[geokker]

Some parents tell their young children about an old, fat man in a colourful costume and fluffy white beard who magically delivers presents late evening, December 24th - if they've been good (and not to frighten them).

Children love their parents and trust them. Children also have corroborating information readily available in the form of the media. Young children are intellectually vulnerable. Santa Claus is a fact in their world.

It is a lie.

To my mind, God is Santa Claus. God is a lie that has been maintained throughout centuries to control those weak, fearful or vulnerable enough to have their will bent by others. Everything everyone knows about God has been related by Man. No one has any first hand evidence of the existence of God. This fact itself has been cleverly built-in to the systems of faith cradling the lie.

I think the lie of God is becoming increasingly counter-productive for society in general. It no longer provides as much comfort as it once did e.g. one might choose to pray in the event of a fatal illness of a loved one. Now, technology has allowed us to understand the mechanism behind most illnesses and in some cases, offer a path to recovery. If death ensues however, one can let go of their loved one without pointless animosity to a God figure, rather an acceptance of the reality of a corporeal existence.

It no longer assures the ruling classes (i.e. plutocrats) of a failsafe control mechanism to yoke the majority and lessen the probability of bloody revolution.

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the belief in God over a long duration throughout the dispersal of Man has lead to the institutionalization of religion which by its very definition is exclusionary. Segregation leads to conflict. Technology is shrinking the world to emphasize fundamental religious disagreement.

So, my point is - and I started out 'thinking' I had a point - is the belief in God purely the folly of the weak minded?

(If you disagree with me on any point, I will of course consider you to be weak minded.)



Having said that, I'd like to be convinced otherwise.

[Boerseun]

Hi Geoekker

I'm not going to respond to your post - I agree with what you're saying, by the way - but in order to minimise the duplication of threads etc., go and check out the thread Who/What is God?. Maybe you should continue there.

Cheers

[geokker]

I think this post would be off topic there. The only question it might address is the the very broad: '8. do you have any other important comments on God?'. In fact, I'm not commenting on God really, I'm asking the question: Is the belief in a God indicative of mental weakness?

Should I still move it? I don't want to dilute the thread.

[Boerseun]

No - I suppose not. But they are pretty close, nonetheless.

So - just so summarize:

The thread Who/What is God? is about the nature of your chosen deity, and this thread is about the mental nature of the believer.

Yep.

Seems like two threads, all right.

Sorry!

[infamous]

Originally Posted by geokker

No one has any first hand evidence of the existence of God.

Actually geokker, I have had my own first hand experience that proves, for me at least, the existence of God.

Originally Posted by geokker

(If you disagree with me on any point, I will of course consider you to be weak minded.)

You have the right to consider anyone that doesn't agree with you to be weak minded, but don't forget, we also have the same right.

Originally Posted by geokker

Having said that, I'd like to be convinced otherwise.

Sooooo, you would also like join the ranks of the weak minded, but seriously, I'll be praying for you geokker. I truly desire that God would give you the evidence your looking for.

[dduckwessel]

Kids love the idea of mystery and fun, but they also love being scared in a secure environment.

They love the idea of 'pretending', that is a normal and healthy kid thing! Playing 'games' teaches them about life and disappointment. The job of good parents is to play the games with their young children, but also help them deal with disappointment when the outcome of the game doesn't go as hoped.

[dduckwessel]

Originally Posted by geokker

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the belief in God over a long duration throughout the dispersal of Man has lead to the institutionalization of religion which by its very definition is exclusionary. Segregation leads to conflict. Technology is shrinking the world to emphasize fundamental religious disagreement.

Religion is exclusive but yet it has done some good things. But it is technology that has propelled us forward.

So, my point is - and I started out 'thinking' I had a point - is the belief in God purely the folly of the weak minded?

If a person perceives that God is a deity sitting on a cloud with nothing better to do than throw fire bolts at people, then of course you would think such people are weak-minded. But what if He is a personality - like you or I?

[geokker]

My point is that Santa Claus is a lie that is exposed (and becomes unsustainable) with the increasing sophistication of a duped child's mind. The lesson learnt could well be 'don't believe as gospel what you hear - even from those you implicitly trust'.

So, faith in God (a learned concept) could be distantly related with a child-like innocence and vulnerability i.e. weak-mindedness.

No one can dispute the possibility of the existence of a God - how can we know? However, people who fail to discount the possibility that God may not exist are simply illogically faithful and worse - faithful to an idea which germinated during an age when rainfall was 'magic'. Are they wanting in a neurological sense?

[dduckwessel]

Originally Posted by geokker

My point is that Santa Claus is a lie that is exposed (and becomes unsustainable) with the increasing sophistication of a duped child's mind. The lesson learnt could well be 'don't believe as gospel what you hear - even from those you implicitly trust'.

I guess you have to decide if providing your child with a game (Santa Claus) is a detriment, or harmless fun. They do learn to tell the difference and I don't believe it scars them emotionally. Granted some are really disappointed when they find out, but ask them if they would have prefered to forego the game???

So, faith in God (a learned concept) could be distantly related with a child-like innocence and vulnerability i.e. weak-mindedness.

The Bible says that we instinctively know there is a God because of the amazing things He created.

No one can dispute the possibility of the existence of a God - how can we know? However, people who fail to discount the possibility that God may not exist are simply illogically faithful and worse - faithful to an idea which germinated during an age when rainfall was 'magic'. Are they wanting in a neurological sense?

If someone told me they had a book (Bible) that was inspired by an 'all-powerful, supernatural, being' - I would ask them to 'prove' it by showing me something unusual (superior to human ability) about those words.

Jesus always spoke in 'parables' (proverb, puzzle, trick, dark sentence, conundrum) - put the puzzle together the way He instructs and you will find something truly extraordinary, which proves there really is a God.

[geokker]

'The Origin of Species' is a book containing information on the nature of life which I currently subscribe to. It may well be filled with errors and consequently be utterly wrong. I will publically acknowledge that this may be the case as far as I'm concerned.

If I countered claims that the book is bogus with "no, you're wrong, the author is right. I will not entertain the possibility that there are fundamental flaws in his argument. The book will never, ever be wrong in any way. Ever." Then I would suspect chemicals in the water dulling my mind and immediately assume common attitudes applied to other aspects of my life like thinking there is a monster under my bed.