I think fundamentalism per se is social illness, not a mental one. I think most rational, informed, intelligent, educated, atheist person, could have been turned from youth into a fundamentalist by sufficiently wrapped upbringing and illstarred social.

(April 3, 2012 at 1:51 pm)Xavier Wrote: Do you think fundamentalist theists who carry their delusions through whatever else they learn about the world have some kind of mental disorder?

Possibly, but I think its personally more to do with the psychology of the human condition, that is the biological, psychological, and social needs of human beings.

Its as natural for people to hold onto the perceived 'comfort blanket' that religious dogma offers as it is to organise cults and form gangs.

I believe this quote from Men in Black summarises the irrationality of people rather well:

Quote:Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.

Quote:Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.

(April 3, 2012 at 3:43 pm)tobie Wrote: I would also say that atheism attracts a more rational kind of person, although I wouldn't go around saying that theists are stupid, as it would just make us live up to the reputation we have among the theist community.

Personally, I find threads like, "Are Christians Ignorant, Stupid or Delusional" tacky at best. People from all walks of life can be mislead, regardless of their intelligence, level of education, sanity, or lack thereof. Crass, vulgar, and belligerent people participate on all internet forums. This one is no exception. Atheists do not have a monopoly on truth or rationality, even compared to believers.

(April 3, 2012 at 4:16 pm)ChadWooters Wrote:

(April 3, 2012 at 3:43 pm)tobie Wrote: I would also say that atheism attracts a more rational kind of person, although I wouldn't go around saying that theists are stupid, as it would just make us live up to the reputation we have among the theist community.

Personally, I find threads like, "Are Christians Ignorant, Stupid or Delusional" tacky at best. People from all walks of life can be mislead, regardless of their intelligence, level of education, sanity, or lack thereof. Crass, vulgar, and belligerent people participate on all internet forums. This one is no exception. Atheists do not have a monopoly on truth or rationality, even compared to believers.

I never said all theists are stupid. I just said that atheism is bound to attract people of a more inquisitive nature than religion is. This april fools is a prime example of the gullibility of some atheists (me included).

(April 3, 2012 at 4:26 pm)tobie Wrote: I never said all theists are stupid.

Why not?

(April 3, 2012 at 5:47 pm)BoyWonder Wrote:

(April 3, 2012 at 4:26 pm)tobie Wrote: I never said all theists are stupid.

Why not?

Because there have been some incredibly intelligent ones. Isaac Newton, for example, spent a surprising amount of time writing religious texts, yet he was one of the most intelligent men the world has ever known. We have at least one intelligent theist on these forums.

Quote:Do you think fundamentalist theists who carry their delusions through whatever else they learn about the world have some kind of mental disorder?

Some, of course, just as I think some militant atheists are loons. EG I think Pat Condell is a paranoid nutter.

I'm unconvinced there is a causal connection in principle.

Being a truly ignorant,stufwitted loon is not a job requirement for being a dogmatic fundamentalist of any kind, merely an advantage.

If you spend any time on an atheist forum,it's easy to get the wrong impression. For some strange reason,atheist forums seem to attract some of the more extreme religious nutjobs. Proof of that pudding is how easy it was for our mods to Poe us for an April fool's joke. Often just about impossible to tell the difference,

I cling to the hope that our resident dogmatic fundamentalists are actually deranged rather than willfully ignorant drongos.

To me it is a fundamentalist style of belief that is dangerous. It is belief in something without evidence or at worst in spite of considerable evidence or logical argumentation. Evey belief should be up for discussion and many folks do not believe that this is the case.

See my signature. The Voltaire quote.

Being raised in a strict, totalitarian and intolerant environment with no access to alternatives, has a lot more to do with fundamentalism than mental illness or stupidity. My 2c.

Most of the fundies I know are gentle descent people. The claim that religious belief makes people more susceptible to totalitarian rule flies in the face of 20th century history. The regimes of Stahlin, Mao, and Pol Pot were expressly atheistic.