jdlongmire

Ah, the old, "what is wrong with these crazy theists? Well, I'll tell you what's wrong...they're mentally ill!" strawman thread. Which I think is maybe apropos, since theists think you guys are are spiritually ill.

I suppose the rubber meets the road at who gets to validate their theory objectively.

Unfortunately, historically, when the eradication of of either of these "illnesses" have been attempted by Mankind, the results have been less than appealing...

joedad

I do have a BIL in his early 40s who suffered brain damage at birth. He has the mental capacity of a 2-3 year old child, and his belief in the Santa and Easter Bunny fables is rock solid. He no doubt believes the God fable similarly, judging from his behavior.

Absolutely no one has ever told him that these things are just stories. The presents continue to arrive, the cookies get eaten, the carrots get eaten, Santa comes and goes leaving presents, etc, so the myth gets maintained. Is it any mystery then that he willingly and happily maintains belief in these things?

As far as mental impairment goes, developing children who believe in Santa are not mentally impaired. Good proof that they are not mentally impaired might just as well be that they jettison Santa belief quite readily while still children. It’s the reasons they willingly maintain and reject Santa belief that are important, and I maintain that these reasons in very large part have nothing to do with an actual “Santa.�? The deconversion is too sudden to make that an accurate observation. They didn’t just suddenly get over any mental impairment, and nor did they do any in-depth study of “Twas the Night before Christmas.�?

It seems to me anyway that children obey a social imperative against questioning Santa belief, and then quickly replace it with a social imperative in support of non-belief. Certainly it has to do with knowledge, but in my experience I never met a child who was maintaining an agnostic position about Santa’s possible existence. We would probably see agnosticism about Santa as possibly demonstrating mental impairment. The fact is that kids deconvert, and they do it quickly.

Jagella

I’m very glad you asked. To be perfectly honest, I was basing my opinion on personal experience and observation that there appears to be an inverse correlation between educational level attained and religiosity. I should also point out that I don’t mean to confuse intelligence with education. I was referring to education above rather than intelligence.

Nevertheless, I’ve found some fascinating studies that seem to confirm that greater intelligence means lesser religiosity. Consider the following findings:

Fascinating, is it not? I believe such research findings are worthy of another thread in this forum. You can read more about the link between atheism and higher intelligence at:

http://www.objectivethought.com/atheism/iqstats.html

Of course you will find some exceptions to the apparent rule. No doubt some atheists’ brains could use a tune-up, and many theists are very intelligent. Isaac Newton, for example, was devoutly religious yet he may have been one of the smartest people who ever lived.

Jagella

Jagella

I have weird dreams almost every night, but I never meant to imply that weird dreams mean that the dreamer is mentally ill. Mental illness, in my amateurish opinion, refers to any thoughts or feelings a person has that are at variance with the obvious state of reality. After my experiences with religion, I must conclude that many of the basic beliefs in religion have little to do with reality. Hence, I noted the similarities between mental illness and religiosity.

If so, then my post above explaining that there may be a biological basis for religion would be correct. Nevertheless, we need to be careful what we deem to be “the natural tendency of man.�? Millions of people today are atheists, and I can tell you that atheism comes natural for me. Besides, if religion is so “natural,�? then why do most religions spend a lot of time indoctrinating children?

I believe that might fit my definition of mental illness, but I must reiterate that I’m no psychologist.

Jagella

Jagella

What does it mean to be “spiritually ill�??

Please don’t leave us hanging here. Can you elaborate on how history demonstrates that the lack of religious belief leads to those unappealing results?

Jagella

Jagella

It’s no mystery, and if I received what I wanted, then maybe I’d be more likely to believe in some god or other.

If there’s anything that might break religiosity in even the most devout person, I believe it may be a “social imperative.�? It’s no coincidence that religionists seek out other believers. Their faith is bolstered by knowing that other people believe what they do. If such social support of religious beliefs was lacking, then I submit that religion might very well wane.

Jagella

Killer Mike

Actually psychological pathologies are a continum. Nobody is suggesting all theists are like Charles Manson. But Oxford University Press published "Religion and Mental Health" about 3-4 years ago, containing several articles by college professors. There is a direct correlation with the level of "religiousity" with the level of neurosis. In other words the more religious the more neurotic. But a word of caution in all fairness, psychologists do acknowledge a certain level of neurosis is not necessarily bad, provided it helps someone cope with lifes stresses and does not interfere with their ability to live productive lives. Like a child who has a made up friend, theism is a coping mechanism. But technically it is a form of mental illness.

jdlongmire

Concerning...the Soviet Union, the present say "Republic" of China, North Korea, The "Republic" of Vietnam and numerous lesser officially atheist governments such as held Poland, Hungary and Romania.

Some stats

...and besides, I didn't say the lack of religious belief lead to anything, it is when certain beliefs or lack of beliefs are framed as criminal, detrimental to the State or an illness that needs treatment that mass murders begin.

jdlongmire

suuure, and all "true" atheists lack any neuroses...

That is such a strawman bunch of pseudo scientific horse hockey...

Wow, and maybe most had brown eyes, too...maybe brown eyes are a good predictor of mental illness!!!

Please post a link to this article.

GoodLittleAtheist

I always find it interesting how these atheist regimes are brought up to knock down atheism. (I realize that wasn't your point here. I am thinking more of the unfortunate day that I caught 10 minutes of Hannity and Colmes.) As though it is atheism itself that is the root of the problem. But the real horrors come when belief or unbelief is forced on the unwiling.