Religion is a trick using the same kinds of dishonesty used in magic and prophesy. To pull this off you present yourself as an emissary of a god. You convince people to have faith in you. You convince these folks that having faith in what you say is having; “Faith in God”. You guide their fantasies by speaking for the god. Believers will respect you to the point of worship.
People of every religion believe the god stories because they have faith in these tricksters. In earlier times it took charisma or a gimmick to sell god fantasies. Now you can go to school to learn how an established religion would want their version of a god fantasy handled. Weather they believe their own BS or not, these folks are where gods come from.
Just the one post then? I am also confused by the contradiction in you claiming to be an atheist, whilst simultaneously claiming a deity created everything, and then destroyed itself / was destroyed, in the act?
And of course all without even the pretence of objective evidence, or a word of explanation?
Their mental disease is having faith in people. That may not always be bad, but it is where the believer goes wrong. The rest of the blame for religion goes to the tricksters who do anything they can to promote their god fantasy.
Theist have faith in the person who told them the god stories. They have faith in the people who guide their god fantasies. They have faith in the people who wrote their holy books. There is no proof or any real evidence for a god. It takes faith in people to believe the god stories.
Whilst I broadly agree, as it seems counterintuitive that anyone would accept claims, when they have no faith those claims are true, we should be careful to note that religious faith is defined differently from the primary definition of faith. As religious apologists like the woeful Lane Craig, often use a false equivalence, to dishonestly pretend the two are the same.
Faith
noun
1.complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
2. strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.
So when they make specious claims, like even atheists have faith, it is pure semantic sophistry, as atheism does not need any faith, only the lack or absence of belief in any deity or deities, and an atheist simply would not need religious faith, even were there very rare exceptions, the definition of religion, whilst not mutually exclusive, is hardly synonymous with atheism.
I think that’s an oversimplification of very complex subjects and a sweeping generalization.
Christianity only? Or all theism?
If the former, then you’re asserting that ~2.4 billion people have a mental disorder. If the latter, then over five billion.
How are you defining mental disorder?
Is it a mental disorder to believe the things the big people taught you when you were little? All things? Or just religious things?
You disagree with folks who assert there is / are god/s. Okay. That seems reasonable. Is that disagreement a reliable metal health diagnostic tool?
Is it only a disagreement about theism that leads you to the determination that a person has a mental disorder? Or do other disagreements lead you there as well?
I’m not asking all this to smack you around. I am asking because, imho, it’s important to challenge assertions…ANY assertions. It provides an opportunity to review and think about opinions and stances we hold.
Do you consider that accusing someone of having a mental disorder will benefit a discussion about the veracity of their beliefs? Probably not, unless of course, that’s not the goal.
Just that, from experience, I have come across many who are mentally ill that were obsessed with Christianity, religious psychosis, and they sounded crazier than usual.
“Many who are mentally ill…”
How many? Were they diagnosed as such by a mental health professional?
“…obsessed with Christianity…”
What do you mean by obsessed? How do you measure it?
“… religious psychosis…”
Diagnosed as such?
“…they sound crazier than usual.”
How crazy is usual? How is crazier than usual measured?
Perhaps I sound picky. Perhaps I actually am. Do you suppose folks who identify as atheist should get a hall pass in Assumption High School?
Well, tbh, I was responding more toward the many folks who pop in here and are brand new and / or lurking. I get concerned that folks who might otherwise engage in conversation may not when they read something like that. It can be taken literally and feed into “the atheists are hateful” stuff too frequently told to them by folks who believe we are dangerous.
Additionally, I think it’s completely appropriate to attack ideas. It’s not appropriate, however, to attack people.
You make a good point. I apologize. I shouldn’t have said that. I have met some very nice Christians before who you wouldn’t think were religious, they just say they are.
Christians exist who cherry pick the aspects of Christian teaching that are actually moral (e.g., be empathetic and kind toward others) and who live very exemplary and inspiring lives. I have noted that the very best of these don’t even claim credit for their god or their belief-system, for making them good persons. They don’t even claim to BE good. They just DO good works. They are just kind, generous, approachable, helpful souls.
My late / prior wife’s uncle and aunt were such people. They saw needs in the community, and helped where they could. For example, the Uncle was handy and had his own workshop. He would organize other men to construct wheelchair ramps at the homes of people who had been in accidents or contracted physical maladies such that they needed them. Built them and installed them and maintained them (and if no longer needed, dismantled them) free of charge. Both he and his wife provided wise counsel to those who were hurting. Officially they had a pastor at their church but he was a tone-deaf asshat and misanthrope. If people needed actual counsel or comfort, they were quietly redirected to the home of this couple.
I aspire to be such a person, but just not via religious cruft. I have certainly met areligious people who are capable of being kind, generous, empathetic, caring and supportive. These are learned skills. They aren’t something you can’t cultivate just because you aren’t a god-botherer.
