Does Faith in the Divine = Stupidity?

[BudAshes]

I know this is how a lot of atheists feel, but being an agnostic i can't whole heartedly buy into it. I know faith can hurt when it comes to broadening your horizon's, but it can also help inspire people beyond their normal limits. Just curious about thoughts on Faith in the Above's effect on humanity, and individuals.

 

[Auggie]

Bunglemustard.

 

[FoBoT]

athiests don't believe in faith

faith = firm belief in something for which there is no proof

and athiests only believe in things that are provable/proven

 

[IronWing]

Who the hell gave this more than no stars?

 

[MrWizzard]

Originally posted by: ironwing
Who the hell gave this more than no stars?

I think athiests find that offensive!

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Sometimes it's stupidity. Many people believe in the unseen because they were raised or bullied into it and don't question it.

But other people, like me, who have college educations and are naturally very cynical, it actually takes a lot of courage and strength to have faith. Especially when you know every every insecure budding pseudo-intellectual twirp is going to assert intellectual superiority over you because of it.

So the answer is, sometimes. And you should have known this.

 

[IAteYourMother]

i award this thread 0 stars

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: Auggie
Bunglemustard.

^ What he said.

 

[buck]

This isn't black and white, there are plenty of idiots on both ends.

That being said, I am an idiot.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Faith in the above? You mean like space?

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Faith in the above? You mean like space?

no, like in your attic
do you have faith that you have an attic in your house

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Faith in the above? You mean like space?

Yes. Have you not read CS Lewis? Space is not empty, it is crammed full of angels. Now science has proved it.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
athiests don't believe in faith

faith = firm belief in something for which there is no proof

and athiests only believe in things that are provable/proven

Sorta. But the simplest definition of Atheism is the lack of Theism. Atheists simply contend that there is no good reason to be a Theist. Attributing any more beliefs than that to someone based purely on the term "Atheist" is purely speculation.

Oh, and 0 stars for the topic. Ask better questions.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark

Originally posted by: FoBoT
athiests don't believe in faith

faith = firm belief in something for which there is no proof

and athiests only believe in things that are provable/proven

Sorta. But the simplest definition of Atheism is the lack of Theism. Atheists simply contend that there is no good reason to be a Theist. Attributing any more beliefs than that to someone based purely on the term "Atheist" is purely speculation.

Actually, Atheists contend that they do not believe in a God or Gods, and that's ALL they contend, so much as you can call Atheists a cohesive group. It's not a universal view or anything like that, it's a definition of a singular personal belief. One. Not a system. ANYTHING else having to do with their beliefs are tied to that person and that person alone, not Atheism.


<--- Former Atheist, currently Agnostic.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark

Originally posted by: FoBoT
athiests don't believe in faith

faith = firm belief in something for which there is no proof

and athiests only believe in things that are provable/proven

Sorta. But the simplest definition of Atheism is the lack of Theism. Atheists simply contend that there is no good reason to be a Theist. Attributing any more beliefs than that to someone based purely on the term "Atheist" is purely speculation.

Oh, and 0 stars for the topic. Ask better questions.

ah, then maybe some of the people on ATOT labeling themselves athiests are really anti-religion or something, they are like evangelical christians in their fervor to prostelitize their athiest non-beliefs

 

[glenn1]

Originally posted by: BudAshes
I know this is how a lot of atheists feel, but being an agnostic i can't whole heartedly buy into it. I know faith can hurt when it comes to broadening your horizon's, but it can also help inspire people beyond their normal limits. Just curious about thoughts on Faith in the Above's effect on humanity, and individuals.

So unlike atheists, you're humble enough to only half-heartedly tell yourself how much smarter you are than a person of religious faith.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Faith in the above? You mean like space?

no, like in your attic
do you have faith that you have an attic in your house

No, I am an atticeist.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark

Originally posted by: FoBoT
athiests don't believe in faith

faith = firm belief in something for which there is no proof

and athiests only believe in things that are provable/proven

Sorta. But the simplest definition of Atheism is the lack of Theism. Atheists simply contend that there is no good reason to be a Theist. Attributing any more beliefs than that to someone based purely on the term "Atheist" is purely speculation.

