James T

It just occurred to me, reading an ex christians comments on past fundamentalist christian involvement, and tying this to something that came out of cognitive neuroscience when they suggested having found something that could be called the god nodule in the brain (through fMRI), that perhaps the christian belief thing is a psychological / neurological tendancy to want to look for certain types of answers in life.

Perhaps a contributing factor is a desire to have an absolute provide the basis for belief in what you live for and what is good in life. For those of you who have had this experience in christian belief (or for those of you who have found it fulfils this need) do you still find the need present, needing some alternative but reasonably certain answer to fill the hole.

I'm reminded of one atheist some time ago here who had a reasonably strong reaction against a view that there are elements of nihilism that are reasonably accurate. Nihilism does not perhaps provide much to move forward from, but it does help clean the slate of preceptions of ultimate purpose.

Splarnst

No. Since the answers given by religion were always taken on faith, they were far from certain. Uncertainty, especially about the future, is a fact of life. I find the idea of having total certainty of the future, in the most literal sense, inconceivable.

Aravnah Ornan

One thing that I found so frustrating about Christianity was the enormous uncertainty inherent in its "certain" answers. The existence of so many Christian denominations, each of which could "prove" that it was the most Biblically correct church by selectively citing scripture, showed me that the Bible can be used to "prove" anything and thus to determine nothing. At least atheists don't teach that a wrong guess is punishable by eternal damnation.

So, no, I don't miss the "certainty" that Christianity was never able to provide to begin with.

SkyDancer_0202

When I first heard about the concept of a "god nodule", I joked that this explained why atheists are so few. We are the mutations lacking that 'nodule'

From what I've since read about the concept, though, I would have to say that atheists are only different in that we seek our answers for different sources than do religious people.

The point of the 'god nodule' (as I understand it) is that certain experiences/beliefs/behaviors/thoughts set off certain areas of our brains which prove to be beneficial to our physical/mental/emotional well being. If I am understanding it correctly, meditation (which is used in various ways by many religions and by those with no religion) has already been shown to reduce stress, etc - and is part of the whole "god nodule" concept.

From what I've read, tickling these areas of the brain somehow leads to a sense of purpose. One essay I read described it as leading to a desire to maintain one's own well-being, the well-being of one's species, and a desire to keep moving through "life stages" So, if ticling the brain in this manner leads to thoughts/actions that are ultimately good for the species, it makes sense that we retain this ability. (Note: to those of you who REALLY know what I'm am trying so clumsily to express, I laugh at me along with you but beg of you to correct my horrible layman's way of expressing all of this. )

Anyway, my pov is that all religion does is bundle up the triggers in a slick little package (complete with viruses and unstable platforms ) - makes it easy for the end user to use, but not the only way and perhaps not the best way. Atheists, otoh, do seek to trigger those very same brain areas, but we do so by different means.

Unless someone is really and completely a genuine nihilist - in which case maybe they really are a mutant

Alethias

I've thought a lot about this topic. What I've come up with so far:

1)People need to explain the unexplainable. It seems common in humanity to have a fear of the unknown. When there are issues that seem unanswerable or the existing answers are insufficient, we 'feel' the lack and seek to fill it. Being able to resort to the supernatural, i.e. god or angels or demons, for example, gives us a default answer that seems sufficient for many.
2)People need authority in their lives. There seems to be a common need for a higher authority that takes ultimate responsibility when things go wrong. Psychologically, when a persons life has significant problems, it can be very hard to bear to think that there really is no one greater than oneself to turn to to fix things and make it all better.
3)People need ritual. Ritualistic behavior seems to be innate in humanity. There seems, for example, to be a need among a lot of people to mark the changing of seasons. Ritual at significant events, like births and birthdays and weddings and deaths and puberty and things like that really matter to many. Religion provides a common framework for giving people that ritual.
4)People need to feel like they are part of something significant that is larger than themselves. A common question I deal with when people find out that I'm no longer a christian is "What do you have to live for, then?". Being a christian gives many people purpose in their lives. If I took away their christianity without replacing it with something, they would lose purpose in their lives.

As far has how I deal with it now: Concerning #1, Science matters. When I realized that since god doesn't exist it's not capable of explaining the unexplainable, I am dependant on things like science for seeking answers. There is much it doesn't and won't explain, it's not perfect, but it is better than a mythical god that provides no real answers at all. For my point #2, I am part of authority structures. I report to a boss, and to an extent that it is reasonable I obey the laws of my land. I take responsibility for my mistakes and don't have to have a god to keep my sanity. For #3 I have ritual in my daily life. I still celebrate christmas, for example, but the 'christ' part of it doesn't matter to me anymore. I put up a tree and exchange gifts and generally have a good time without attributing any special christian meaning to it. People have been doing such around winter solstice for 1000's of years and will continue to do so. For my #4, I am part of Humanity, and I am for the success of humanity. It's why I consider myself a Secular Humanist.

SwordOfTruth

Imaginary Mark

Same here.

James T

Ha, this made me think of the comparison between linux and windows. They both run on the same hardware, are constrained by the same physical limitations, but in one you get the slick exterior and shown the way to think and on the other you have the same top level options but the nitty gritty under the glossy exterior is all there for you to use when you need.

James T

SoT, explain the unexplainable, isn't that like a paradox? But yes people do like explanations.

Authority, ritual and involvement. I think you may be right. An interesting point though, because in a sense this excludes the leaders of the church. I have long held this suspicion.

Personally I have difficulty aligning myself with any of those four though, so I suppose this helps explain why I have never been moved by religion.