Dear Atheists?

Question

I see many atheists professing to an idea like: simple forms of thinking bring about the belief in god or gods.

Dont you think this is an unfair statement especially towards those people who have contributed a lot to our scientific advancements in the world?

Or would you rather turn around and say that belief and science are non exclusive?

I mean almost all of the greatest scientists in the history of man had some form of faith in god.

And the world did not comprise of simply christian scientists, there were very important Greek and Muslim scientists as well.

Have any of the atheists read any Avicenna here?

Answer 1

Humans have the unique ability to hold two contradictory views as true at the same time. No matter what superstitious nonsense a scientist believes, he can still usually separate himself from it to think logically about his field. The rigors of science facilitate this. Often, such a scientist rationalizes his superstitious belief to such a degree that he can pretend that one supports the other.

You see this in Muslims in here all the time. They'll take each scientific discovery and find some phrase in the Quran that can be interpretted in a way that seems to support the discovery. Then they'll claim the Quran discovered it first, even though nobody seemed to realize it until people actually did the hard work to discover it themselves.

More frequently, you see scientists eventually dropping their religion or adopting a Spinoza type god. Polls of scientists shows atheism to be magnitudes of order higher in percentage than the general public. In some polls, that percentage has been a vast majority.

Just because some scientists are religious doesn't mean the two are compatible. Imagine the achievements those scientists could have made without the veil of superstition over them.

Answer 2

Sometimes its unfair. Some people have no issue merging science with religion and to be honest, I don't think about it much. I take science at face value and questions what needs to be questioned. Not in the uneducated sense that other people do, but science is meant to be tested.
I think it depends what branch of science is involved. Some one who studies Zoology isn't going to be obsessed with the creation myth like some one who may try their hand at biology.
I am pretty respected in the small science community that I know. I think science is amazing but I understand it doesn't disprove the Gods. It just disproves Genesis. AND anyone fair and versed in Science will tell you the same thing. Science CAN'T disprove the Gods, it can only point to the things that do.
And you are correct. Some of the most brilliant minds of the world were Egyptian and Greek. The Egyptians discovered Zero. I suppose you have to understand the implications of that but if you can, it's pretty impressive for a bronze age Civilization! LOL

Answer 3

As science gained more information, more scientists became atheist. Most scientists are atheist now. That really does say something. That takes nothing away from those who are religious. It's just a fact. I have never said that those who believe in gods/religion are stupid, but there certainly have been many stupid people posting here. It may just be a Y!A phenomenon. When a whole group of people totally deny evolution and go to every bizarre extreme to disprove it (i.e. ridiculous ID sites), and mouth the erroneous pat answers over and over, it shows very little intelligent thought.

atheist

Answer 4

It absolutely is an unfair statement to generalize religionists in that way. As for the brilliant minds that were christian, you are also correct. Many though, may have only been christian in name only since the establishment in some cases was known to burn non-christians at the stake.

The idea of simple thought, I think, comes from what I refer to as the spackling of logic. Your ideas are very thought out it's true, but the holes are filled in by the "spackle" that tells you "god works in mysterious ways". It disappoints me when an otherwise intelligent person as you seem to be, resorts to such laziness of thought.

Answer 5

I can understand persons like Isaac Newton being a devout Christian, he lived in a time before Darwin and biochemistry. With that giant mystery still unanswered, we still needed the crutch of a deity.
That was then. The most prominent scientists in the world are overwhelmingly atheist now.

Answer 6

Ignoring the value judgement, I assume you will agree that being a religious believer doesn't require a great intellect.

As a result, your figures are somewhat biased because of all the not-very-bright believers.

When it gets to really smart believers, they are strange and rather rare animals. 90% of the US public believe, but 90% of the US Academy of Science don't. That says something.

I've met some really smart people who buy the God thing, and it seemed to me that they had a special walled-off area of their brain for their belief, that they kept insulated from the world of facts and science.

With their logical brains on, many of the key points of religion would be absurd to them. But when they were in religious mode, talking donkeys and snakes were valid to them. Go figure.

CD

Answer 7

I do think that faith and science are mutually exclusive.

Faith = believing in something without question

Science = asking questions to learn the truth and changing your mind about what you believe if new facts are discovered.

Answer 8

Many Germans within the 1930's joined the Nazi celebration. Many nineteenth century Americans participated within the genocide of the American Indian. Many 1840's southerners owned slaves. Many low earnings ladies within the town of Detroit smoke crack. Many lemmings will comply with a unmarried lemming off a cliff. Just when you consider that everbody's doing it, does not imply it is a well proposal.

Answer 9

Just because they have contributed to science, and are intelligent in other aspects of their life, does not change the fact that, in regard to faith, their critical thinking capacity must have been lowered (but, to their credit, it was very unpopular to question the Church until the last few centuries).

Answer 10

You mean like the peabrains behind the Creation Museum?