What do you say to the scholars who say" Religion is just a mental illness"?

Question

Nothing can be seen, touched, proved and yet so many believe? Why?

thanks for some great replys! What a debate this could be!

Answer 1

You say "Yep... so it is."

Why do so many believe? Because there is a whole criminal business enterprise in plave whose job is to MAKE you believe. They do so by presenting you with mythology, wrapped in lies, misinformation and misrepresentations, specifically designed and intended to keep you from thinking for yourself... because if you ever did that, you would be lost to them. Its all about power and wealth... and you are the pigeon.

Science, logic, reason, and critical thought have long been regarded (by religious people) as the enemies of religion. Considering that those are the tools of highly intelligent people, it should not come as a huge shock to learn that intelligence (or lack of it) has some connection to religious belief. In fact, there are about 20 studies, conducted over a period of 80 years or so, that reveal a statistically significant NEGATIVE CORRELATION between intelligence and religiosity. In plainer language, that means that they found that the more intelligent a person is, the LESS likely that person is to be religious.

If you think about it, those findings make a lot of sense. Intelligence tests mainly provide an indication of reasoning ability and problem solving ability... logic, reason and critical thought. These are the very qualities that see through religion, and recognize it for what it is; i.e., religion cannot survive the glaring light of reason and critical thought. This was well understood by important figures in religious history. This is why the early church destroyed all the 'tainted' (non-canonical) writings, which were in conflict with dogma... Greek philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, engineering... all the good stuff. By this means, Christianity dragged humanity directly into the Dark Ages.

Just to illustrate the point, let's see what Martin Luther, the 'father' of protestantism, had to say about 'reason' and secular knowledge:

"Reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed. Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense, and understanding, and whatever it sees must be put out of sight and ... know nothing but the word of God." ~ Martin Luther

"Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but -- more frequently than not -- struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God." ~ Martin Luther

"There is on earth among all dangers no more dangerous thing than a richly endowed and adroit reason... Reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed." ~ Martin Luther

"Reason should be destroyed in all Christians." ~ Martin Luther

Answer 2

Sometimes it's because their mom & dad said so. Sometimes it's as simple as strange coincidences which seem to defy all odds. Sometimes it's because their prayers have been answered. Sometimes it's due to a "medical miracle", such as faith healing, which tends to baffle doctors. I'm not saying thre isn't a scientific explaination for how faith healing works, but the power of the mind over the body is truly fascinating. The possibility of a person (or entity) willing something into existence seems to be the foundation of all spirituality.

The scholars are exactly right: there is no scientific experiment that can ever prove the existence of God beyond the shadow of a doubt. I don't think it's because God is "camera shy". I think it's because if there was conclusive evidence that there is an almighty creator, we could not truly feel as if we have free will. We'd might assume that God is calling all the shots, like we're nothing more than puppets or robots created for the sole purpose of entertaining "him".

The concept of organized religion most definitely falls under the category of "collective psychosis", but if this mental illness has the power to paradoxically keep a person sane in times of tragedy, then perhaps it's best not to "medicate" them with the logical conclusions of scientists and scholars.

Peace!

Answer 3

I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognise this message as the very power of God. As the Scriptures say

"I will destroy human wisdom
and discard their most brilliant ideas".

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters?

This passage is take from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 v 18 20.

Answer 4

religion is nothing to do with belief in the creator.
if you are curious check out the islamic websites, there are plenty eg, quran-islam.com there is scientific evidence, miracles.
all the top physisists say there must be a creator as its just too perfect, if we were an inch nearer to the sun we would fry, or further away freeze.
ps there are some really dumb educated people about, and by contrast geniuses that are supping from a brown paper bag on a park bench, just like you shouldnt believe everything you read in the papers or see on the telly. believers just have their instincts, and it enough for animals to survive.

Answer 5

What scholars?

There was an interesting article released last spring from Ryerson U.
Seems they studied Atheists vs. Christians and belief.

These professors found...
Atheists had less money,less friends, more debt and were prone to health issues such as alcoholism.
Christians had 30% more savings and equity, a network of friends, overall healthier with less mental stress and had
jobs that required management in higher skills.

Where did your scholars come from?

Answer 6

I would daresay that they have a point.

With all that we've learned about the natural world, with all the scientific explanations for phenomena that we deal with on a regular basis, people still cling to fantastical explanations and try to rationalize their beliefs somehow.

This would be at least a little crazy, except that it must be a coping mechanism of some type that allows people to feel that they are a part of a group, or that they are valued, or in command of a set of facts. Because it returns these benefits, I think it's slightly less crazy than I used to think it was.

What do you say?

Answer 7

religion is more than a mere mental illness, it is contagious, usually passed from parents to child at an early age before intellectual develop reaches a level to ward off the infection. Also, once infested, a person cannot recover completely, religion is similar to chicken pox which hides in the nerves and comes back later in times of stress as shingles. Religion hides in the nervous system and comes out at times of stress causing people to drop to their knees and pray.

Answer 8

Scientists believe in many subatomic particles that have never been seen, touched, or proven.

Are they mentally ill as well?

Psychiatry is Greek for "healer of the spirit". Scholars don't believe in a spirit. They therefore don't believe in psychiatry, "healing the spirit", either.

Answer 9

People believe in a lot of intangible things without them being mentally ill. I would think that as long as a person's faith doesn't prevent them from leading an otherwise healthy and happy life, it wouldn't count as a mental illness. I think statements like that just reflect a prejudice against people of faith.

And I'm an agnostic.

Answer 10

Well, it is true that when you believe, your mind is set to accept things and to give prevalence to certain ideas. I wouldn't say it's an illness, not in the strict medical sense of the word. But it is a sort of mental state (in a way comparable to love) that makes you unable to perceive some things around you.