is that you knew it was wrong but you refused to face it and change.

Dtruthspeaker:


This is not true. This is just a trick to use our own powerful spirit to interpret a situation which is presented, knowing exactly how we react to stimulus.

Thus, this is hearsay.

But what is the Truth, we already know it which is hope is a very powerful thing we have as human beings. We have all experienced the power of hope and how it took propelled us.

But after that, there is God and real eyeity eg there is no way anyone can use hope to survive a 2012 movie type tsunami which started while you were at the beach or where you are in a 20 storey building collapse.

Hope only kicks in when you find that you are still alive after the calamity.

So, live first. Hope is for the living, not for the about to be killed.

Why do you always rush to criticize without deeply understanding my point.

Are you saying the experiment is a lie or what?

This is a documented research by a harvard psychologist. There are also similar researches carried out on other mammals.

Religion gives hope, that is the essence of prayer as an example. Religious people pray because they believe there is a powerful being ready to answer their supplications.

Banilla:
I agree. There are hundreds of religion though.

But yes, religion is hope. That's the reason I don't like it.

When I was younger, I used to pray a lot cause things were really difficult. I was raised Catholic. I would pray the rosary everyday and novenas... I wasn't a fanatic tho. I was sincere.

I was 15 when I realised that God doesn't exist. I used to think he never answered my prayers cause I was too imperfect but that's bullsh**. I'm a good person. I didn't deserve the crap I went through. No one does.

I turned to God because I needed hope. I wanted to be sure that someone out there loved me dearly, that he was aware of all I was going through and he would someday help me.

But if I had spent all my life hoping, I would be dead. I've taken control of my life. I now know bad things happen, so I don't punish myself when they do. I take responsibility. Things haven't been great but I'm happier than I've ever been.

The rats still died, no matter how long they lasted. No one saved them and that's the lesson. If they were intelligent, they would have helped themselves. Humans are intelligent, we aren't rats.

I used to be scared of death but not anymore. When I'm dead, I'm dead. It's inevitable. So I'm gonna truly live. It's one short life we've each been given.

@ bolded

You have a point there. Hope prolonged their survival but they still died.

There is no need to be scared of death, it is inevitable. Taking control over one's life shows you have a hope for a better future.
That is what the rats did, they try their best to survive longer and not sit back

Banilla:
■I agree. There are hundreds of religion though. But yes, religion is hope. That's the reason I don't like it. When I was younger, I used to pray a lot cause things were really difficult. I was raised Catholic. I would pray the rosary everyday and novenas... I wasn't a fanatic tho. I was sincere. I was 15 when I realised that God doesn't exist. I used to think he never answered my prayers cause I was too imperfect but that's bullsh**. I'm a good person. I didn't deserve the crap I went through. No one does. I turned to God because I needed hope. I wanted to be sure that someone out there loved me dearly, that he was aware of all I was going through and he would someday help me. But if I had spent all my life hoping, I would be dead. I've taken control of my life. I now know bad things happen, so I don't punish myself when they do. I take responsibility. Things haven't been great but I'm happier than I've ever been.
■ The rats still died, no matter how long they lasted. No one saved them and that's the lesson. If they were intelligent, they would have helped themselves. Humans are intelligent, we aren't rats. I used to be scared of death but not anymore. When I'm dead, I'm dead. It's inevitable. So I'm gonna truly live. It's one short life we've each been given.

1. In the experiment, the rats that hoped for salvation held on to life as hard as they could — their hope may not have yielded salvation in the end but they did work in order to maintain their hold on to life. Hope is meant to cause one to take control of one's situation, not sit back doing absolutely nothing at all.

2. How could the rats have helped themselves in that case? I mean consider that rats on average are good swimmers and in a case where there existed a way out, at least one of those rats would have found it. So, why is it wrong that they died much later than the previous set? Would you rather the second set of rats have succumbed to the hopelessness of the situation as the first set did?

Yes, we all eventually die but is it really better to die in hopelessness or to die while hoping for salvation?

ABIODUN105:
Religion is not the problem of Africa but the people in it fails to adhere strictly to what religion teaches

Religion, as a system, creates problems that it does not then attempt in most cases to resolve because many pretend it a perfect system when it is far from that.

Kalatium:
This story illustrates hope. It’s been said that a person can live forty days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope. Why? Hope provides the power that energizes us with life. Hope is a powerful thing. It creates excitement in us for the future. It gives us reasons to live. It gives us strength and courage. A major realm of hope is religion. Religion is of the notion that we are his most special creatures created by an invisible being called God, he has interests in our lives and has destined us for greatness. This gives us a purpose driven life. It gives us the assurance that life has meaning. Remove religion and life seems purposeless without hope. Materialism is of the notion that we are made of matter , no soul or spirit and when we die that's the end. Life is random. The End of religion is the end of hope.

