I'll be the first to admit I score high on tests for Asperger's Syndrome. I am a social klutz and I almost always fail to detect anything amiss with posts from new members when a dozen other people see all kind of red flags. In a social setting, I often can't tell shit from shinola.
I have to say though that the OP rings a few bells. I wasn't reading encyclopedias at 4 years old but I do remember kindergarten. I went to a Catholic one (secular school after that). I also went to a Catholic indoctrination for children called Catechism after school up until about 3rd grade. My reaction to it was nearly exactly as the OP described. It struck me as incomprehensible and bizarre - totally out of whack with the real world. I was genuinely baffled at why I was being fed this nonsense and I didn't think any of the adults actually believed it. Like I said, I wasn't reading encyclopedias at 4-years old but I definitely read books about astronomy and evolution starting at about 3rd grade. It resonated with me. It FELT real as opposed to the insanity of Catholicism. I thought everyone must feel that way.
I understand that the ability to use rationality and logic starts to kick in around age 12 so I wasn't reasoning this through. From my personal experience, I believe some of us are hard-wired to reject things like religion. Not that I'm immune to being conned in general. I fell for Erich von Däniken's ancient astronaut theories hook line and sinker. I believed aliens were everywhere, constantly buzzing around in UFOs. Fortunately, like the guy on the Monty Python Holy Grail movie who got turned into a newt, I got better.
The point I'm trying to make is that some people do reject religion at what might seem like an impossibly early age. I did. I'm not claiming it was because of brilliance but just an innate brain wiring. I was NEVER able to accept it.
I have to say though that the OP rings a few bells. I wasn't reading encyclopedias at 4 years old but I do remember kindergarten. I went to a Catholic one (secular school after that). I also went to a Catholic indoctrination for children called Catechism after school up until about 3rd grade. My reaction to it was nearly exactly as the OP described. It struck me as incomprehensible and bizarre - totally out of whack with the real world. I was genuinely baffled at why I was being fed this nonsense and I didn't think any of the adults actually believed it. Like I said, I wasn't reading encyclopedias at 4-years old but I definitely read books about astronomy and evolution starting at about 3rd grade. It resonated with me. It FELT real as opposed to the insanity of Catholicism. I thought everyone must feel that way.
I understand that the ability to use rationality and logic starts to kick in around age 12 so I wasn't reasoning this through. From my personal experience, I believe some of us are hard-wired to reject things like religion. Not that I'm immune to being conned in general. I fell for Erich von Däniken's ancient astronaut theories hook line and sinker. I believed aliens were everywhere, constantly buzzing around in UFOs. Fortunately, like the guy on the Monty Python Holy Grail movie who got turned into a newt, I got better.
The point I'm trying to make is that some people do reject religion at what might seem like an impossibly early age. I did. I'm not claiming it was because of brilliance but just an innate brain wiring. I was NEVER able to accept it.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
