RVCA

But that's exactly what faith is-- belief that disregards the application of reason or evidence. Faith is a dangerous concept in all areas of discourse, not just religion

WWWP

Yeah that's true. I guess it just seems like a lot of people I know who are religious at least have some kind of justifiable reasoning for why they believe in a god, like it's more of a "this is what makes the most sense to me" kind if thinking rather than "this is what my church told me so it must be true." I don't know. Like I said, I'm an atheist and very skeptical, but I can empathize with and understand religious beliefs more when there's something backing it up.

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Bane of your existence

I was an atheist for a solid six years. Then I came across some stuff that made me believe in God again. I've more than questioned his existence. And if he doesn't exist then he doesn't, no sweat off my brow. I just prey to whatever divine existence produced this insanely awesome world as often as I remember to. Atheists are far more judgmental than religious follk from what i've seen.

s_k

I agree with you on that. But I just can't wrap my head around it.
What I find even more astonishing though is how some people try to convert people to a certain religion, even though they somehow must have the mental ability to think "I may believe in something, but how do I know it's there?". How can they try and force something so... vague, upon someone else?
I'm sorry if I hurt someone by saying this but... How can some people be so naive to believe in something they don't even see themselves? I believe 'gullible' is the word?

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Scarlett O'Hara

I believe in something I can feel. I can feel God. Faith is a test of our love for God.

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Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

Schizophrenics can also tend to 'feel' that their dog is talking to them, and people who get severe brain damage can sometimes act violent even 'feel'-ing the need to randomly butcher their own family on a Sunday afternoon.

There is NOTHING more foolish than basing reality entirely on your own perception. The human brain is an extremely fragile chemical device.

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TockTockTock

Yes, but the belief in a higher power is entirely normal -- while schizophrenia is not. The concept of God in mankind stems from the psychological need of knowing there is a "fatherly figure" watching over them. Why do you think different peoples across the world developed theistic religions (even though they were completely isolated from each other)? Now, does this mean there is or isn't a god? I cannot say for sure.

It all comes down to these questions... why does it matter if a person is theistic or not? What will you gain from it? What will they gain from it?

djchameleon

Schizophrenia deals with auditory and visual hallucinations. Now if she said that she felt like God was speaking to her directly and she can repeat word for word what he said to her. That's schizophrenic but not just a general belief in a higher power.

The reason why it matters if someone is theistic or not is because people tend to judge all theistic people in the same way. They lump them into a certain category based off of previous experiences and so they feel like they know exactly how they will react to certain situations ahead of time based on their level of commitment to a God.

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Fame, fortune, power, titties. People say these are the most crucial things in life, but you can have a pocket full o' gold and it doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have someone to share that gold with. Seems simple. Yet it's an important lesson to learn. Even lone wolves run in packs sometimes.

Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra

It's not an accusation, simply an example of the fragility of the human mind. The fact of the matter is, a feeling just isn't enough considering the human brain's humbling imperfection, and the strength of those who can mislead.

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WWWP

I know this wasn't entirely your point but I wanted to point out that this statement is not true. In the original concept God was not defined as male or female and a lot of religions stressed the point that giving God a sex, a name or any other human characteristic is dangerous and lessons 'his' greatness. The patriarchal nonsense came much later than the founding ideas.

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