Why are so many people capable of believing anything?

[The Black Swordsman]

This is what I used to say

"I believe there is a god, I just don't know if it is a personal theistic god, a spinoza/Einstein deistic god, or just a metaphor for the universe and it's mystery. Whatever it is I should be thankful"

However, due to recent scientific discovery's I am leaning more and more to a theistic god. Read Anthony Flew's "there is a god" when the worlds leading atheist turned into a believer in God due to science.
1) The universe is not eternal and was created 14 billion years ago.
2) The universe is highly tuned, 1 part in 10^120
3) It was thought for decades that all homo erectus involved at the same time to homo sapians on different contents. However, recently it has been shown that all homo sapians have a common father as recent as 60,000 years ago.

Many kids have a 16 year old atheist phase where they hate the world. Some of us just outgrow it eventually. Unfortunately the 20% you guys are talking about who are still atheist haven't outgrown this phase and reached the maturity level of us believers.

 

[Boondocksaint27]

Can you qualify "better"? The way I understand your statements is "to each his own" = form your own value system and go with it. That's no religion at all but self elevating constructs of the individual minds. Where are the lines drawn? What makes someone "better"? How can any activity cross a line when the line is set by each individual?

The point I'm getting at is you are going to place your judgement on "to each his own" at some point and determine something is not "better", and in doing so you contradict your own rationale.

If whatever said person believes makes them a more decent human being to their fellow human beings, and said beliefs don't encourage them to commit harm upon their fellow human beings, then yes. To each their own. I have not yet reached the point where this spiritual outlook on life has contradicted my own rationale.

 

[Hartsock]

I grew up LDS, I never really believed it, it always seemed kind of far fetched to me but I went along with it because it was easier than going against the grain at the time. My parents weren't really forcing it down my throat, they just kind of assumed I was into it and treated me like I was into it and I never gave them much of a reason to believe other wise. As I got older I made it more and more clear that it really wasn't for me, that I was cool with it and I wasn't against it but I didn't believe in it. My parents whole heartedly 100% completely believe in the LDS religion. I respect them for it, it makes them happy and they love it. They respect my choices and they don't push it on me, we have a great relationship above and beyond our religious indifference's.

 

[BubblesKitties]

this thread smokes poles
it sucks sawlty balls
it could suck the sheets up through freakazoids bowserhole and out the blowhole
the smell would chase flies off ****
the style will make grade 8 dike french and english instructors chuckle
it blows chunks further than PueSmoker\
IT makes kittie cry.

 

[TroutBum]

I don't think it is just faith, or faith at all.
I think it is a personality type and/or longing (bad childhood) that leads them to seek a father figure. They are invested in idolizing the charismatic leader so they go along with what he spews.

And to think, I just gave you my first pos rep in another thread. Sad, really. I do love how you lump every single person into your "Mormonz are teh DEVILS and are brainwashed Trunk Or Treaters!!@ loL!!1" mold.

There are such things as deadbeat dads.

Deadbeat dad isn't exactly what I was thinking, but along the same lines. That is, I will happily watch my kids from a safe distance as they do stupid things. I watch and I laugh. When they fall and get hurt, I laugh. When they boo-hoo about something, I boo-hoo right back to them in baby talk just to let them know how annoying it is. Then we both laugh. My point is, as a father, I'm always watching, but I rarely let them know I'm watching.

Good thing he isn't then huh.

This is just as bad as Slopper's post. For all we know, he is a deadbeat dad. There is a fine line between what you "believe" and what you "know". People who "know" things that, at this point, are impossible to "know" are irritating as hell.

this thread smokes poles

Hard to argue with this.

OP: I got some junk mail this week from some investor guy in a cheap suit telling me that Kansas was about to have an oil boom, and that I should buy this certain stock. 3,000% gains! I know, you know, the whole world knows, that it's a scam. That didn't stop me from reading the whole damn booklet and having serious thoughts of looking the company up and maybe investing some monies. It's a damn good thing I'm too lazy to actually do anymore work than is absolutely necessary, or I might have jumped all over it. The point of that little story? I don't know. People are stupid and will believe things because that's just they way they are. I'm one of the stupids, I guess. I'm an easy target for salesmen, because I always take the first offer of the first piece of crap they show me. I don't know why, but it has always been that way. I'm sure there is a psychological explanation for it, and I'm sure there are pills to fix it if you really wanted to.

