Faith - The Unreasonable Emotion

by Guest Tue Feb 02, 2016 8:53 am

Science vs. Religion

Science and religion are locked in debate about the reality of our universe, about nature and a supernatural, about the existence of god--whether he is real or not.
Science does not have to prove that a supernatural god does not exist, only that there are not any convincing reasons to believe in god. Science presents a comprehensive body of evidence which explains our universe without the need of a supernatural realm.
The burden of proof that god exists rests with religion. Religion has to present compelling reasons to believe in god, heaven and the soul. As support, Religion offers 2,000-year-old texts containing testimonials of miraculous events.

History Joins the Debate

History shows that the idea of god was conceived 35,000 years ago by cavemen (possibly at Altamira, Chauvet or Germany), or by hunter-gatherers (possibly at Gobekli Tepe) 10,000 years ago, or by the pagans of prehistoric Egypt 5,000 years ago. (See The History of God and Other Religious Myths.) In any case, God is an idea that was conceived thousands of years before the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Thus god is not a Jewish idea, not a Christian idea, not a Muslim concept. The originators of today's three Western religions merely inherited or accepted the idea of god from these primitive ancients because they couldn't figure out a better explanation of the world they lived in.
The idea of god belongs to the prehistoric people who created it. If the credibility of these authors is found wanting, then we should abandon the idea of god in the same way we reject the claim of astrology that star constellations at birth foretell human destiny. From their observations of nature, these prehistoric people came to three misguided conclusions:

the Earth is flat, not round,
the Earth is stationary with the Sun circling around it, and,
supernatural gods have extraordinary powers.

Since they were confused about nature we must conclude they were also confused about the supernatural. They couldn't figure out what was real and what was not. They guessed wrong about both. In the debate, history supports science: the fact that supernatural beings were first conceived by a primitive people and simply trickled down through history is actual evidence that there is no god.
Modern science has replaced the fanciful supernatural explanation of the universe with a factually based, natural explanation, making scientific and many religious ideas incompatible, yet the concept of god nevertheless persists even in the 21st Century. This incongruity has an explanation, however: psychologists demonstrate that when we humans internalize two opposing contradictory ideas, we simply place the conflicting views in different parts of the mind (compartmentalization). To make the mind contort itself in this way, both the contradictory ideas, the intellectual Scientific View and the emotional Spiritual View, have to hold a benefit for the individual. Let's examine the value or function of each of these two disciplines.

The Value of Science

The purpose of science is the pursuit of truth. Science originated from the geniuses of humanity starting 400 years ago with Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Descartes; furthered by the genius of Newton, Einstein and Sagan; and continues today supported by geniuses from all around the globe.
Understanding the truth about how our world operates has improved our everyday life. Science brought us medicine--the polio and smallpox vaccines, anesthesia, and heart transplants. Science has increased food production per acre in order to feed today's 7 billion people. Science invented the refrigerator, the airplane, and the cell phone. Science launched the GPS satellite network, put men on the moon, and sent rockets out of our solar system into interstellar space 11.7 billion miles away.
Only science can measure the enormity of our universe. Science determined that our Earth is spinning on its axis at the rate of 1,000 miles per hour, that Earth is circling our Sun at 100,000 miles per hour, that our Sun is traveling around our galaxy at 500,000 miles per hour, and that our Milky Way galaxy is expanding outward at the rate of 1.5 million miles per hour. The Big Bang tells us that our universe began 13.8 billion years ago starting from a single microscopic point and that it is expanding at an ever-increasing speed.
Science is a continuing investigation to understand the complexity of our universe.

There are six basic building blocks of the universe: matter-energy, space-time, force, entropy, dark matter and dark energy. Dark energy comprises 75% of our universe but was just identified within the last 20 years.

The universe, at both the microscopic and gigantic levels, does not operate like everyday objects we can hold in our hands.

Quantum mechanics states that a photon of light is both a particle and a wave at the same time and that one electron can be in two different places at the same time.

Einstein's relativity states that speed slows time, and mass curves space and bends light.