Oh, and 0 stars for the topic. Ask better questions.

ah, then maybe some of the people on ATOT labeling themselves athiests are really anti-religion or something, they are like evangelical christians in their fervor to prostelitize their athiest non-beliefs

Atheists (The E comes before the I) can be anti-religious, but being Atheist does not mean you automatically are. I know plenty of Atheists who couldn't care less what other people believe, as long as they aren't constantly hassled because of the *belief* they hold.

 

[Tiamat]

Faith in the divine can = stupidity, but in most cases it doesn't alter your ability to make sound decisions for everyday things.

For example, Christian Scientists believe that faith alone can cure ailments. I think that not getting treated for ailments is stupid.
Another example, [insert majority religions] people that have faith in the divine and practice good ethics can make sound decisions that anyone else (with good ethics) can make without fail.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
athiests don't believe in faith

faith = firm belief in something for which there is no proof

and athiests only believe in things that are provable/proven

And the great irony of that, of course, is that this belief (that one's worldview rests solely on things which can and have been proved) is twice as ridiculous as any belief in the divine, the flying spaghetti monster, or invisible pink unicorns. At least those beliefs can't be proven or disproven; the belief that atheists are grounded firmly in irrefutable logic can be disproven fairly quickly using the selfsame logic.

There is no "proof" that we're not in a Matrix-style world completely different from what our senses are able to perceive. Even if you assume logic to be a core truth (and that is an assumption), you can't reason your way out of a paper bag without a few premises...which can't be deduced directly. All logic and science rests on "first principles"...which are only true in that they haven't disagreed with our observations yet. So basically you have to have faith that cause follows effect, that the physical laws of the universe aren't changing, it's just our understanding of them that develops, that your physical senses and mental pathways are reliable and consistent, and a number of other very fundamental, core beliefs.

The difference, I suppose, is that atheists tend to have fewer core beliefs than non-atheists. But Occam's razor isn't meant to be a solid proof, just a simple way to cut through the BS in the face of competing theories that both completely explain the situation in front of you.

Indeed, it's scary the level to which people are completely and utterly devoted to atheism and science. Just as much religious fervor attaches itself to these things as to the old-time religions. And just as any good priest back in the day would urge their followers to consider their actions carefully, and not to assume that their way was 100% correct and that their understanding of faith was perfect (even though this was a faith which the priest shared), any good scientist today should urge their followers not to fall into a worshipful state and consider science as the only and perfect truth. This blind devotion serves no one, and is in fact quite frightening.

 

[marvdmartian]

There's nothing wrong with faith in a higher power (your choice of which, of course, though some folks will tell you guessing wrong will be the worst mistake you could make in your life.....or afterlife!!). Faith in an almighty being has been around for most of human history. What I have a problem with is faith in a specific religion, which is nothing more than putting your faith in the interpretations of men that have come before you (which explains why there are so many religions, with so many different beliefs, and why most of them will tell you that if you believe in anything but their religion, you're WRONG).

People that believe in nothing are usually the first ones, in times of extraordinarily high personal stress, that call out to God to save them. Ironic, isn't it??

 

[Flyback]

Everyone lives by faith. Some are just more ready to admit to it.

(By faith I mean a firm belief in something for which there is no proof )

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: BudAshes
Just curious about thoughts on Faith in the Above's effect on humanity, and individuals.

Forget that... What about Faith in the Below, or Faith in that which is to the Left?

 

[ZzZGuy]

To have faith is to believe without proof.

I do not have faith in man, thus do not believe ANY religion as it is all based on the word of a man/men. Jesus could of been a cult leader in the right place at the right time for all we know. You can quote all the locations in the bible that are factual, but it only means it was someone from that age that wrote it, doesn't make him right. And saying it's true really loudly or for a long time (like centuries) doesn't count.

I have no issue someone having faith in whatever until it impairs their ability to make rational decisions, which happens way to often. Those with a a strong faith that twists their view of reality until they can no longer reason (ex- to hate someone because they do not believe what you believe, the attempt to suppress anything that contradicts you ranging from wanting to ban books to genocide) are a cancer on humanity.


As for god, well i look to science on this one. If you look at all the things that HAVE to go right in the human body, that can never fail for the entire length of our lives, the complexness of just one cell let alone the whole body... it's a miracle that we are alive. Then there is how we where created, which we have no clue how that happened.
So i believe in a god.

 

[Mo0o]

Finally, an orignal thread we haven't beaten to death