Creation/evolution3

[Davka]

That's not ignorance, it's delusion or psychosis.

Was John Nash ignorant?

Schizophrenia is something completely different.
Theists tend to be willfully ignorant, preferring the delusion of faith over reality. They are not theistic because of a commonly recognized mental illness.

I was a born-again evangelical Christian for 18 years, from age 27 to age 45.. Looking back, I believe that I had a psychotic break, triggered by too much LSD over too many years. However, my 'conversion testimony' was not significantly different from others I heard during that time.

I suspect that a lot of 'born-again' experiences are similarly triggered by a mental breakdown of some sort. It is extremely common to hear people say that they had hit rock bottom, were at the end of their rope, were up against the wall when they had their "come to Jesus" moment. Our brains can and do play some pretty weird shit on us when our lives are threatened.

Of course, after the initial breakdown, joining a church will surround you with people who reinforce your delusion. Everything about church structure is designed to keep the break from reality internally consistent, so as to prolong it.

Frankly, I think religion evolved as an answer to existential fear. Facing one's own inevitable demise is not easy, and would have been harder for those distant ancestors who first saw a pile of bones and thought "that will be me some day." How do primitive societies fend off deep depression brought on by existential fear? Tell stories about life-after-death!

/ crackpot hypothesis