When mathematicians integrate the formulae of these two systems they will have constructed the Theory of Everything.

Evolution states that life on Earth began from single cells ~3.8 billion years ago. Life became more complex by slowly mutating over billions of years, producing the millions of different species we find on Earth today. (Both humans and chimps, with whom we share 98% of our DNA, descended from a common ancestor.)
If the cavemen, hunter-gatherers, or pagans had known this science, they would not have dreamed up their simplistic notion of god. But religion preceded science. Religion thus positioned itself as "common sense" making it easy for the mass of humanity to believe and understand. Today only a tiny fraction of our 7 billion population comprehends Einstein's elaborate formulae. Even though we may not understand it all, we know one thing for certain: science works--we can depend on it.
If science had preceded religion, science would have precluded the concepts of god, heaven and the soul. Intellectual truth would have preempted emotional wishful thinking. But because science and religion coexist, Believers are caught in a conflict with truth. There are good reasons why Believers have a difficult time giving up the idea of god, however.

The Functions of Religion

The primary function of religion today is the same as it has always been: to support and maintain the emotional well-being of the Believer. There are many ways that religion can help a person to cope with the difficulties of life.
Psychologists tell us that humans use a defense mechanism to help overcome sadness and depression from loss. An effective religious rationalization to tell a grief-stricken mother whose daughter has just died, for example, is that "She is in a better place with god and you will be reunited someday with her in heaven."
A person's emotional need for justice can be achieved by believing that god will sit in judgment of each of us after death. Those of us who were saved will go to heaven and those of us who were sinners will go to hell.
Humans tend to want to leave a legacy of their good name and accomplishments to posterity. Heaven fulfills this transcendental emotional need. Fear of our own death is overcome by a religious wish-fulfilling belief in an afterlife (or in reincarnation). Confessing our misdeeds to a priest or pastor helps us overcome our feelings of guilt. Prayer helps to relieve stress and loneliness. Belief in miracle generates hope.
But all too often prayers are unanswered; miracles don't come true; and we are left with our fear, guilt, grief, and loneliness--never sure of god's presence since there are so many suicides and wars, so much poverty and injustice. Whatever benefit religion is to emotional stability, religion works (when it works) by coincidence or the placebo effect because god, heaven, and the soul do not exist. Faith is unreasonable in light of scientific truth and historical fact.
A second function of religion is to give identity to Believers from being members of a group, thus satisfying our universal emotional need for social recognition. Group goals provide meaning and purpose to an individual's life. Group norms instruct Believers as to what is expected of them and how to conduct themselves. Friendship bonds within the group may even lead to marriage and family life.
Because it is the economic unit of society, the family is the most important group a person belongs to. Parents provide infants with the basic necessities of life. In exchange parents generally require their children to accept the family's religious beliefs starting at a very early age when children do not yet have enough knowledge and experience to evaluate the truth of what is being told to them. Thus the simple idea of god is learned before children are exposed to the complicated principles of science. When children are taught science they have to compartmentalize these new ideas in order to maintain their mental balance. (In some societies science is not taught because the leaders know the truth contradicts their religious doctrine and undermines their authority.) Early childhood exposure to religious ideas is another reason that religion persists against the onrushing tide of scientific fact.

The Price of Faith

The group dynamics of religion also operate at the international level, but in a negative way. Roughly ninety 90% of America is Christian, 90% of Ireland is Catholic, 90% of Israel is Jewish, 90% of Saudi Arabia is Sunni Muslim, 90% of Iran is Shia Muslim, 90% of India is Hindu, 90% of Tibet is Buddhist, and so on. Along with ancestry, culture, language, and custom, different faiths polarize the leaders of nations making it difficult for them to reach agreement on global priorities at this time when natural resources are under growing pressure and the group identity that matters most is "Citizen of Earth."
Faith is an unreasonable emotion because it divides nations, preventing humanity from solving global problems. The United Nations, for example, cannot achieve consensus on extinction of animal and plant species, nuclear proliferation (that other creation of science--the atom bomb), and the Millennial Goals: "eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality," etc.
Realizing that uncivilized ancients artificially created an imaginary god, continuing to believe in him is indefensible. Denial of truth by the affirmation of faith is too steep a price to pay: it could be said that "God is preventing humanity from attaining our greatest achievement--universal peace and cooperation."

