2007-05-13 15:25:09 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
no, i think it's in the heart
2007-05-13 15:27:56 · answer #1 · answered by spike missing debra m 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe, there is some suggestion that it is hardwired into brain chemistry.
As we mature through childhood, we learn to distinguish what is real from what is make-believe; and we outgrow imaginary beings like Santa. For some reason though, many people seem to retain this intellectually and emotionally immature characteristic into adulthood.
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Dien Mortallis --
That is not really correct because both choices cannot be 'informed'. One is right and one is wrong.
One is based on an epistemology of human knowledge that maintains the physical universe operates on natural processes that can be empirically studied and understood; the other is based on faith in a supernatural being whose ways (and their effects on our world) we can never fully comprehend.
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reachnkids4jesusWWJD --
Atheists live the exact same decent, honorable, and fulfilling lives without God or religion.
2007-05-13 22:36:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am beginning to think that a percentage of Christians are injected with sheep and parrot genes before birth.
Where as the Atheists have the genes of a cynical theatre critic injected.
2007-05-13 22:38:25 · answer #3 · answered by Terry 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Of course there is! My tendency is to call it intelligence, but that may not be fair as there are truly those with greater minds than mine who profess to be among the faithful. Nevertheless, during my childhood, I attended a liberal Protestant church; I can recall sitting in Sunday School and doubting whether God existed any more than did Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, thinking that god may have been no more than the concoction of adults to control unruly children. Later, I was fortunate (in my opinion) to have had a Sunday School teacher (in my teenage years) who worked at NASA and who encouraged us to question our "faith" and religion; once having done that and, in the process having escaped the fear of god, I felt free to explore my own consciousness as well as to read whatever interested me in the area of philosophy or theology or nonbelief. I regard my brain/mind as my own to enjoy and develop with impunity.
2007-05-13 22:47:53 · answer #4 · answered by Lynci 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've wondered the same thing. Except I think it is religious/non-religious. I obviously was born without this "faith gene" that is necessary to go along with religious ideas.
2007-05-13 22:28:18 · answer #5 · answered by KS 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I imagine there are some tendencies in brain chemistry that would lead one in one direction or the other. But then again, I tend to believe in rational, testable concepts like that.
2007-05-13 22:28:49 · answer #6 · answered by Doc Occam 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it is the impression they got of religion when they were young. Was it a warm family ritual, was it cold and brutal going to hell time? Was it so restrictive that the older a child got the further they drifted?
2007-05-13 22:29:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nah, I know plenty of people who used to be fundies or die-hard Christians and are now avowed atheists. Too easy to switch.
2007-05-13 22:32:16 · answer #8 · answered by eri 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.....i think it's simply based on informed choice. We are all born into this world, and are exposed to all the ideas, theories, philosophies and beliefs around us, and we make an informed decision, based on our personal intellect, about whether we choose to accept it or not.
2007-05-13 22:30:39 · answer #9 · answered by Spurious 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. We all born free from religious ideas.
Religion is a society invention, is not a biological thing.
2007-05-13 22:31:24 · answer #10 · answered by Lost. at. Sea. 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, atheists have somethings that theists lack.
Logic
Reason
Rationality
2007-05-13 22:28:51 · answer #11 · answered by Atheistic 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