I think SOME of you atheists are too smart for your own good?

Question

Lots of people on this site don't know all the facts that you know about science. That doesn't give you a reason to belittle others. It doesn't mean that they're stupid either. People have other kinds of intelligence besides scientific knowledge. Give us "unscientific people" a break, would ya?

Answer 1

I think I may be guilty of this sometimes, and I thank you for pointing it out. I will try to be more understanding of this in the future, because you are right. I make the same mistake that I sometimes accuse others of: I forget that people think differently. I will try to find a better way to connect with others by attempting to understand how their thought processes may differ from my own. Excellent observation and question.

Answer 2

Some of the people quoting scientific theories are not as well versed as they might like you to believe. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you don't understand the argument then it hasn't convinced you which means they failed to make their point. The mark of a person skilled in discussion would be to convince you with terms you understand and can't deny.
For the record if someone has been trying to use science to disprove god then they are not smart at all because it doesn't work. We have lots of theories but we lack the scientific facts to make that case and the really smart Atheist already know that.

Answer 3

Oh boy, I think you hit onto something there.

Although I'm an agnostic, I've generally been disappointed by the angry attitudes of most atheists I've come across. It seems most atheists (not all, just most) and secularists are too quick to dismiss other people who carry religious or seemingly less "scientific" opinions.

Most atheists would be surprised to find out that most (yes, MOST) Christians, ministers, Creationists, or whatever you call them have given considerable thought to the positions they hold. Granted, Christians can claim some pretty strange/ridiculous things, but don't treat them as though every last one of them blindly believes what they're told.

I know because I used to be one, and I grew up in a church and youth group where "defending our faith" was possible only by rationally considering the credibility of our values and opinions.

Answer 4

>I think SOME of you atheists are too smart for your own good?

There is no such thing as being too smart for one's own good. This runs in the same vein as the 'ignorance is bliss' idea, and both are about equally invalid. More intelligence and knowledge is ALWAYS a good thing in the long run.

>People have other kinds of intelligence besides scientific knowledge.

Certainly. There is knowledge of history, and computer programming, and language, and geography, and things like that which are not strictly sciences. However, if you're talking about some kind of 'knowledge through faith', sorry but there is just no such thing. Faith may not completely preclude knowledge, but it most certainly precludes learning.

Answer 5

nonbelief doesnt require a genious IQ. Belief on the other hand.....

You choose not to believe in science and study it because you are afraid of the truth and you dont want to lose your comfort. That is of your own discord. However you make a valid point because:

Several research studie shave been published on the statistical relationship between religiousity and educational level or religiousity and IQ. In the book :How we believe the search for god in an age of science, it describes a large survey of randomly chosen people in america. The results was the discovery that religiousity is negatively correlated with education (the higher the education and the highly educated people were less likely to be religious.) Religiousity is also negatively correlated with interest in science and strongly with political liberalism.

In Mensa magazine paul bell concluded that out of 43 studies carried out since 1927 on the relationship between religious belief and ones intelligence and/or educational level, only four found an inverse connection. Meaning the higher ne's intelligence or ed level the less one is likely it be religious or hold beliefs f any kind.

Answer 6

We could leave them alone if they weren't posting questions with incorrect information.

When someone gives the impression that carbon-dating is the only method used to determine the age of rock layers, or says that dinosaurs were reptiles, or that human footprints were found alongside dinosaur footprints (that was debunked years ago), we are going to challenge those claims.

They sometimes even get the Creation story wrong. It doesn't say that a day to God is like a thousand years to man. It says "The morning and the evening were the first day, etc." It says the serpent was "the most cunning of beasts", not the devil in disguise.

Answer 7

I'm an atheist and I agree. I think if Christians aren't hurting anyone with their beliefs everybody should let them be. If, however, they are trying actively to prove evolution as false, I think atheists have the right to shut them down with cold, hard logic.

I'm sure everybody would give you "unscientific people" a break if you didn't challenge our views. Don't challenge someone if you have nothing to back up your opinion but belief.

I hope you are reasonable enough to accept that.

Answer 8

There are many "scientific" people who do not follow the belief system of atheism. Smart is not synonymous with atheist. They may be smart but they still can be misled. I'd say pride is a real problem with many of them. They think they know more than they really do. Throwing out a few scientific theories to impress and overwhelm people does not mean you know more than anyone else.

Answer 9

Can I claim immunity for NOT belittling others? I don't think that religous people are inherantly stupid. No group of people is.

And I myself think there is no such things as "too smart for your own good." The more knowledge, the better, says I!

Peace.

Answer 10

Nobody is stupid, in fact some christians I know are highly intelligent.

On the belittling part, I think christians are equally or more responsible for it.