Converting Believers

Realists, Humanists and Skeptics are like astronauts who can live in outer space without a spacesuit. We have learned to get along emotionally without religion, getting through tough times by reaching out and connecting with a real not an imaginary being--a friend. We need to show Believers how to seek real-world solutions rather than religious solutions. But if we are going to modify someone's life support system, then we have to do it calmly with respect and compassion.
Dan Brown in Angels and Demons showed us Realists and Humanists the right approach when he wrote these words for skeptic Robert Langdon, "I have not been blessed with the gift of faith." We Realists have to take this same gentle approach with Believers if we are to wean them from religion. We need to convince Believers that the real world we can see and touch and struggle with is better than any surreal utopia their minds can only imagine, that the experience of a starry night arouses more wonder than any dream of angels in heaven, that a deep breath of fresh air is more exhilarating than any silent prayer, and that a loving act of charity is worth more than any pretend miracle. Only a caring mode can conquer an unreasonable emotion.
We need to convince everyone that we are all blessed with the gift of life--lucky for the chance of just one brief existence here on Earth. That realization will motivate us all to explore the upper regions of our human potential and give each other our finest effort--friendship.

http://infidels.org/kiosk/article/faith-the-unreasonable-emotion-908.html

by veya_victaous Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:21 pm

cherry picking atheists
Lets change the dynamic (if you cant do that it is because your point is weak)

forget 'Faith in God'
Let us just talk about Faith in general as an emotion
So that Would be things like Faith in one's Wife/husband.

Is Humanity better without faith? the answer is obviously no as Faith is a major component of trust and without trust our society wouldn't function, indeed many of the issues in western society today come down to a breakdown of trust in the community.

Faith is not the problem. Faith in the face of evidence is. While it is admirable to have faith in ones spouse and trust them not to cheat, it is foolish to do so in the face of evidence of them cheating.

So what are the real Problems with the Abrahamic religions?
*Claiming knowledge that do not posses
*trying to force everyone to accept their world view and only their world view
*the belief they are superior to those that believe differently
*the idea that the world would be perfect if the 'others' didn't exist
*Actively seeking to convert people

it would be remiss of me to not point out that the new atheist author of the OP possess the exact same faults as the hairless apes before him that believed they were so enlightened they needed to 'spread the word' and of they managed to make every one 'be like them' the world would be perfect.. the fool literally claims that God prevents world peace? so he is not even a true atheist $Faith - The Unreasonable Emotion C:\Users\gguillon\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001$ because a true atheist would acknowledge there is no god therefore it is MAN that prevents world peace, just as he always has.

I know Humanist like to believe we are special, like the bible says, but if this is the best us hairless apes can do we may as well go back to worshipping Giant Chaos reigning snakes

by Guest Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:35 pm

So all posters can understand what is being stated is in the concept of a "misguided faith" or simply religion as a faith, because fundamentally religion and faith are two separate things. Thus what is the main thesis of this article is on religious faith.

So here is an explanation to help:

Religion vs Faith

Once we clearly understand the meaning of each of the words religion and faith, understanding the difference between religion and faith is not that hard. You must have seen that religion and faith are two words that are often confused because people think there is a similarity in their meanings. Strictly speaking, both the words are different in terms of their concepts and connotations. They may not have some similarity in their meaning, but religion and faith are very much interrelated in the field of religion. In the world of religion, without faith, you cannot be a follower of any religion. Even to be an atheist, you need to have faith in not believing in God.

What is Faith?

Faith, when we use it normally, is used with a sense of trust. That means faith shows how much we trust someone or something. When it comes to the religious sphere, faith consists of the belief in one or more gods or deities. However, this always does not have to be the belief in deities and gods as all religions do not believe in the god concept. This can simply be the trust someone has in the teachings of their religion. Faith is usually accompanied by hope too. This is because when we use the word faith to show that we trust someone, we are hoping that our trust is placed correctly. If we study how faith is built, we can see that faith is built on the belief. When faith becomes strong and unshakeable, then it culminates in religion.

