Question about intelligence?

Question

A question was recently asked why all those who are not Christian could believe that we were created by anything other than God. One answer was..."intelligence". Is this person saying that all those who are not Christians are not intelligent? I strongly disagree...your thoughts?

So far I have received some very interesting points of view and I appreciate all those who have taken a moment to comment.

Now...would it make a difference in your answer to me if you knew that I am not Christian, but Wiccan?

Answer 1

Butterfli, I think the answerer misspoke him/herself. I'm pretty sure that they MEANT to say "ignorance". Many Christians believe that their Bible is the ONLY source of informatin that they need to get by in life. In so doing they become ignorant of ALL the many possibilities out there which offer different explanations which are based on observation, research and rational data. They are SO wrapped up in their Bible that to them, anything that does not follow the literal words in that book is EVIL and of Satan. I can understand how the person that you are referring to came to the conclusion, just not the words that were used to describe that conclusion.

Raji the Green Witch

Edit to your addendum:

Nope, it makes no difference to my answer whatsoever (((Butterfli)))

Answer 2

I think that person was saying the opposite; that those who are not Christian are intelligent and that those who are Christian are, well, not intelligent. I personally think there are intelligent people among either party, it's when one strays too far away from the middle that the intelligence they have becomes negated, much like in politics. Fundamentalist Christians are so blinded by faith that nothing else is open to being true. Strict Atheists are in such denial that the thought of a higher being becomes simply stupid, even though it is one of the hardest, most intelligent questions one can ask. My thing is to keep questioning and keep seeking, but, then again, I'm a weirdo.

Answer 3

I'm an agnostic pagan Witch. I do think that there are some very intelligent Christians, and I also think that they are probably underrepresented here. I think that they were typically raised in Christian homes and stayed with their faith , but have analyzed it enough to understand its obvious intellectual weaknesses and have really really rationalized their ideas about what is faith and what is knowledge. Anyone with any intelligence clearly must know that a lot of what is written in the bible is either false, contradictory, outdated, or plain stupid. Yet they stick with it.

Why? They have rationalized their belief in it to the point that the y can conveniently discard what doesn't work for them and keep what does, and explain away the rest as being mysterious and unexplainable.

I think that, if they were really being honest with themselves, they would come to the conclusion that their perseverance in Christianity has a lot to do with fear, ie, they don't want to say they no longer believe, "just in case" which to my way of thinking is not only cowardly, but morally wrong.

Bottom line is that you can say you are a Christian and not be stupid, but you are then faced with saying you are a part of something that you KNOW to be full of untruths, misogyny, violence, and stupid ideas about life. and death. and evolution, etc.

just my opinion

Lady M

Answer 4

While I firmly believe that many Christians are quite intelligent, the arguments some Christians present lack critical thought. One of the most obvious is the problem with circular reasoning:

God exists.
Why?
Because the Bible says so.
Why is the Bible right?
Because God says it is.
How do you know God exists.
Because the Bible says so.

This is one of the many faulty arguments for Christianity and the existence of God that I have encountered.

Additionally, I teach college English and critical thinking. And while many of my Christian students are excellent writers, they aren't necessarily very strong at being critical. They don't question the information presented to them either in their research, from their parents, or even their instructors because they've been taught that questioning authority is wrong.

What I find with nonbelievers is that they've searched, struggled, read, asked, researched, and pondered their beliefs because 1) they've been made to feel like outcasts and desire to belong, or 2) they want to make sure they're ready for the discussion about their lack of belief when it inevitably presents itself.

Just food for thought.

Answer 5

Hard question to approach, and your spiritual leaning is irrelevant.

How do you define intelligence?

One cannot be too intelligent it seems, if they claim that all Christians, for example, lack intelligence. The person who states that testifies of his own lack of it.

Does one take a test to determine his or her intelligence quotient? Does one's success in life determine one's intelligence? How can one really gauge intelligence? By the answers one gives, the words one chooses, or the way the words are strung together? What one person deems intelligent may to another be stupid. For example, some reading my response may say to themselves, "What a moron!" while others might say, "I never thought of it that way."

This much I have found out: Anyone who prides themselves on their "intelligence," is not, anyone who thinks they are intelligent, put too much stock in intelligence and generally close off the kinds of knowledge that might make them more intelligent. Most people think they are intelligent, because they like the way they think, and they are able to make sense of their lives. It's natural for people to think this way. Those who recognize that intelligence is highly overrated understand that there are many more subtle qualities that make up our incredible minds, and make us who we are.

We all have intelligence. It is the way we were made. What we lack, as a species is not intelligence, but love.

Answer 6

I disagree too. I know some intelligent Christians, and some dumb atheists. Intelligence does not seem to neat fit in with beliefs. I really think it boils down to a need to be apart something. Being a minority is tough and socially scary. Especially a despised minority. When it comes to the logic vs. belonging, belonging is more important with religious.

Answer 7

I would have to say that individual most likely be less religious if his level of intelligence is higher. The more you know the more questions you ask...

On the other hand I have seen very intelligent people who believed in Christ. They may questioned some "facts" from Bible but Christ's teachings about love will find place in any heart.

Answer 8

You shouldn't take a comment like that so personally. Who ever made the original comment on "intelligence" was poorly defending their own belifs. I am not Christian, but I do not think that people who are are not "intelligent"

Different people belive in things for different reasons. When will people realize it's just plain silly generically catogorize a type of people, or religion, in a blanket statement? I see this way too much on Yahoo Answers.

Answer 9

I think people have a tendency to belive that some groups are better then others. I think it comes fom the desire to belong to the group and they follow the set guide lines. Now there are people who belong to groups that do not always think along the party lines, which leads to conversations with other groups.
Though every group has those few who ruin everything for everyone, but alas we cannot shut up the loud non-thinkers of all groups. It would be nice if we could though.

Answer 10

Intelligence is not a religion and so Christians and non-Christians can be intelligent, surely.

But many do not understand what intelligence is. It is not what you know, or what you learned in school, it is the ability to understand, the ability to learn, to understand how things operate, to be able to figure out things without having to be told how to, to see what things actually are.

Education is not the equal to intelligence. Although many today think that it is. Education is simply memorization.