Why does believing in God equal stupidity when....?

Question

...some of the most brilliant people in hostory have believed in God. For instance, Albert Einstein beleived in a God though he did not believe is a personal savior. Does any athiest here claim to be smarter and more in touch with the laws of science and the universe than Einstein? What about Bach, Darwin, and several other geniuses who believed in a creator?

OK, several of you are claiming facts about Einstien and Darwin that just aren't true. Darwin was a devout christian for most of his life and considered his discoveries to be evidence of Gods existence. http://www.aboutdarwin.com/darwin/WhoWas.html
As for Einstein he was by no means a christian.......but my question never even brings that subject up...so why assume that this is what I meant. Einstein's not believing in a personal god doesn't make his a pagan.....that is the biggest assertion that I've heard in a while....you'll have to show me evidence before I buy that one. Here are some quotes form Einstein.

"In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human understanding, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."

"Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Univ

Most people seem to be asking where this question comes from. Doesn't it seem that the majority of non-believers on this forum equate belief in a God with naivety of stupidity? Do I agree with this? No. But those who do should explain themselves.

Also, I'm aware of what an appeal to authority is. I'm aware of what a fallacious argument is. None of that negates that value of this question.

Answer 1

Faulty premise. I don't agree that "believing in God equals stupidity." People who claim they don't believe in God usually swallow other nonsense (aliens etc.) quite easily, and those who are loudest in their claims that "they don't believe in anything" usually have some very strange ideas about life.

Answer 2

Your question incorporates a logical fallacy (flaw in thinking) known as 'Appeal to Authority'. It means nothing. It proves nothing. It only indicates that you have nothing more substantial with which to make your case... and the fact that you are totally wrong about Einstein doesn't help your case much, either.

"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world (universe) so far as our science can reveal it." ~ Albert Einstein

Answer 3

Retarded people are often religious as well. Einstein believed that life was likely created by something humans couldn't understand, not the concept of god that Christians, Jews and Muslims believe in. Darwin was not religious. I believe that Einstein was likely right, which is why I remain an atheist. I don't believe in the human concept of god, although I am open to the idea of a greater force humans can't understand.

Answer 4

It's organized religion that intelligent people reject. Someone on this site recently said that Bill Gates is an agnostic, and Warren Buffet an atheist. But they will do more good for humanity, than any two men who have ever lived. Einstein and Darwin were probably theists or deists...not christians. Bach was just a piano player.

Answer 5

The reason why some people equate believing in god with stupidity is because there has never been any proof that god exists. In most cases, things by default don't exist until proven otherwise. With god; however, its the other way around and it shouldn't be. By default, god does not exist except in fictional storybooks like the bible, koran, torah, etc.

We don't convict people of crimes unless there is evidence to support a guilty verdict; why should we all of a sudden believe in something that also has no evidence to support its existence?

Answer 6

I don't think that believing in God is stupid, and I don't think most people think that either. I think that what ever anyone wants to believe is fine. Einstein and Darwin were both agnostic. They did not believe that you could either prove or disprove that God exists. Bach was a Lutheran.

Answer 7

Einstein, Bach and Darwin all lived in societies where it was impossible to progress if one admitted to being an atheist.

Einstein less so than the others but then he was brought up as a jew. Does that mean you are jewish? or are you about to convert?

Answer 8

Albert Einstein believed in the same "God" as pagans.

He considered nature to be God.

Albert Einstein was an atheist. But, if you want to play that game, his beliefs supported paganism. He did not believe in a creator God or the bible.

Answer 9

I used to know a guy that was very intelligent, but he jumped off a bridge.
Is your point that because several people who achieved great things in life believed in God that I should too?
Do you believe because "most brilliant people in hostory" believed? Does that make you brilliant too? Are you like a genius that can't spell?

Answer 10

That's an interesting theory. I, for one, never thought that: believe-in-god=stupid. I'm not sure what equation would bring that about. Is there a particular god that you see as believing in would mean that person is stupid? I know people like to say every one is worshiping the same god in a different way but I don't see it like that. All their respective books perceive their gods as very different. I don't believe in the single god. Which god are you referring to?

Answer 11

Because those people didn't let a belief in God get in the way of rational thinking in their work and decisions, unlike many of today's religious fundamentalists.

Furthermore, they didn't try to "prove" God to everybody. It was just a passive and personal belief, and that's how all religion should stay.