Just as a Caddy is like a cheap mail order diploma to show off one's wealth...
isn't atheism the same facade for intellectuals?
2006-09-12 05:07:29 · 32 answers · asked by Salami and Orange Juice 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hey icarus62: I read "For whom the bell tolls". Cool book. Does that make me an intellectual? (please say yes, please say yes, please say yes, please, please)
2006-09-12 05:28:20 · update #1
This reminds me of a Jeff Foxworthy routine. You might be a redneck if you think a mail order diploma and a Cadillac is a status symbol.
2006-09-12 05:09:31 · answer #1 · answered by tenaciousd 6 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Kind of like religion is to the gullible? The fact that we question the existence of a supreme being as opposed to blindly following an old wives tale about an imaginary man and his magical son, sent to the world to save us all, only to ignore us in out darkest hour. Or that we all came from 2 people?
Ill tell ya what.. ill take my "cheap mail order diploma" over your mass hysteria any time.
2006-09-12 05:16:00 · answer #2 · answered by hungryhillkid 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
....many things are based on misconceptions.. sometimes the arguments get heated, because we thinkwe must persuade people or they are forever lost.. But 1 Tim 4:10 for instance says "God is the savior of all men" ("especially those which believe".) The world has been taught that God will have a corner of torment and torture for eternity, where many, many will be therein with no relief ever. We christians have been known to reflect just such character and personality, which also misinforms the world.
.....What is God really Like? Would anyone really hate God, if they knew His true nature?
....Why even all this trouble in the world is only because God chose to give us thinking ability, which becomes 'free-will' -
.....God is Life, itself, and Life can only be Excellent.. Perfect.. and the final outcome of all this - life, and not knowing - can only be The Best (outcome).
2006-09-12 05:21:55 · answer #3 · answered by flowerchilde 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Actually, atheists are the most humble individuals on the planet. We don't think we're special. And we don't think a god is watching over us, and deeming our well-being as being better than someone else's, etc.
This is probably difficult for you to understand, as you are obviously a militant theist, but if you ever do attempt to actually think about your beliefs, and compare them to others, you should realize that atheism is not "proud"... not by any stretch of the imagination.
I hope you gain the emotional maturity to consider this some time soon.
2006-09-12 05:17:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hardly. Atheism is not a facade. Most atheists are former religious individuals. They did the research, read the books, went to church. It didn't feel right to them and they have come to their own conclusions. This is not the first post I've seen by you where you belittle those who are not Christians. Judgment is not becoming of a Christian.
2006-09-12 05:12:15 · answer #5 · answered by MishMash [I am not one of your fans] 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Atheist -meaning of one who believes that there is no deity
Deity-the rank or essential nature of a god
Facade-a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect
Intelligence -the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations
So basically an atheist does "believe" in something, which equals to nothing. How empty they must feel.
It sounds as if there is a contradiction in your comparison...atheist somebody who does not believe in God a higher power and intelligence the ability to learn and understand or deal with new situations. According to the above definitions the atheist not believing God has no intelligence because he/she is not willing to or capable of learning and believing in God. Note the capital "G".
Hmm something to think about!!
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
2006-09-12 05:38:30 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are about 40 studies, conducted over the past 80 years, that reveal a statistically significant NEGATIVE correlation between intelligence and religiosity. In plainer language, they found that the more intelligent a person is, the LESS likely he is to be religious.
We're not entitled to conclude causality from these data, but there are three possibilities:
1.Considering religion important lowers measured IQ (unlikely, since IQ is substantially genetic whereas belief is not).
2.The causality is via other factors not considered, such as socio-economic conditions, cultural history, or physical environment (definitely possible).
3.Having a higher measured IQ lowers your likelihood of considering religion important (most likely).
If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. Intelligence tests mainly provide an indication of reasoning ability and problem solving ability... 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 writings that were in conflict with dogma, such as Greek philosophical, medical and mathematical knowledge... all the good stuff... which led directly to the Dark Ages.
Just to illustrate the point, here's what Martin Luther, the 'father' of protestantism, had to say about it:
"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
Christianity is essentially a criminal business enterprise... in fact, it is the world's longest running and most successful Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) scam. The product they are selling is 'salvation'... and the 'pay plan' doesn't kick in until after you're dead. What a racket! FORTUNATELY, it only works on those who are gullible enough, and sufficiently lacking in critical thinking skills, to fall for it. UNfortunately, THAT accounts for about 75% of the population of the USA. (There are a lot more people who DON'T know how to think properly than there are people who DO know how to think properly.) That is why there are a lot more religious people in the USA than there are 'Free-thinkers'... including Atheists. Also, Christians are generally too dense to realize that proselytizing (spreading the 'good news') is a key element of the Christian MLM MARKETING PLAN, which was instituted after Christianity lost the political power that had previously allowed them to simply torture and kill anybody who did not comply. Now, they attempt to just pester people to death, through persistent obliviousness and obnoxiousness. If you stop to think about it, you will realize that Christians are very much like the Borg, on Star Trek Next Generation: "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile." I would not be surprised to learn that thoughts of Christianity provided the 'creative spark' for the Borg concept.
Interestingly, statistics on supernatural beliefs count the USA on a par with backward, developing Third World nations, rather than among modern, advanced industrial powers.
********************
"Selling eternal life is an unbeatable business, with no customers ever asking for their money back after the goods are not delivered." ~ Victor J. Stenger
"Businesses may come and go, but religion will last forever, for in no other endeavor does the consumer blame himself for product failure." ~ Harvard Lampoon, "Doon" (paraphrase)
http://www.answers.com/topic/religiosity-and-intelligence
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-thinkingchristians.htm
I have also taken note that Christians are fond of making the ridiculous claim that atheists must be totally lacking in moral values, since morals 'come from God'. What a hoot. They should take note that Christians make up about 75% of the US population and 75% of the US prison population. Atheists make up about 10% of the US population... but they only make up 0.2% of the US prison population. That means that an atheist is 50 TIMES LESS likely to be incarcerated than a Christian. I can think of two possible things that might account for this disparity:
1. Atheists of a higher ethical and moral caliber than Christians, and thus do not do the same kinds of nasty things that land so many Christians in jail; or,
2. Atheists are, overall, a lot smarter than Christians, and thus less likely to get caught in the course of their transgressions.
Take your pick. (Personally, I think its a little bit of both.)
2006-09-12 05:21:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Your assumption that Atheism is a facade for intellectuals is incorrect.
2006-09-12 05:16:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You didn't do well on the word association part of the SAT did you.
Your comparison barely makes sense.
I'm a fundamental, Biblical literalist Christian and even I couldn't come up with something so blatantly inflammatory.
Sorry.... TenaciousD.... Olds is not out of business... and Cadillacs are made by Chevrolet.
2006-09-12 05:11:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Some status symbols for real wealth are Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, not Cadillacs.
The beginning of wisdom is respect for God.
2006-09-12 05:16:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