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Are people's beliefs based on genetics?
I wrack my brain, trying to figure out how so many Christians can reason the answers they reason.

Having been de-converted, I understand what a Christian believes. But there's a big hole somewhere - like this galactic bell-curve that just prohibits any measure of sound reason.

It's like a scary movie - a Twilight Zone where everyone around you is kind of insane.... Not a lot, they can speak English and drive and shop... But really!

It is astounding how much of the essence of the meanings of so many of these questions Christians completely miss!

If anyone knows of a genetic component that would correlate religious belief or faith with an inability to reason properly, I would love to hear from you.

Likewise, in psychology. I realize that many Christians have been indoctrinated since childhood and that this type of early predisposition to bypass reason can galvanize into a reality/delusion complex where the "victim's" ability to critically investigate their beief, dies.

2007-03-06 07:26:28 · 5 answers · asked by The Burninator 1 in Science & Mathematics Biology

It concerns me because of how these people affect politics.

2007-03-06 07:36:26 · update #1

5 answers

There is no God. Have a drink.

2007-03-06 07:29:38 · answer #1 · answered by Cassandra Des 2 · 0 0

It is possible to be a critical Christian. The key is to avoid getting wrapped up in details, and especially wrapped up in literalism issues. If one accepts basic Christian tenets without trying to argue that Jonah was actually really swallowed by a whale, because the "literal" events of that story are irrelevant to the real message. There have historically been just as "insane" non-Christians, as it's all a matter of context. For example, the capitalist belief in the possibility of unlimited increases in production is, ultimately, insane, in a biological or physical sense. Yet we have "faith" in our economic system to continue to provide.

Is there a genetic component to belief? My belief says no, and I've read no scientific evidence to the contrary. I know that there are biological aspects to faith (see research done on the mental states of mystics, meditiation, and deep prayer). But that points neither towards nor away from a belief in Christianity (or other religion).

Remember, as Foucault demonstrated, madness itself is a historical construct. What is madness has changed over time, as has the definition of madness, the place of the madman in society, the relevance of the mad, etc. So be careful when you so casually fling about terms like "insane," as if it had some a priori meaning. Reason, too, is historically contingent, and as full of big holes as religion. Look to the twists in mathematics and physics over the centuries, in how what once was "obvious" has become mere hypothesis ("belief"), or outright wrong.

2007-03-06 07:35:54 · answer #2 · answered by Qwyrx 6 · 0 1

Why confine your comments to Christians? There was an interesting article in the New York Times Magazine this weekend looking at belief in a Supreme Being as an evolutionary adaptation (or maladaptation) worthy of continued scientific study. Just as theologians have begun to influence scientific thought, so, too, have scientists begun to think about belief - in anthropological and cognitive neuroscientific terms. The language of belief, I think, would be a fascinating area for research by linguistics researchers.

2007-03-06 07:37:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

There's no such correlation.

It has nothing to do with reason or logic. That's the whole point of 'faith'. It's unproveable one way or the other.

Perhaps if you look at it another way, it's not a lack of reasoning on the part of religious people, but a lack of imagination on your part.

Rabbinical scholars are VERY famous for their problem solving and reasoning skills, for example.

As a believer in God (though not affiliated with any organized religion), I challenge you to compete with my reasoning skills.

Maybe you were talking about the average Christian, who in my opinion, isn't very in touch with their beliefs and why they believe them (although they can quote some Scriptures). The average person for anything is probably not a very good example to use to show that they are unreasonable. I've met many an atheist in my time who lacked any rational ability whatsoever.

2007-03-06 07:30:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

It is not genetic, it is called hope.. It is what people want to believe.. We all have to believe in something.. Some things cannot be explained by reason... That is why as we become more and more conservative as a society, television and the media becomes more and more extroverted... Why should you worry what others are believing.. It is not your business or your concern... Worry about yourself....

2007-03-06 07:30:41 · answer #5 · answered by Its me!!! :) 4 · 0 1

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