How can rational people believe in any religion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One person chooses to believe there is a God. You choose to believe there isn't one. You can't prove either stance, theirs or yours.

It’s much easier to convince anyone with a modicum of intelligence that there is a God Creator, than to convince them that there is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One person chooses to believe there is a God. You choose to believe there isn't one. You can't prove either stance, theirs or yours.

It’s much easier to convince anyone with a modicum of intelligence that there is a God Creator, than to convince them that there is not.

Lol, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One person chooses to believe there is a God. You choose to believe there isn't one. You can't prove either stance, theirs or yours.

It’s much easier to convince anyone with a modicum of intelligence that there is a God Creator, than to convince them that there is not.

+1. The key phrase is a person with a modicum of intelligence. That unfortunately is excludes a lot of closed minded zealots that are so certain anything to do with God and religion is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can “rational” people not believe in entities greater than themselves? Start there, then add details.
Many religions explain the unexplained and provide supports of various kinds — including community— in the face of the unbearable.

One doesn't need religion to have community. And you are asking that people start with an irrational position of faith. Lived experience and observation does not support the existence of some magical deity. Human beings in our present evolutionary form have existed for about 300,000 years. There have been innumerable religions over all those eras. Gods and beliefs change all the time. There's clearly a hunger to believe in something. That's very human. Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and so on all had their gods. That doesn't make Isis and Zeus real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One person chooses to believe there is a God. You choose to believe there isn't one. You can't prove either stance, theirs or yours.

It’s much easier to convince anyone with a modicum of intelligence that there is a God Creator, than to convince them that there is not.

+1. The key phrase is a person with a modicum of intelligence. That unfortunately is excludes a lot of closed minded zealots that are so certain anything to do with God and religion is wrong.

Please explain your “logic” behind this theory.

[Anonymous]

I was persuaded by CS Lewis. The book is titled "Mere Christianity".

YMMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You've thought and thought and can't get to something easily understood and obvious to everyone else?

Yikes.

Yikes indeed. With unforgiving attitudes like that, why bother with church?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have thought and thought about this. How can anyone believe religion is real? To me it is all superstition. I can understand why some people need it— it gives them community, structure, for some, morals and for others excuses to commit atrocities. But really, what separates idol worship from Jesus worship or monotheism? In my mind it is all a bunch of made up nonsense that is not grounded in reality. It’s crazy to think that highly intelligent people believe all this.

Pascal’s wager. If you don’t believe, your kinda an idiot - even to those of us who are scientists with PhDs and study the universe with numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have thought and thought about this. How can anyone believe religion is real? To me it is all superstition. I can understand why some people need it— it gives them community, structure, for some, morals and for others excuses to commit atrocities. But really, what separates idol worship from Jesus worship or monotheism? In my mind it is all a bunch of made up nonsense that is not grounded in reality. It’s crazy to think that highly intelligent people believe all this.

Pascal’s wager. If you don’t believe, your kinda an idiot - even to those of us who are scientists with PhDs and study the universe with numbers.

You sound smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have thought and thought about this. How can anyone believe religion is real? To me it is all superstition. I can understand why some people need it— it gives them community, structure, for some, morals and for others excuses to commit atrocities. But really, what separates idol worship from Jesus worship or monotheism? In my mind it is all a bunch of made up nonsense that is not grounded in reality. It’s crazy to think that highly intelligent people believe all this.

Now it’s time to think think think.
When you have a problem, think think think.
Look at every clue like the Super Sleuths do.
And just think think think. (breakout hit, beloved by my three-year-old, from Winnie the Pooh's Christmas movie: it sounds right up your alley, OP!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why DO atheists care so much what other people think.

They don't. But they have reason and logic and don't understand how others get benefit from fairy tales. I grew up Catholic. But I'm pretty confident Mary conceived Jesus the usual way. I'm pretty confident Jesus didn't use miracles to turn water into wine. And I'm pretty confident the body of Jesus didn't magically rise into someplace called heaven three days after he was crucified. None of it makes sense. But people wil say you have to have faith. Ok, but I could also have faith in the spaghetti monster. It doesn't make it real. I think Jesus was a good dude and there's a lot of wisdom there. But I can't make myself believe in the hocus pocus.

You grew up Catholic and think that Catholics believe that on the 3rd day Jesus went to Heaven?

There is no way that is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was persuaded by CS Lewis. The book is titled "Mere Christianity".

YMMV

Had the opposite affect on me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why DO atheists care so much what other people think.

They don't. But they have reason and logic and don't understand how others get benefit from fairy tales. I grew up Catholic. But I'm pretty confident Mary conceived Jesus the usual way. I'm pretty confident Jesus didn't use miracles to turn water into wine. And I'm pretty confident the body of Jesus didn't magically rise into someplace called heaven three days after he was crucified. None of it makes sense. But people wil say you have to have faith. Ok, but I could also have faith in the spaghetti monster. It doesn't make it real. I think Jesus was a good dude and there's a lot of wisdom there. But I can't make myself believe in the hocus pocus.

You grew up Catholic and think that Catholics believe that on the 3rd day Jesus went to Heaven?

There is no way that is true.

On the 3rd day he rose… 40 days later went to heaven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have thought and thought about this. How can anyone believe religion is real? To me it is all superstition. I can understand why some people need it— it gives them community, structure, for some, morals and for others excuses to commit atrocities. But really, what separates idol worship from Jesus worship or monotheism? In my mind it is all a bunch of made up nonsense that is not grounded in reality. It’s crazy to think that highly intelligent people believe all this.

Pascal’s wager. If you don’t believe, your kinda an idiot - even to those of us who are scientists with PhDs and study the universe with numbers.

You sound smart.

Right - fat thumbs equate directly with intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You've thought and thought and can't get to something easily understood and obvious to everyone else?

Yikes.

Sense of superiority: CHECK!