Okay, most of the theists who come here are suffering from something if only a persecution complex.  But I'd like to know what we atheists think is wrong with theistic thinking in most cases.  Your gut reaction will do fine but feel free to say why you think that.

Theistic thinking is off because believers are:

1) suffering from a delusion, defined here as a persistent false belief;

2) under the spell of an illusion, defined as misinterpreting an actual phenomenon;

3) just plain crazy;

4) or something else altogether, please elaborate.

5) Of course I should include a fuck yourself with your damned poll option too.  

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But I didn't, fuck you too.

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Now there may be a variety of causes for the wrong thinking but here we are looking for a diagnosis of the variety of bad thinking they ended up with.  I'm going to limit you to one choice for the reason you think is most often to blame.  Also I'm making the poll public just because I'm nosy like that.

They're mainly indoctrinated by cultural pressure. Although the most devout ones may really be insane, and use religion to justify things they would be doing if they hadn't been raised religious. And then there are those who are flat out dishonest, and are using it for money and power.

(November 16, 2018 at 7:10 pm)Chad32 Wrote: They're mainly indoctrinated by cultural pressure. Although the most devout ones may really be insane, and use religion to justify things they would be doing if they hadn't been raised religious. And then there are those who are flat out dishonest, and are using it for money and power.

I agree that is most often the cause of what affects the thinking of theists.  I chose to characterize that thinking as being affected by an illusion because I think there is something they are experiencing which they are mistaking for evidence of God.  But like you, I think it is most often the child rearing they undergo and the nature of what beliefs the parents impart most forcibly that influences their thinking in that direction.

I don't necessarily see anything wrong with the beliefs, but I do have an issue with the inconsistent application of rational and moral norms when applied to the sphere of their beliefs and other areas of life.

Theistic beliefs calcify a dangerous arrogance in that they assert that ones personal bigotries and proclivities are written into the fabric of the cosmos itself.   There is absolutely no religious atrocity in all of history that has ever been even remotely surprising.

OFC it went that way, it was always going to.

No, "All of the Above" choice?

Seriously, there is nothing wrong with their beliefs as long as they are just beliefs.  When the fucks start trying to cram them up everyone's asshole THAT is a problem.

They can be as stupid as they want on their own time.  No skin off my nose.

I voted “something else” because I don’t believe it’s a delusion, illusion, or craziness that makes people so sure God exists. I believe indoctrination at a young age, saturization of superstitious dogma in the culture, and other such reasons make more sense to me. You can’t honestly claim that every theist is delusional or crazy, under some mass hypnosis, right? These illogical thoughts are in their brain early, very difficult to change psychologically, and very difficult to fully disprove. Spirituality is a very human thing to have, as humans always seek answers beyond human understanding. It doesn’t help that it’s impossible to fully disprove. The Christian God can be disproved relatively easily, but it’s surprisingly difficult to convince a theist with these proofs. I would argue that theists suffer from a psychological trauma, as opposed to delusion, as there is always a sense of fear and anxiety when told to part with religion for logical reasons. I believe MOST theists are simply victims of tradition, heritage, and indoctrination from an early age.

I put "something else." To me, theism (belief in God) is a false belief. But the question asked about theistic beliefs with an "s." A great many true beliefs can be tacked on to a false one. And that is certainly the case with the major world religions.

Was Martin Luther King delusional? Was Gandhi delusional? No. Probably far less delusional than your average person. Did they each have at least one false belief. Yes, probably.

Theistic beliefs aren't a problem per se for me. I honestly don't care if some people want to believe in God, that's their worldview and more power to that.

It's the conviction that often comes with these beliefs that bother me (whereby they insult my intelligence and tell me that they proof or evidence which they clearly do not), as well as the impositions and entitlements that may arise from having these beliefs.

I don't have a problem with the beliefs themselves, but how the believers choose to act on them, whether it's protesting funerals, shooting "evil abortion doctors" or just whining about "happy holidays" greetings.