Also, Bush took out the Twin Towers.

 

[Stoked]

Those who want a "relationship" with him seem to have one Trout.

 

[One Brow]

Like I said earlier, you can learn to discern between subjective emotions and outside spiritual force.

HOw do you know the standards you have set for determining the difference are valid?

Saying that you don't think it is an actual spiritual entity without feeling it is like saying you don't believe water is actually wet without feeling it for yourself.

There are something like five different ways that analogy is inappropriate.

 

[One Brow]

1) The universe is not eternal and was created 14 billion years ago.
2) The universe is highly tuned, 1 part in 10^120
3) It was thought for decades that all homo erectus involved at the same time to homo sapians on different contents. However, recently it has been shown that all homo sapians have a common father as recent as 60,000 years ago.

1) "Not eternal" is unproven, unless you limit the universe to our spacetime continuum. Even then, "not eternal" =/= "created".
2) The puddle describing how the hole was perfectly made to suit the puddle, so the hole must be designed.
3) Y-chromosome Adam lived some 200,000 years ago, Mitochondrial Eve some 800,000 years ago. Both were part of a large population of human ancestors.

 

[The Black Swordsman]

1) "Not eternal" is unproven, unless you limit the universe to our spacetime continuum. Even then, "not eternal" =/= "created".
2) The puddle describing how the hole was perfectly made to suit the puddle, so the hole must be designed.
3) Y-chromosome Adam lived some 200,000 years ago, Mitochondrial Eve some 800,000 years ago. Both were part of a large population of human ancestors.

1) Now its time for my own puddle analogy. If you saw a Pond full of water and someone told you it is bottomless and full of infinite water would it be true? No, you will know it won't be true because you would ask "why does the water level stop here and not overflow" It is the same thing with time, if someone told you time is eternally old you know thats not true. I can't find the Quote right now but I read it clearly from Steven Hawkins the Grand Design in which he states that the time of this universe was created at the big bang. He proposes it came from a different universe somehow however.

2) This is the biggest misconeption that atheists love using. I am not saying you should be surprised you are alive, I am saying you should be surprised the universe is fine tuned. This is a famous analogy. Imagen you are in a room full of like 20 swat members all having their gun pointed at you with lasers. They countdown 5..4..3..2..1 boom. They all shoot. What??? You are alive? Now you shouldn't be surprised you are alive because if you weren't you wouldn't be able to think it that you are alive. However, you should be surprised that the room full of 20 trained swat members all with laser guided guns missed. You shouldn't be surprised that you are alive in this fine tuned universe, but rather the universe is "fantastically fine tuned" taking the words from the atheist noble prize winning professor Steven Weinberg.
3) No it is as recent as 60,000 years and as late as 142,000 years according to wikipedia and thats around what I rememberd learning it when I did evolutionary research as an undergrad. Also I didn't want to get into specifics but in Islam he wasn't the only man alive at the time or anything, he was the first prophet and we are all descendents of him "Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds descendents, some of them from others... " this imply's there were other descendents as well.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

When I was in Middle School I went to church just because their youth group had awesome snowboarding trips for really cheap each year. Does this mean I'm going to hell?

 

[Scat]

When I was in Middle School I went to church just because their youth group had awesome snowboarding trips for really cheap each year. Does this mean I'm going to hell?

I'm sure your ticket is punched and simply awaiting the ticket master to collect it.

 

[PearlWatson]

And to think, I just gave you my first pos rep in another thread. Sad, really. I do love how you lump every single person into your "Mormonz are teh DEVILS and are brainwashed Trunk Or Treaters!!@ loL!!1" mold.

Deadbeat dad isn't exactly what I was thinking, but along the same lines. That is, I will happily watch my kids from a safe distance as they do stupid things. I watch and I laugh. When they fall and get hurt, I laugh. When they boo-hoo about something, I boo-hoo right back to them in baby talk just to let them know how annoying it is. Then we both laugh. My point is, as a father, I'm always watching, but I rarely let them know I'm watching.

I wasn't talking about Mormons with that statement seeing as no Mormon alive today knows Joseph Smith personally. I was talking about the Waco people that Reno torched, Haley's comet suicide people, End of the World people, Warren Jeff's followers. All the cults that depend on the charisma of their leader to lure people in. I don't think their belief system has anything to do with real faith but idolization.

I wasn't saying I believed God was a deadbeat dad. I was playing Devil's advocate.