@religion-is-a-mental-illness / religion-is-a-mental-illness.tumblr.com
“The God of Abraham is not only unworthy of the immensity of creation; he is unworthy even of man.”
-- Sam Harris
No matter which of the trilogy is your preferred story, does it seriously not bother you how vile and abhorrent the god character is?
The father of multiple religions.
There are a lot of religions in this world and all of them don't make sense to me, but i respect some of the believers, cause they don't shove their beliefs in other people's throtes (exept the abrahamic religion), but what makes a lot of atheists like dharmic or pagan religions more, and choose them over science, even convert into spiritual satanism, cause i don't understand.
I’d guess it’s based on a need to believe, searching for external meaning, validation and purpose, using inconsistent skepticism.
Just because you’re an atheist doesn’t automatically mean you think rationally or logically. Atheism only deals with “do you believe in a god or gods?” It doesn’t prevent people believing in psychics, homoeopathy, ghosts, UFOs, astrology and other nonsense. It doesn’t even deal with why, and an atheist could actually have bad reasons for their disbelief.
This often seems to come from a rebellion against “organized religion” coupled with the fallacies of Appeal to Ancient Wisdom and/or Appeal to Nature. Rather than because there are good, reality-based reasons. Being fiercely skeptical of the authoritarian Abrahamic religions, while being credulous about other forms of magical thinking, because they’re perceived as untainted by Western, traditional, organised religions. The romance of the noble savages and their “other ways of knowing,” or reverting to the lost traditions that were overrun by the Xtians and Muslims. Not holding them to the same standard and not expecting the same work as far as justification.
As I often say, why you believe something is more important than what. When asked about other religious/belief systems, such as Shintoism, Hinduism and Buddhism, I’m very often told that they’re more peaceful, more beautiful, nicer, more interesting, but almost never that they’re actually true. Reality can be harsh and unpleasant sometimes, and if you believe things because they’re nice or beautiful, then there’s a tendency to not believe or accept the parts of life that aren’t the way you prefer them to be.
By the way, while you may respect the believers, you’re under no obligation to respect the beliefs, proselytising or not.
See also:
(Sorry, this question has been in my Inbox for quite a while.)
It’s still inconsistent and disappointing, but at least it’s more moral; when the overlord orders the extermination of everyone he doesn’t like - for reasons - it’s treated like a Bad Thing, rather than a Good Thing.
