RE: Your perception of theists
July 7, 2015 at 3:02 pm
(This post was last modified: July 7, 2015 at 3:09 pm by Simon Moon.)
(July 5, 2015 at 9:05 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: When you learn that a particular person is a theist, does that fact alone make you think any less of them? Perhaps less intelligent, or less rational, or less educated, or less good, etc?
If so, how and why?
Thanks!
Less intelligent, less educated, no.
Most atheists, at least in the US, used to be theists. They did not become more intelligent when they gave up their god beliefs.
Less rational, yes.
Considering that their belief in gods is not based on demonstrable evidence or reasoned argument, by definition, they are less rational.
That's not to say that theists are less rational in other aspects of their lives. I am sure that the % of theists that believe in alien abductions or the Loch Ness monster is pretty low. And they probably arrive at their disbelief for rational reasons (lack of evidence).
They just do not apply the same level of scrutiny to their religious beliefs as other supernatural beliefs.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
