How do you turn a faith based believer into a evidence based critical thinker?

Answer 1

College Philosophy Class!
YEA!!! GO higher Education!!! YEA!!!

Answer 2

You assume that a faith-based believer cannot be also an evidence-based critical thinker. The two are not mutually exclusive, and to say so belies ignorance on the subject.

Answer 3

I grew up a Jehovah's Witness...a very strict, sheltered religion. It's a cult. I was that way until I met my (now) husband. He changed my beliefs and I'm so glad he did. He just kept talking to me about things, I researched my religion on the internet and found out that it's a crock of ****. Most people that are JW's today have no idea how the religion really started. They say to stay away from the internet, and now I know why..cuz you can actually find the truth out there. It took me a while to get over the "big brother complex" that someone was constantly watching my every move. My family disowned me because of it..which is really sad because their lives are more screwed up than mine, but they feel the need to shove their self righteous asses in my face.
It may take some convincing. I had a couple epiphanys before I finally realized organized religion is all based on falsehoods, greed and money...and what I was brought up to believe, was not all I thought it was. I'm sooo thankful my husband changed my views!! I can't imagine my kids growing up without a Xmas, Easter, BIRTHDAYS!! We don't acknowledge the "religious backings" for those holidays, we just do it out of pure enjoyment and love for our children. Imagine not celebrating one birthday!! I celebrated my first birthday when I was 27 years old..and it was my own.

Answer 4

You normally can't, they have to do it themselves. However as a teenager raised in a Christian home for all of my life i started to question the validity of some aspects of Christianity and even if God existed. Hoever with some basic studying you can see that there is evidence that a critical thinker can look at to support God, much more than even evolution. i would challenge anyone to read "Evidence that demands a verdict" by Josh McDowell and see if you still don't believe in God.

Answer 5

If you could build a time machine that could somehow pin point the period in time when a particular individual made their first decision to not think for themselves but rather let a book written almost 2000 years ago answer all their questions about life and how to live it. Then go into that time machine and travel back to that first critical decision when that particular person decided it was so much easier not think for themselves but rather follow all the sheep around them reading from the same old book. Then at that most critical moment when you can see the wheels turning in their head about to come to a grinding halt, put your arm around them and whisper into their ear......'Life is full of mystery and wonder to spend your lifetime joyfully discovering through the throngs of books written from learned people. Part of the joy of life is discovery and wonder, why let one old book stop that part of you that thirsts for knowledge? Why let one book make you so intellectually small? Don't believe others who would mislead you to not think for yourself. And don't believe anyone who says all life's answers can be put into one book.'

But alas a time machine will not be built. And it may not be morally correct to sway one from their religious beliefs even if it stunts them intellectually. If you can't get to them at that first moment when they decided to follow others because it seemed so much easier, it's often impossible to get through to them after. It's the beautiful simplicity of faith. All it requires is to believe and to be unwavering in that belief in the face of all evidence to the contrary.

All war is based on persons following an ideal, be it true or false. A people must only believe it's true and it has all the power needed to destroy others.

Answer 6

Great question. if the believer is extremist it's next to impossible. Religious addiction appear to go along the lines of smoking, drinking, drugs etc. Unless the individual is willing to accept the fact it may be useless. Just look at the extremist Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, Al qieuda, Jihadists, abortion clinic bombers in the US.

On the other hand a believer is quite OK if he does not harm himself or others, personally my hats off to them. Again it should be his/her own wish.

Critical thinking is necessary for life in general but belief is personal.

Answer 7

People make their own decisions, and sometimes they would rather believe something without looking at evidence. We choose our own realities, after all. But the best thing to do is have an open mind and see things from the other person's perspective, and then you can use their own thoughts and beliefs to persuade them to your side, if that's what you really want. You might learn something from them as well.

Answer 8

Your so great about evidence it should be evident on how it is done. Try the dictionary and learn what faith means than you will quit knocking your self out trying to prove the disprovable.

Answer 9

I agree. You don't. What's the point of faith if you look for hard evidence? You need to take some things at face value.

Answer 10

You can still have faith in stuff and be a critical thinker.