A lot has happened since I last looked at this thread, and I can't answer everything that has been said.
Regarding my original post, I don't like to generalise; I was speaking from personal experience. I acknowledge that there are a lot of factors when it comes to forming beliefs, but my personal experience is that when people justify their beliefs to me, it ends up boiling down to some kind of emotional response, be it fear, a sense of comfort, or whatever.
I don't think that people are religious because they're any more flawed than any other human being, nor do I think that it's because they are stupid, but I do think that there is a flaw in their logic. You might think that I'm being arrogant or putting people down when I say that I think there's a flaw in their logic, but if you believe that your conclusion is logical and correct, it means that someone reaching a different conclusion must have some kind of flaw in their logic. To a religious person, my logic is also flawed. I don't think that should be taken as an insult. I'm perfectly willing to accept it if my logic is flawed, and adjust my position accordingly.
In regards to indoctrination, it isn't necessarily done in an aggressive brainwashy way. The ideas that someone is exposed to growing up have an influence on them, and it shapes the way that they think. If you're surrounded by people who speak about an idea as though it is fact, you will tend to accept that idea as fact. Religious people believe that their beliefs are fact, and therefore talk about them in that way. The children around them will tend to accept those beliefs as fact also.
I think everyone is entitled to their opinion, and certainly to their beliefs, and I am not trying to insult them when I say that I disagree. I am honestly trying to understand why people hold certain beliefs, because I think it's important to understand the motivation when it comes to discussing those beliefs.
I have asked people why the believe in God, for example, and the response is usually either an attempt to give a logical explanation, or a statement of personal revelation. When it comes to their 'logical explanation', I always find fault with it. That's why none of them have swayed me. When it comes to 'personal revelation', I don't fully understand what the person is getting at. It sounds as though they have some feeling or experience and equate it with God, and to me, those feelings and experiences are easily explainable as something else.
Regarding my original post, I don't like to generalise; I was speaking from personal experience. I acknowledge that there are a lot of factors when it comes to forming beliefs, but my personal experience is that when people justify their beliefs to me, it ends up boiling down to some kind of emotional response, be it fear, a sense of comfort, or whatever.
I don't think that people are religious because they're any more flawed than any other human being, nor do I think that it's because they are stupid, but I do think that there is a flaw in their logic. You might think that I'm being arrogant or putting people down when I say that I think there's a flaw in their logic, but if you believe that your conclusion is logical and correct, it means that someone reaching a different conclusion must have some kind of flaw in their logic. To a religious person, my logic is also flawed. I don't think that should be taken as an insult. I'm perfectly willing to accept it if my logic is flawed, and adjust my position accordingly.
In regards to indoctrination, it isn't necessarily done in an aggressive brainwashy way. The ideas that someone is exposed to growing up have an influence on them, and it shapes the way that they think. If you're surrounded by people who speak about an idea as though it is fact, you will tend to accept that idea as fact. Religious people believe that their beliefs are fact, and therefore talk about them in that way. The children around them will tend to accept those beliefs as fact also.
I think everyone is entitled to their opinion, and certainly to their beliefs, and I am not trying to insult them when I say that I disagree. I am honestly trying to understand why people hold certain beliefs, because I think it's important to understand the motivation when it comes to discussing those beliefs.
I have asked people why the believe in God, for example, and the response is usually either an attempt to give a logical explanation, or a statement of personal revelation. When it comes to their 'logical explanation', I always find fault with it. That's why none of them have swayed me. When it comes to 'personal revelation', I don't fully understand what the person is getting at. It sounds as though they have some feeling or experience and equate it with God, and to me, those feelings and experiences are easily explainable as something else.
