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Interesting food for thought on limits of human logic and why we are vulnerable to religious appeals.
[patheos.com]

MikeInBatonRouge 8 Jan 16
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8 comments

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2

The whole article could have been a sentence.

"Christians believe as they do due to indoctrination and various cognitive biases."

1

This is obvious.
We want to know who we are, where we came from, etc., and with our limited past knowledge, religion was the way a lot of people answered those questions.

Now, as our knowledge increases, the old answers no longer make sense.
A lot of people have trouble dealing with that, so they cling to the old answers til the bitter end!
However, modern people apply today's knowledge to these questions and are coming up with new answers.
Constant updates are necessary as our knowledge continues to increase.
End of story.

4

Derren Brown (I think) challenged people and took an atheist into a church after talking for a short while he left her to sit alone and she experienced a range of emotions that she said was close to spiritual. He then explained to her why, basically in the talk he had been programming her. He has a lot of different shows that expose a range of different tricks.

2

We are so vulnerable to religious appeals because everyone feels better when they have all the answers. You are in safe hands when your group has the answers and there is more protection in a group to start with. They have your back.

2

I am very sure of why I don't believe.

Right, but religion is only one example (admittedly a big one) where we might suspend critical thinking. All kinds of cultural indoctrination tend to go unexamined, and yet we will accept them as logical Truths. I was reminded of this when I spent an exchange student year abroad.

@MikeInBatonRouge maybe you accept it as logical, i don't, it's imposed forced brainwashing and it makes me sick

@Mofo1953 you misunderstand my point. I am not saying it IS logical, but only that we are indoctrinated in many ways, some of which we don't think to question. We have to recognize indoctrination to question it, an all of us have been indoctrinated in various ways. And even you and I, unless experience clues us in to alternative options, will tend to tolerate the status quo. Obviously if we are on this site as freethinkers, we have rejected some religious indoctrination, but your claim that you have thoughly and rationally and objectively evaluated everything you have ever been taught is just not true.

@MikeInBatonRouge. Wow "but your claim that you have thoroughly and rationally and objectively evaluated everything you have ever been taught is just not true." So now you know more about what I think and even what Ive been taught? And that all of it is false? Incredible, what other things do you know more than I think? Do you know how pretentious and ridiculous you sound?

@Mofo1953 we are having two separate discussions, apparently. I am talking about what research tells us about human brains and thought process in general, which applies to you, too. In no way have I implied anything about YOUR specific thoughts. You appear to be saying it doesn't apply to you, and yet you are accusing me of being pretentious. Hmm...

@Mofo1953 you also just jumped to a false conclusion that I am claiming superiority and that I have rationally and objectively evaluated all I have been taught. I never claimed that. Nor did I claim every critical evaluation and conclusion you have done is wrong. I never said that either. I also acknowledged I believe your statement of being very sure why you don't believe. I did so by saying "Right,..." then went on to point out we are all indocrinated in various ways, not only regarding religion. Perhaps you thought I was still talking about religion specifically?

@MikeInBatonRougethe language I use is clear in expressing that i opine based on my experience not on research or studies. Try to express yourself better if you don't want to be misconstrued ot misinterpreted.

3

Hoomahns.

skado Level 9 Jan 16, 2020
4

“Second, we all have (more or less) the same brain, and atheists aren’t immune from bad thinking. A little humility helps.”

Did I actually read this in Patheos Wow, a reasonable article!

5

Agency inference and confirmation bias are things we are all equipped with.

Yes, there is always more than one reason, it is always more complex than any one thing.

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