Religion does indeed provide hope but from what we have seen, it comes at a price, steep in many cases, to individuals and society as a whole. So how do you value this hope it provides?

Kobojunkie:
Religion does indeed provide hope but from what we have seen, it comes at a price, steep in many cases, to individuals and society as a whole. So how do you value this hope it provides?

There is always a price for something. We are humans.

No one said religion is perfect.

There are instances where it causes alot of harm and there are also instances that it was a blessing.

So also is every aspect of life, it has its pros and cons.

Kobojunkie:
1. In the experiment, the rats that hoped for salvation held on to life as hard as they could — their hope may not have yielded salvation in the end but they did work in order to maintain their hold on to life. Hope is meant to cause one to take control of one's situation, not sit back doing absolutely nothing at all.

2. How could the rats have helped themselves in that case? I mean consider that rats on average are good swimmers and in a case where there existed a way out, at least one of those rats would have found it. So, why is it wrong that they died much later than the previous set? Would you rather the second set of rats have succumbed to the hopelessness of the situation as the first set did?

Yes, we all eventually die but is it really better to die in hopelessness or to die while hoping for salvation?

I love this. You said it better than I could reply.

Kalatium:
■ There is always a price for something. We are humans. No one said religion is perfect. There are instances where it causes alot of harm and there are also instances that it was a blessing. So also is every aspect of life, it has its pros and cons.

What happens when the cons exceed the pros, as is the case in the lives of the average Nigerian and the society as a whole?

Kalatium
Kobojunkie

I'm not condemning hope. I'm saying it's wrong to hope for someone else or something to save you. That's religion. It teaches you that you need a saviour. That your capabilities alone aren't sufficient when they are.

The rats died expecting to be lifted out of the water a second time. They made no effort to save themselves, to figure a way out if there was one. (Assuming they could)

That's what most religious people do. They pray then wait, expecting a miracle. That's not life.

Hope on it's own isn't bad, humans have survived on it. I have too. But I'm putting my trust in me, entirely. I'm not a rat, you aren't too.

Kalatium:


Why do you always rush to criticize without deeply understanding my point.

Are you saying the experiment is a lie or what?

I am saying it is a fraud!

Every human being is inherently powered with hope whether he recognises God or not. That is the power atheists are using to go through this world.

So no one needs to claim authority or anything in saying anything about hope.

Banilla:
■I'm not condemning hope. I'm saying it's wrong to hope for someone else or something to save you. That's religion. It teaches you that you need a saviour. That your capabilities alone aren't sufficient when they are.
■The rats died expecting to be lifted out of the water a second time. They made no effort to save themselves, to figure a way out if there was one. (Assuming they could). That's what most religious people do. They pray then wait, expecting a miracle. That's not life.
■ Hope on it's own isn't bad, humans have survived on it. I have too. But I'm putting my trust in me, entirely. I'm not a rat, you aren't too.

1. Maybe it would be good at this point to focus in on one particular religion as I am of the mind that not all religions do what you claim here — teach one that there is a need for a savior that is.

2. The rats did make effort actually. They worked several times harder than the first set of rats did. They may not have found a way out of their predicament in the 59hrs and 45 minutes additional time they spent holding on to life, but they worked much harder than the first set who gave up after just 15 minutes in the tub. You assume they all prayed and just stood there waiting for a miracle, but part of waiting for a miracle includes looking out for its arrival and the rats probably did look around to see if such a miracle presented itself in the form of a path out of the barrel.

3. If your will is strong enough to hope only in yourself, that is good too. But if you really look around, you will find that we all have different things we put our hope in, and it isn't always religion. Some hope in family, friends, society, the human race, etc. We are all over the place as far as hope is concerned.

ABIODUN105:
Religion is not the problem of Africa but the people in it fails to adhere strictly to what religion teaches

Tell them o.

When people look take advantage of other people eg when guys rush to eat a girl damage by molestation is that as a result of religion?

Man is evil that and it is his religion to do evil to other men and instead of taking responsibility they are always looking to for something or Someone to blame.

Banilla:
Kalatium
Kobojunkie

I'm not condemning hope. I'm saying it's wrong to hope for someone else or something to save you. That's religion. It teaches you that you need a saviour. That your capabilities alone aren't sufficient when they are.

The rats died expecting to be lifted out of the water a second time. They made no effort to save themselves, to figure a way out if there was one. (Assuming they could)

That's what most religious people do. They pray then wait, expecting a miracle. That's not life.

Hope on it's own isn't bad, humans have survived on it. I have too. But I'm putting my trust in me, entirely. I'm not a rat, you aren't too.

You are still bringing back an old argument that have been countered already.