Easy Be

Todd Murphy explains <a href="http://www.innerworlds.50megs.com/deathanxiety.htm" target="_blank">here</a> that spiritualism including: near-death experiences, our belief
in God, and our belief in the after-life maybe just a phenomena experienced by the human brain.

I have seen many atheists make claims that if everyone was atheist the world would be much more improved. Now I don’t disagree that religion is a set back in evolution. Although I do feel it’s an unavoidable consequence of the phenomena that Murphy explains.

It’s also important to note that not everyone will experience this phenomena and will predominantly be felt by the weak minded. When I imply weak-minded I mean people that will be overwhelmed with fear of death or with sorrow. Now I agree if people thought as rationally as most members of the secular web no religion would be no problem. But this is simply not the world we live in. In the book, The Universe in a Nut Shell, Hawkings implies that he’s not sure that the human race should be categorized as intelligent. Well I agree I’m not that sure either. It bewilders me how 90% of the world can believe in the fairy tales that religions claim. I wonder how it would be possible for humanity to benefit from atheism with all the weak-minded people that exist.

Ron Singh

So, you are saying that 90% of the world is weak-minded? The Atheists however are not, rather they are strong-minded individuals that will contribute to society more than the ones that have some sort of spirituality?

Answerer

Well, it is too simplistic to just divide people into the catergories of weak-minded and strong-minded. Surely, no one is strong-minded all the time and verus vice.
I prefer to assume that religions are mainly for people who wish to deceive themselves sub-consciously.

Ron Singh

So this person consciously wants to lie to himself unconsciously? That's more absurd than atheism!

Dianna

It isn't that difficult to imagine people semi-consciously allowing themselves to be decieved for comfort.

Shared fantasies are reality for the people who adopt them. They may know on some level that they are only fantasizing; but the fear of letting go is so great that they easily repress the idea.

What is it about atheism that you find absurd?

Dianna.

Easy Be

sikh, Although it may seem that I implied this. I do not think 90% of the world is weak-minded but instead that a large portion are. As for the rest of the 90% they believe for other various reasons (i.e brainwashing).

Not every weak-minded person is better off being a theist than an atheist, however the ones who have a great fear of death will. Since many people are weak-minded spiritualism and religion will come from what Murphy explained.

Godless Dave

In addition to the weak-minded and the brainwashed are the strong-minded who use religion to control people.

DarkBronzePlant

Describing someone as "weak-minded" or "not weak-minded" is a little too binary. Everyone's brains, everyone's knowledge base, is made up of many, many elements. I think that belief in a god adds weight to a person's "stupidness" or "weak-mindedness" (for lack of better terms), but does not necessarily make that person stupid or weak-minded as a whole.

Wyrdsmyth

I'm not so sure the world is divided up into 90% theist and 10% atheist. I somehow doubt that. It seems that there are more atheists than that, from what I've read. Didn't someone cite there were nearly a billion atheists on earth? If so, then over 20% of the world is atheist.

In my own experience, from people I've met and known, I wouldn't draw a conclusion that 90% of them are religious. I know a lot of people who go to church, but admit they do it out of habit and aren't always sure if there's a god or not: I know a lot who are like that, perhaps even the majority. And a lot of them, if pressed, will admit they have their religion more for social reasons and cultural tradition, than due to any deep sense of spirituality. We shouldn't neglect recognizing this huge "moderate middle" of what we might call weak theists or weak agnostics.

Are those people weak-minded? A lot of people don't want the stigma of being called 'atheist,' so they go with the flow. And many can't even articulate arguments why they believe, or ought to. Is that weak? Maybe it is, but I can understand it and sympathize with it.

I think here on the Internet, we are more likely to see the two far ends of the spectrum -- away from that "moderate middle" -- because here (1) people are mostly anonymous, and don't feel the need to moderate their beliefs and (2) the people who participate on these boards have an interest in discussing theology and philosophy. So, to me, the people who at least have an intellectual interest and curiosity in questioning their own beliefs and/or the beliefs of others shouldn't be called weak-minded, on that account.

I can think of quite a few theists that I certainly wouldn't call weak-minded. St Augustine and St Aquinas come to mind, as do Descartes, Kant and William James.

[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: Wyrdsmyth ]</p>

Easy Be

OK, I understand that I shouldn't have used the word weak-minded with it's broad definition. I should have specified more clearly what type of weak-minded people I was referring to. However do you agree that God is at least necessary in people that have a great fear of death or those who suffer from great depression. Two good examples are cited by Murphy.

Now since this phenomena occurrs religion will naturally evolve from it. So won't religion and God be unavoidable?