2007-04-02 10:30:45 · 9 answers · asked by jsjmlj 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I wasn't born atheist.
Cheers :-)
2007-04-02 10:43:02 · answer #1 · answered by chekeir 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, everyone is born with a sense that there is some higher moral authority than our own selves.
“Lost in the hullabaloo over the neo-atheists is a quieter and potentially more illuminating debate. It is taking place not between science and religion but within science itself, specifically among the scientists studying the evolution of religion. These scholars tend to agree on one point: that religious belief is an outgrowth of brain architecture that evolved during early human history. What they disagree about is why a tendency to believe evolved, whether it was because belief itself was adaptive or because it was just an evolutionary byproduct, a mere consequence of some other adaptation in the evolution of the human brain.
Which is the better biological explanation for a belief in God -- evolutionary adaptation or neurological accident? Is there something about the cognitive functioning of humans that makes us receptive to belief in a supernatural deity? And if scientists are able to explain God, what then? Is explaining religion the same thing as explaining it away? Are the nonbelievers right, and is religion at its core an empty undertaking, or a misdirection, or a vestigial artifact of a primitive mind? Or are the believer’s right, and does the fact that we have the mental capacities for discerning God suggest that it was God who put them there?
In short, are we hard-wired to believe in God? And if we are, how and why did that happen?”
Read more at:
See:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/magazine/04evolution.t.html?ei=5090&en=43cfb46824423cea&ex=1330664400&pagewanted=all
2007-04-02 10:52:03 · answer #2 · answered by Ask Mr. Religion 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, no. They discovered a 'God gene' a little while back, one allelle of which makes people more prone to belief in God. However, the effect of this gene is small and it has A LOT more to do with environmental factors. At the end of the day though, the bible does have SOME good ideas and lessons even if you don't believe in 'God' and I'm sure the same is true of other religious books. I mean, whether you think He/She exists or not, 'Thou shalt not steal' is still a sound moral principle. I mean, the 'one shall not lie with a man...' can be dismissed as outdated, not to mention physically impossible for reasons I can't explain more deeply on an 'family' answers site but a lot of them are still good morals.
2007-04-02 10:38:58 · answer #3 · answered by alienwhoseshiplandedonearth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We are all born agnostics (not knowing whether there is a God). People then decide if they believe i no god (atheists) one God (theists) or many (polytheists).
Odd that the athiests are mocking people for being unintelligent but yet they do not know the meaning of atheism, or they think that babies can grasp abstract thinking. They also are unable to do a search and see just how many times this question has been asked.
2007-04-02 10:37:06 · answer #4 · answered by Laura H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Who says we are all born atheists? Where's the "scientific proof" stating such?
I'd like to read the articles and scientific journals that published this information...and how they conducted their studies on such a subject. I have yet been able to get an infant to discuss such issues - let alone carry-on a rational, well-thought out coversation of any kind....
How do you know that we are intrinsically fused with The Lord in utero and coming out wailing blobs of hungry Jesus Freaks?!?! Only to be turned away by well-meaning secularists?
2007-04-02 10:43:14 · answer #5 · answered by Mrs.M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How does anyone know that we are born atheist? Has a new born baby told you this?I know enough about atheists tp know that they only believe what they themselves can see and hear. So You heard a new born baby tell you that they were born atheist? Wow!
2007-04-02 10:46:30 · answer #6 · answered by Pamela V 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For the dolts that don't seem to understand this.
Atheism is a LACK OF BELIEF in gods. Not an assertion that one doesn't exist. They have the same appearance and the same outcome but they are different things.
People are born with a lack of belief in god. That in itself is atheism. Like it or not, believe it or not, that doesn't matter. People are BORN without belief in any god.
Agnostic - The belief that it is not possible for ANYONE to know if god exists.
There is no way in hell that anyone is born with a belief that it is not possible to know if god exists. Agnosticism isn't just a flimsy 'don't know if god exists or not' thought process.
Educate yourselves.
2007-04-02 10:55:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Why does it bother you that some people want to be religious / spiritual? Who cares? How does it affect you and your beliefs (or lack there of)?
2007-04-02 10:35:29 · answer #8 · answered by smellyfoot ™ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I honestly have to say that your lack of religious tolerance scares me and i want to go hide in a closet and eat gram crackers while drinking chocolate milk.
2007-04-02 10:33:50 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