Atheist???

Question

I never truly got it. I am not a deeply religious person, haven't been to church since cathloic bible school when I was 12, and I am an aspiring psychological researcher, but I never understood why people cannot fathom the idea of a god.

I believe in God, and I don't have to undergo a deep religious experience to do so. I think not having a little bit of childlike wonder is a little sad. I can believe in evolution and god, and any other scientific idea. Maybe its just me.Believing in god does not mean I have the hindrance of organized religion on my shoulders.

What do you think.

Answer 1

I am a social scientist. I was a devout Catholic and am an atheist now.

I have some concepts for you to research. First, look at misconception theory. It is an educational psychology theory. It observes that the things we learn when young, even if patently false, are not replaced by new learning in the school system. It was discovered by Harvard's Astrophysical Society. They went to a Harvard graduation and asked a handful of basic science questions (like why is it hot in the Summer in New York and cold in the Winter) to 23 graduates and alumni, including an astronomy major. Only 2 people were able to answer the questions correctly and the astronomy major wasn't one of them. They discovered that misconceptions held during childhood, when confronted with contradictory evidence, don't go away, they become force fitted into the old idea.

The religious example would be this:
Imagine you were a devout confirmed Baptist with an extensive understanding of Baptist thought. Imagine I was able to prove Baptist thought false to you. What would happen is that instead of stop being a Baptist, you will force fit the new ideas into the old and continue to be Baptist.

Now consider an approach on this from economics, the study of how people make decisions under conditions where resources are scarce. A game theoretic approach in economics would ask what is the payoff to believers in any religion. It must be significant because they write checks to support these belief systems. Further, they invest substantial amounts of their resources in both time and money in supporting them. If a religion is seen as a survival strategy supported by a group using the same strategies, then you can view these as strategies which are protected by any childhood misconceptions, carry large switching costs (you may lose friends who support you and family relationships), and would imply you were wrong about something you have potentially dedicated your life to.

When society had no better solution than to transmit ideas through word of mouth, religions were a very positive force for survival, but we now have superior solutions, including psychology. What role does a Catholic deacon play that a social worker does not? What role does a priest play a psychologist or a teacher does not play? The only roles are the cultic roles, essentially witch doctor roles.

The problem with the word of mouth solution is that it tends to be acritical. For example, when we see white light it is actually a blending of lights in a particular proportion. This is counter intuitive and goes against our daily observation of life. Science, in all its disciplines, tends to hold positions that go against ordinary experience.

Finally, atheists often were theists and do fathom the idea of a god. Like Santa, Zeus and the toothfairy, they come to realize they are purely social constructions and possess no actual substance. Likewise, atheists may in fact have a deeper sense of wonder. The Universe is utterly extraordinary even more extraordinary without a god maybe.

I think you are carrying forward your childhood ideas and not permitting the data to reject the hypothesis. Using an idea from Jungian psychology, you are a biased processor and biased observor and you are choosing to observe ideas that support your preferences and choosing decision making structures that support your pre-existing biases and understandings.

A note, organized religion is a very positive thing really. It permits the discarding of failed ideas within the structure of thinking while defending those ideas against rejection by electing to observe alternative patterns of thought. This is resource conserving.

Answer 2

I think there's a big difference between fathoming the idea of a god and actually having faith that one really exists. Most atheists can fathom it well enough, we just don't see any reason to believe that there is one.

I'm not sure why you think that in order to be in childlike wonder at the majesty and beauty of the universe requires that we think that some guy made it all. Scientists I see have a great deal of wonder at it all. But atheists can feel that way even if we don't think that someone designed it all just for us.

As for whether you believe in a god or not, that's certainly up to you. The less you let that belief color how you see the world, I'd think the better off you are. The more you see the world as a battleground for invisible demons and heroes who are fighting to yank your soul to eternal torment to whisk it to paradise the better you can see the actual world and what really makes it such a wonderful place. The less you live for what happens to a possible soul and the more you concentrate on making this world better, the less I'm troubled by the act of faith.

Answer 3

It's not that I cannot fathom the idea of a god; it's just that I don't see any evidence for a god. Most phenomena are scientifically explainable. There are, of course, phenomena that are unexplainable, but that does not mean a god or gods existed to create them. We simply do not have the answers (yet) to some of difficult questions. I used to be a committed Christian, but came to the realization that I was believing on purre faith instead of evidence.

As for wonder, I find wonder in the most magnificent, earthly things. If you cannot find wonder in, say, the elements that make up our planet or the activity in our universe, I'm afraid I cannot help you. I do not need to believe in a god for comfort or wonder. You might as well believe in anything you want if you need wonder. Why not believe in Santa Claus?

If someone shows convincing evidence for a god, I will believe.

Answer 4

Anyone questioning the existence of "God" should read a book called "The Afterlife Experiments" by Dr. Gary Schwartz. This book does scientific experiments to determine whether God exists. It looks at several theories of how the world came to be. In the end the research shows that the other theories contradict themselves and that God only reasonable explanation.

Answer 5

You are at liberty to believe in a god if you wish; if you want to propose a deity that declared the laws of the universe and then pushed the button to cause the big bang, no scientist will say you nay. But if you want to posit any sort of interaction between a deity and the development of the universe since then, scientists will rain all over your parade. The principal problem with believing in a god is that it is provably useless, and hence an unnecessary distraction.

Answer 6

My childlike wonder is excited by finding out what is really the case, how the world really is. This I do through science.

I never understood why people have the idea of a god, it is so unnecessary to explain anything, indeed it is irrelevant to the world.

Answer 7

Why do you think atheists can't "fathom" the idea of god? Do you assume that there's some basic concept that you have that atheists simply aren't smart enough to understand?
You believe in god, without even the emotional argument of some deep religious experience.
No evidence either.
You just believe.
Yet, you can't understand why anyone wouldn't believe?
Ok.

Answer 8

The one fact in an ocean of many is that there are and have been thousands of different gods over the ages and there has always been one thing that all these gods have in common; no proof. It all comes down to taking someone's word for it. And as I pointed out in an earlier question today, it doesn't matter if one person or 2.1 billion people are saying it's true. Truth doesn't accumulate.

Answer 9

I can grasp the concept I just reject it as false.. There is a huge difference between not grasping a concept and rejecting the validity of said concept..

The wonder of a child is amazing I rediscover it daily watching my children and nieces and nephews.. I experience that wonder through them with the added perspective of an adult..

Having the wonder of a child doesn't mean being gullible for me the concept of a deity(s) has been rejected as untrue that doesn't mean I have lost the wonder it means I have learned for myself what I believe in.

Answer 10

"but I never understood why people cannot fathom the idea of a god."

I think most, if not all atheists can fathom the idea of God, it's just the idea of an all-loving God that wants you to spend your short time on Earth worshiping Him, or suffer the consequences of hell. I think that's the problem.