Science is one branch of knowledge that questions faith. This is because science also has its faith in logical explanations where there is proof to back every saying. The faith science doubts is the blind religious faith that makes people believe that people can walk on water and such. This kind of blind religious faith is opposed to the questions raised by science. Faith thus, can culminate in the acceptance of superstitions and false notions. In religions such as Christianity, faith amounts to the loyalty to God. It is the absolute belief in God that he will save you in your utter distress.

What is Religion?

Religion, on the other hand, is the means by which people universally exhibit their faith. Religion is based on culture of a land too. At the same time, religion influences the culture too. Religion buildscharacter and morality.

Religious leaders impart primary knowledge about the respective dogmas and tenets. They try to inculcate faith in the corresponding religion in the minds of the people. Thus, religion and faith are related to each other although they are different from each other. Religion teaches us moral laws. Moreover, we can describe religion as the organizational institute for practicing your faith.

When it comes to religions, there can exist different types of religions. Some religions can be completely non-violent while some religions can be violent as they demand sacrifices. Some religions such as Christianity and Hinduism can believe in God. At the same time, religions such as Buddhismcan be a religion that does not believe in a God. Buddhism believes that everything happens as the result of the decisions we make.

What is the difference between Religion and Faith?

• Definition of Faith and Religion:

• Faith in the normal usage gives a sense of trust. Faith in the religious sphere means that we trust the teaching of a religion: these teachings can include a god concept or not.
• Religion is the means by which people universally exhibit their faith.

• Connection between faith and religion:

• Faith begins with belief. When we start trusting someone or something faith begins.
• Religion comes into being as a result of faith. Religion survives also because of this faith. If everyone lost faith in a religion, that religion would cease to exist.

• Impact on society:

• Faith helps us to hold on to something that we believe in. It may be irrational to others.
• Religion helps communities by teaching morality, nurturing its culture, and making people compassionate towards one another, as well as the environment around them.

These are the important differences between religion and faith. As you can see, faith paves way for religion and keeps the religion together too. However, this does not mean science and atheist do not have faith. They have their faith in logic and reasons rather than on gods.

http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-religion-and-vs-faith/

by Guest Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:55 pm

I meant to add also in regards to showing the difference is that religion is misguided faith, and exceedingly emotive, which can allow for people to believe their deity instructs them to execute innocent people and uses justification to then normalize murdering innocent people. Its irrelevant to say what is the correct version or interpretation of the religion, but only that such a violent belief can be interpreted from the texts. The only way that can be possible is not because of human imperfections, but that within some religions there is some divinely claimed passages that do in fact justify executing people from supposed criminal acts to then even worse a dire consequence to the non-believers in a make belief afterlife. Where a religion from the default star point claims they are the only true correct faith, renders all those of non-belief to that faith as inferior and already in the present beliefs guilty by simply not believing to a claim to face eternal punishment. Such poor derisive beliefs are then still in a way due to human imperfections, that they are gullible enough to believe these views will await those who to them commit crimes to also in some cases act out punishment or in a claim to the next life. That is why religious faith can be so damaging, as fundamentally in the core beliefs of some of those faiths, who are already classed with a criminality, born simply from non-belief

by veya_victaous Tue Feb 02, 2016 10:46 pm

actually all your points are to the 'Institution of Religion'.
Or theocracy when you are talking about criminalised non-belief

I don’t really accept trying to separate Faith into religious and non-religious because as far as brain chemistry is concerned faith is faith. it is an attempt to create a division when there is none.
the brain chemistry is the same weather you trust the black robes or the white coats, or your parents or conspiracies you read online. to the brain there is no real difference between these things as in each case it is 'conceptualising a presented idea' and accepting it into their 'world view of reality' (weather it is actually real/correct is beside the point)

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Faith - The Unreasonable Emotion