Atheists, smarter than religious people

Are you sure? You never believed in Santa Claus? How sad.

Hey, I was once a kid, and naive as all kids are.

Ye, thats fine.
But what about the things you can see? Are you saying that an atheist gets misled or fooled by what he sees less than a religious person?
I don't believe that people who fit the description of atheist are less inclined to group think than anyone else. The rejection of one belief is no guarantee that he will replace it with something that serves him better.

To suggest that anybody is smarter than anybody else based on their beliefs is utterly ridiculous. Perhaps those who don't believe in guns are smarter than those who believe in owning gus because they are unable to shoot themselves in the foot. Or worse.

I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

There are different aspects of "seeing." That's the reason why witnesses to crimes or accidents have different interpretations of the same event.

When it comes to religious belief, most people must base their belief on faith - and faith alone, because there is nothing to "see" physically about the god they profess to know and understand. Most of what they know about this subject comes from an ancient book written by many human (all men) authors who didn't have the foggiest idea about anthropology, paleontology, chemistry, our environment, or evolution. We even know that much of what is written in the bible was cultural mythology.

In my belief system, I don't have to rationalize contradictions, omissions, or mistakes. Therefore, I believe that "my" seeing is more rational and logical.

I will have to take your word on that, since I know little about your beliefsystem. I agree with your opinion though, that a belief system that discourages intellectual growth is undesirable.

But my objection was to Hex's comment that an atheist is less inclined to adopt preconcieved notions. I do not believe that to be true.

What belief system would that be?

That is entirely a matter of subjective opinion.

Since anything can be subjective opinion, how do you support that any one group is smarter than another?

I don't. That's what I have been saying.

OK. Apparently, I am not as smart as a 5th grader. I, apparently, misunderstood.

I do that all the time
And I don't always have the grace to admit it..

Seems to me there's a great movement with materialists and atheists who are high and mighty on their "prove it" mentality. Even when talking about religions! Which everyone agrees is based on that whole faith thing.

In the end, there are those who see, and those who don't. Knowing the definition of faith is very different from truly understanding, KNOWING. Nobody can show you that.

If, however, atheists are smarter than religious people, I would argue that all those who have discovered anything which we would call man's greatest achievements did so with faith in their religion, or for their religion, or at least practiced a religion.

(I'm a guy who is not a big supporter of our world's large and prosperous organized religions)

Oh, yes, you are. You contradict yourself in the same post.

Not necessarily. CS seems to me to be simply voicing what James Joyce did when he put the words "There must be something in it" into Leopold's mouth after he had traduced religion at Paddy Dingam's funeral.

You're simply an unlettered person ci. who thinks literature and wisdom can be found in your frivolous amusements while you eat breakfast.

Memorizing something somebody else wrote or said, and believes what they read, shows they have no idea about the contradiction stated.

Yes? That's usually the whole point in being an atheist.

I thought the point in being an atheist was to not believe in God. I guess I was wrong, according to HexHammer.

Hex, that you see contradictions in another's faith doesn't mean your own is free of them when seen from yet another point of view. Do you think that none of the theories you believe in may possibly be false? If so, I think that you are now displaying a good deal of the arrogance and ignorance that we humans continuously strive with.


(edited, used wrong word :p)

Hi Intrepid,

you asked me for proof of God and I suggested that you look up in the sky after it has rained and look for his promise (proof) in the rainbow. Infact probably the since best evidence for His existence as Christ, is in the Bible. I'm not going to quote large swathes of it to you now here. Just read 1 corinthians 13 of the new testament, if you want to read a nice bit to yourself. Of course if you need proof of the Hindu deity please read the epic Bhagavada Gita where Krishna tries to persuade his nephew Arjuna of the arguments for going to war (against his kinsmen). Equally if you want persuasion of Buddha check out Buddhist scriptures by Edward Conze (Penguin Classics). More then that I cannot give you. God is a manmade image, of colours and details filled by stories. but just because he is manmade doesn't mean to say that he doesn't exist. Far from it. His is the greatest power ever imagined and the greatest love surely. His is the answer to our problems, and his faith is the greatest love imaginable. The best place to study him is infact not in some scholarly classroom or lecture theatre, but infact his temples, be it mosques/churches or whatever. There you can find the genuine convictions of true believers, which is sadly lacking by the scholarly inbred ignorance of Dawkins and his ilk. That is my take on it anyway. Thanks, John.