Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by brett dishler on February 28, 2011 at 12:23am

I don't necessarily think theists are stupid, as much as they are more naive. They don't take the time to realize how religion hides them from reality. They choose to live on in their blindness because its usually all they've ever known.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Strange on February 28, 2011 at 6:55am

No. Religious like Ideas are a part of our brains make up, It help us evolve when we were a young species. It let us imagination a world beyond our own and make sense of death, helped us cope with it and move on. It was the beginning of science, to help us curb our curious minds. like a fairytale we tell our children. Now that we are an older wiser species we need to move on - but these Ideas still linger and we want to hold on to them.

It will never go way, at least not for a long time. I think that our best hope is that people replace there religions with better philosophy's.

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Permalink Reply by Yahweh on February 28, 2011 at 10:11am

Anyone passed the child age which is over 12 would be considered stupid to me.  I think by then there are a lot of things they figured out not to be real like : Santa, leprechauns, tooth fairies etc...

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Permalink Reply by Dale Headley on February 28, 2011 at 2:31pm

There is no such thing as an all-encompassing definition of intelligence.  Intelligence is best described as being those collective mental faculties that serve to promote survival in any particular environment.  So you can't really say someone is or is not "intelligent" based solely on a belief system.  That being said, to maintain a belief in something as preposterous as a magic man in the sky pretty much exposes a deficit in the ability to process information efficaciously.  For me, that comes pretty close to being stupid.  One of the things that is bringing America to its knees is that the people we send to Congress, whether honestly or disingenuously, profess a faith that a supernatural, divine entity will take care of America, its problems, and its people as long as they believe in Him and not science and reason.  To maintain such a belief puts the entire country at risk of eventual ruin.  Placed in that context, a belief in God is effectively a lack of intelligence.  One, and only one congressman out of 535 - Pete Stark from California - has demonstrated to me that, in terms of the kind of intelligence it requires to make the best decisions for the country, he stands head and shoulders above all the others.  The man is honest and courageous enough to admit, publicly, that there is no such thing as GOD (or a god) who will heal all our wounds.  He does NOT believe there's a male in white robes floating around in the firmament loving America above all other nations; will lead it to victory in all conflicts; and will transport all Republicans to Heaven some day.  If that pegs me as calling believers in the supernatural "stupid," so be it.

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Permalink Reply by Vrinelly on February 28, 2011 at 10:49pm

im a former theist and i was stupid once, but not stupid enough as to talk to an atheist and insult him! 

if i feel attacked i attack back! 

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Permalink Reply by Vrinelly on February 28, 2011 at 10:44pm

i live in Puerto Rico, which is an island in the caribbean, in here theist insult atheist everyday! they treat you as if you were less than anyone! even my parents had a hard time with me when i admited to them i was an atheist! so i dont care when i say to theist that they are stupid, idiotic and dumb! 

it all depends on the culture, the moment and most of all: the topic! i've been insulted many times just because of saying things like "being an atheist is not a bad thing, it doesnt mean that you are a bad person" 

but i have also had discussions with theists in which we both can argue our points and steel "move on" in "peace".

my godfather, whom i love to death, is a priest, clearly i live in a religious environment, kinda, i was baptized, and he is extremely intelligent! he has 2 PhDs! one in humanities and the other one is in theology, and i enjoy chatting with him when i get to see him! 

some people are just intelligent for somethings, but lack reasoning or are just too dumb for others... ;) 

 

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Permalink Reply by Galen on February 28, 2011 at 11:54pm

Stupid?  No, not stupid.  I WAS a believer, after all, and at the time I certainly THOUGHT I had good reason to believe what I believed.  I wasn't being stupid.  I was being perfectly rational; my logic was simply flawed.  Unlike most, however, I eventually came to recognize and correct these flaws.

 

They are not stupid, merely deluded and "brainwashed" since childhood to believe a particular thing.  It's VERY hard to let that go when it's been indoctrinated into you for your entire life.  Even now as a die-hard atheist, I sometimes find myself second-guessing my own thoughts because of the little voice at the back of my mind warning me that God is listening to those thoughts.  That little voice might not ever go away, I just know it's full of shit now.

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Permalink Reply by Mo Trauen on March 2, 2011 at 10:23am

I wanted to add a clarification to my comments on this discussion:  Not all theists are the same.  They really have to be divided up into categories, especially for purposes of this discussion.  Young believers get a pass.  And, I think the question really only applies to true believers.  Many "theists" don't really believe in god; they believe in belief.  Although I think that belief in belief may also be less than intelligent, it is not in the same category as believing in the invisible magic man.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Pinster on March 3, 2011 at 5:33pm

I'm assuming that you put all the "young earthers" in the category "most delusional", right?  After all, you have to willfully ignore the majority of science to actually get to the point of believing the earth is 10k years old.

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Permalink Reply by Mason on March 3, 2011 at 6:34pm

Not necessarily idiotic. I would characterize them more as victims of centuries of cultural brainwashing. Some of them are definitely morons. But the majority are just victims of the culture they were raised in, and forced indoctrination by parents, church leaders, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Pinster on March 3, 2011 at 7:16pm

Hmm.  I agree that this is where their delusion comes from in the first place, but how does that explain consistently ignoring rational, reasonable explanations as to why their theories are invalid?  You really have to wonder how people can hold on to superstitions when they are proved wrong time and again.

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Permalink Reply by Daria Black on March 3, 2011 at 11:00pm

It's because they desperately want to believe they are right. When you really want to believe something, you'll find any justification in the world to make it true.

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