AbbyNormal

I have a question that has long bothered me. I had a friend once who said that "religon is for the weak-minded, for people who can't think for themselves". I think, to a degree, this is true. Many x-tians are blind followers and have never attempted a critical analysis of their religon.
What is beyond me is those who are critical thinkers, yet still have God in their life. I am an electrical engineer, so I am surrounded in my workplace by men and women of science, for whom critical thought is part of our everyday routine. Beyond my co-workers I have many other friends, all very intelligent, very rational people (biologists, geologists,astrophysicists)....yet many still cling to religous dogma.
I would very much appreciate what insights anyone here might have on this. How does a critical thinker come into religon? Thanks!

ManM

You may want to question those people with regards to what they actually believe. Maybe their theism has stood up to critical thinking?

[ November 05, 2002: Message edited by: ManM ]</p>

Ab_Normal

My sister is a mechanical engineer, her husband is an electrical engineer, and they are both devout Catholics. From my observations, it's like they have their brains compartmentalized - there's the logic box and the faith box. Whatever works for them, I suppose. I couldn't manage it, myself.

edited to fix my spelling, thanks for not picking on me about it!

[ November 05, 2002: Message edited by: Ab_Normal ]</p>

Abacus

It could be that the sense of community that religion provides overrides whatever doubts they might have. Critical thinking be damned!

Hobbs

I think the key word here is 'still'. How many of these engineers and scientists do you know who were nonreligious before and who found religion as a result of scientific investigations as opposed to people who grew up with religion and either bought it or at least didn't think it through and reject it before they studied engineering and science.

So the question, in at least most cases, is why doesn't a critical thinker get out of religion, why doesn't one who learns critical thinking apply that to one's religion?

daria

I fancy myself a half-way intelligent person, and in my most devout days, that was pretty much how I thought... since the faith box defies logic and deals with the supernatural, it was somehow "ok" to have the two different ways of looking at the world. I think the prospect of eternal life and yada yada yada can be so comforting that it sometimes overrides even the most logical thought patterns.

The Other Michael

Hi daria,

What supernatural?

cheers,
Michael

Living Dead Chipmunk

[edit]

Why do you believe that everyone should reach the same conclusion you've reached? Given the same facts, equally rational people can come to different end results. It's why we have peer-reviewed journals, after all.

I'm insatiably curious as to why anyone (call this generic "anyone" Person A) believes that if person B has not reached the same conclusion that they have, then person B is in some way inferior. This is what generally leads to the sort of shock displayed here, when person A encounters a person B who seems to be his/her intellectual equal, but has reached a different conclusion.

[ November 05, 2002: Message edited by: Living Dead Chipmunk ]</p>

NOGO

In my opinion intelligence is a secondary element in the issue that you have raised.

There is another element far more potent and deterministic. It's call emotional stability.

Everbody loses a father as they grow up. He either dies or, for most of us, we grow up and realize that our father cannot provide all that we want and need. Our father then becomes a friend or in some cases an enemy but no longer a father.

After losing our father we start thinking about life, death etc, and what it all means and try to sort things out. At some point in time we either become adults or remain forever children.

Those that become adults and have even an average intelligence will see right through religion and put it aside for what it is.

Those that remain children will partition their minds so as to keep their faith and the security that it provides them.

[ November 05, 2002: Message edited by: NOGO ]</p>

daria

My bad, I suppose I should have said something to the effect of: the idea of the supernatural--things that can/may exist outside the realm of what we know about nature because of science. I didn't mean to imply a belief or nonbelief in the supernatural on my part.