Just seems very arrogant and delusional to believe you know what primitive fairytale God thinks and wants. Just imagine the stupidity of humanity at the time when these stories were passed from generation to generation before it was written down and repeatedly reinterpreted and edited. 2000 years ago people were extremely superstitious and easily tricked by slight of hand magic tricks.
Science/Nature are amazing spiritual revelations of facts/truth. Can't get any more spiritual than that.
This same stupidity carries on to this day. My youngest daughter told me it does not matter that Jesus had no last name because "he is god." Most likely she thinks she "won" because I said no more on the issue. I'm only using her as the example here, but some people are so stupid that they do not even know they are stupid. You have to have this kind of 'faith" to see your loved ones in heaven.
believe it or not all of the follwing are Scripture vv;
No son of man may die for another's sins
No one has ever gone up to heaven
There is only One Immortal
He who seeks to save his soul will lose it
"The best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible"
Just read a commentary about Darwin's conversion to non believer. He was a Christian throughout his famous journey and always looked for ways to put what he was seeing into his creation views. After returning to England and putting things together it became really difficult to continue justifying his beliefs. When it came to plants, "...Darwin wanted to counter the idea of some hapless God having to busy himself with the landscaping of the entire earth...". So many things about religion/gods, when one thinks about them, are pretty stupid.
I said "you are elohim"
Hard for us to get into the heads of people from a time and culture so far removed from our own. But to piggyback off of what TheMiddleWay said about ignorance being different from stupidity, it seems to me that in ancient times inquisative minds seeking answers to unkbowable things would find religion very attractive, indeed, as it promises answers to life's mysteries. False promises, to be clear, but still promises.
As science has brought people an ever larger base of empirical knowledge, the useful role for religion would naturally shrink. (God of the gaps). Clinging stubbornly to religion now in the face of mountains of facts that refute many of its claims, ...well THAT is stupid. That is modern day religious life. But then, fear is a powerful dumbing-down agent. Fear of punishment, fear of rejection, fear of loss of community, these all can lead otherwise competent people to abandon reason.
It is essential to factor in indoctrination and brain washing of infants and younger generations.
@jlynn37 no doubt. There are reasons for stupidity beyond merely genetics. Socialization is a huge part of shaping how we even think.
I would not presume people back then were easily tricked by slight of hand magic tricks
@Fred_Snerd These things are evidence that people today can fall for slight of hand and that slight of hand existed in those times. I would not interpolate from there to say people back then were easily tricked.
@Fred_Snerd No. I just don’t think they were less wise than modern people.
Stupid? No. Stone Age/Bronze Age/Iron Age people weren’t stupid. It takes intelligence to make something out of nothing. Look at Knossos, the pyramids at Cheops, the solar observatory in Chichen Itza, Stonehenge.... without advanced science they created these. That’s beyond hunter gathers development of sophisticated stone tools. No. They weren’t stupid. What they didn’t possess is science/logic/math. These are cultural developments that took centuries to develop. It’s with that backdrop that religion can be seen as erroneous; as set upon fallacious premises.
@Allamanda thanks
When all causes are opaque, guesses that today seem quaint or silly might be as good as anything else.
@alliwant So if I drop a rock on my foot, then the resulting pain isn’t caused by the trauma?
@Gatovicolo In no way what I meant. "When all causes are opaque" means when we have no idea what causes anything, as in possessing none of the scientific knowledge you previously mentioned. There is nothing unknown about dropping a rock on your foot.
@alliwant I got that. I was being marginally sardonic.
Oh I don't have to imagine how stupidity is inherent to most humans, including those who think nature and science are spiritual revelations.
No more stupid than believing a society can be efficiently organised and administered by elite businessmen of self-interest!