I don't get living for the next life. Seems they are wasting this one
Agreed! Agnostics are realists. We KNOW there is not a god who will throw us into hell-fire and brimstone if we are bad, We KNOW there is no heaven, and nobody can save us. It's just a fairy tale. Wasting a life is so sad. I'm watching my family act like animals in fear of God's wrath. It's insanity! But they don't know they're insane, and that is sad.
Of course not that’s ridiculous.This is just another example of how non believers think they are superior to believers just because they were unwilling victims of indoctrination and did not come to any conclusions about belief on their own.They just unfortunately could not overcome the brainwashing .
Magical Thinking versus Delusion.
One and the same
After reading some of the comments, it seems to me that religious belief, much like the bible, is all about what a person chooses get out of it. It reflects what your particular physche and influences such as your family would have you believe. That may be very extreme, like thinking the rapture is imminent or just a comforting myth, like Santa Clause.
So true. There’s much to be comforted by in the familiar ( no matter how ridiculous). And much to fear of what the alternative might mean.
Often, but not necessarily. I know one man, for instance, for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration, yet he is deeply religious. Rather than delusional, I would say, indoctrinated.
no matter what you call it an "indoctrinated deeply religious person" is still delusional.
It depends on how religious they are. I consider any belief in a supreme being to be silly. But when you start getting super religious, you start to appear crazy in my eyes.
Crazy deluded. It's a fever that can take us all down!
It really depends on the religion. If I consider Judah/Christian I would definitely say there is a level of delusion if they have been presented with facts, otherwise I consider the person(s) misinformed. Other religions like Buddism it harder to say they are delusional because it a faith that can't be proven at this point in history.
Well said. We must listen for the clear truth that resonates as other than a fairy tale.
I consider religious people indoctrinated, often by attending church from birth.
Three of my friends are Christian ministers. Two men with Ph.D.'s and a woman with two master degrees. Two are counselors. All three are politically liberal and peace activists. They are among the most intelligent and kindest people I have met. Joe, a retired counselor, is the wisest man I know. They never hassle me about being an atheist.
I know some Christian ministers who have degrees and still believe in the deluded concept of the rapture!
Yes and no. Yes in that they believe in a non-existent creature or creatures. No, in that thye didn't invent those creatures, they've been brainwashed into believng in them. It's like Son of sam. He was delusional, in that he thought his dog was telling him who to kill. If his society had been,for generations, telling themselves that dogs run things, he'd merely be devoted.
De·lu·sion·al
dəˈlo͞oZH(ə)nəl/Submit
adjective
characterized by or holding idiosyncratic beliefs or impressions that are contradicted by reality or rational argument, typically as a symptom of mental disorder.
Yes, they have been deluded. But not usually in the sense of having a mental disorder. They are just caught up in a bunch of lies that seem to be confirmed by those around them.
Many of them are.
I think for most of them it is just that they cant' face the world as it is, so they need the delusion to cinvince themselves that the world is a bettter place than it really is. I think these persons are mostly benign.
Then there are those who use religion tbecause they want o feel superior to others and are condescending, smug and often go off into fanaticism when they believe they aren't taken serioously, because they believe themselves to be more important than they really are. These persons are dangerous! Their delusion is in their own self importance, which is only bolstered by their religious beliefs.
Yes. My boyfriend’s mom once told him that god told her that I would someday believe in him. Well...needless to say, I still haven’t.
Under certain circumstances we each have the potential to buy into delusional thought and belief. I believe it is part of human condition. This is why we need not be afraid to question.
As with anything there are degrees. Some people are believers but you would never know because they aren't out in the open about it. If they do mention it, then it's in passing but they don't lecture you or press their beliefs on you. Some people are full blown whackadoodles and are obviously delusional.
Absolutely, its a way of people ex specially ones who have children, to die and neaver seeing your children again is such a fear that it could be easy to let the mind calm one down by telling it that, oh yea you will see them again ,in the after life! Its all most as bad as having a child die while the parent is still alive, its fear of loss!