(June 25, 2015 at 12:22 am)robvalue Wrote: Tonechase: Indeed, I believe the "existence" of all the specific comic book style gods relies almost entirely on indoctrination. If people stopped hammering young, vulnerable minds with mythical gibberish presented as fact, they would reach the age of reason and would be able to make an unbiased, informed decision for themselves. And I think we know what that would be, on the whole. Present someone with developed critical thinking and no presuppositions the bible or the Quran, and (with no coercion) they will most likely reject it as silly stories. So without this oral myth that these books actually have any authority, it wouldn't matter that they exist or what they say any more than Harry Potter does.
People on some level must know this, since they continue to bombard their children as soon as they possibly can in order to make sure this crap sticks. Take away a couple of generations of indoctrination, and I'd give you 100-1 that Yahweh and Allah would fade into obscurity.
FAITH = Forever Actively Indoctrinating The Helpless
Regarding your statement:
"People on some level must know this, since they continue to bombard their children as soon as they possibly can in order to make sure this crap sticks."
That isn't necessarily true. Parents teach their children things they regard as important. Like fire burns and stoves can be hot, so they teach their children about that. Likewise, if the parents believe in hell, they will want to teach their children to avoid it, too.
It is the same motivation in both cases, teaching children to avoid things that are dangerous and bad.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
