My conclusion is I do not believe in god because when it comes right down to it, believing in a god is all about "blind" faith. When theologist can't explain something they throw up the faith thing.
Why Do Intelligent People Believe in God?
by cantleave 56 Replies latest jw friends
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smiddy
It amuses me that imperfect human beings ( imperfect because of GOD by the way ) speak up for GOD , defend his/her existence and in most cases try to convert others to believe in their GOD .
Yet their GOD who they profess to believe in stays silent , doesn`t say one word in his/her own defence .
According to the Old Testament he had no trouble communicating with humans , sheep herders and what not`s .
In this day of modern technology , would it not be a simple thing to make the whole world aware of his/her existence in an instant of time ?
Settling the issue once for all time ? Then the world of living humans could decide whether they wanted to serve him/her or not , and then he could bring on his/her Armageddon if " it " (sick of saying him/her ) wants to.
Is GOD Almighty or not" it" does not seem to be to me
Why would an Almighty GOD leave it up to imperfect sinful humans to defend and speak for him/her.and not do so itself.
smiddy
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shepherdless
Why do intelligent people believe in God? My two cents worth:
First point: The mainstream Christian churches these days teach that there is no contradiction between science and Christianity. The exceptions are JW's and a number of other fundamentalist religions, mostly originating from the USA.
Second point: Intelligent People are just as likely to have had the same early child indoctrination and guilt/fear manipulation as others.
Third point: I may be wrong here, but I remember it was reported in Ben Goldacre's book "Bad Science" (to do with quack medicine, not religion) there is evidence that intelligent people are actually more susceptible (not less) to confirmation bias than others.
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Anders Andersen
Psalm 14: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God...."
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theliberator
Salvatore: You are one of the intelligent ones. Of course we are not alone, and never have been.
..."I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene . . . . No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrase-mongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot.”
- Albert Einstein
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LongHairGal
I don't have a religious "system" but think there is a higher consciousness at the heart of the universe. I also believe in evolution. -
Qcmbr
If I gave you a pair of blue glasses you could honestly claim that the world was many shades of blue - even if you previously had experience of its full spectrum. If you wore the glasses long enough or believed in some property of the glasses themselves (they reveal the inner truth of the scene - its essential 'blueness') you would be quite able to argue that the truth about how the world looked was indeed blue - and the reality would, for you be true, the world would be blue.
Faith in a concept or ideology works in the same way. The glasses are the concept that colors the world. Communism, religion, liberalism, anything that casts the world in a certain hue and is in and of itself believed will cause reality to accord. When I was an active believer God genuinely spoke to me, I had spiritual experiences, I enjoyed some moments of religious bliss and awe that were breathtaking. Through my eyes the world was genuinely playing out the battle between good and evil. My intelligence, just as surely as my eyes and other faculties are mediums and tools for perceiving the world.
The more I 'know' the more I am able to describe and compartmentalize the experiences around me but it doesn't necessarily follow that it will enable me to recognize that the 'truth' revealed by the glasses isn't superior or grounded in a platonic , objective truth.
Ultimately I need to doubt the glasses themselves, for me it was the disparity between the claims and the results, the places which weren't 'blue' even though I wore the 'glasses'. For me that was essentially the lack of real divine power being manifest via such things as healings. Its no good trying to show a believer that the world isn't blue - because to them it really is - no amount of intelligence can negate that single idea. To exit a bad / untrue idea the doubt must be in the filter itself.
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cofty
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Heaven
I think many intelligent people believe because that is how they were raised and they have not yet been educated or had an experience that challenges that belief. For others, it is because belief offers them something that they have not found in the real world. For a certain time, belief can be comforting. But with no evidence to back it up, it is delusion and ultimately, creates disillusionment and distrust. I think it is difficult to go through life without something challenging your beliefs. For me, that began around the age of 10 due to the 1970s Ethiopian drought and famine.
Personally, I find it difficult to believe when what is claimed is not backed up by fact, evidence, or reality. To make a claim and then have something occur in opposition to that claim means, the claim is false. To continue to believe after this is intellectual dishonesty.