Will people in fifty years still believe in Gods?

[smurfitup]

I've thought about this question a lot, and, not surprisingly, so have several psychologists. While, being a hardcore rationalist, I'd like to believe that mankind will eventually come to terms with the universe's indifference, it seems unlikely that it will happen soon (if ever) for several reasons.

First of all, belief in some supernatural being has been evident in basically every culture since man has existed. This leads some to speculate that maybe belief in the supernatural is inherent to human cognition. Paul Bloom (a cognitive psychologist at Yale), for example, wrote a book and this article
about humans' predisposition to ascribe agency to objects which lack it.

Also, given how ingrained religion is in our cultural traditions and views of the world, I think we would need more than 50 years to uproot its hold on society. Sure, science has made immense progress in debunking most religious accounts of the world, but most people seem to intuitively resist these explanations and (sadly) are skeptical of scientists in general (Taraz made a post about this a while back).

And, really, if people want to believe in God, they could always come up with some sort of rationalization or short-sighted philosophy to skirt the obvious flaws in their belief-system. Religion is about experience, and if someone deeply feels God's presence, no amount of scientific evidence will convince them otherwise.

[WiiiiiiMan]

Hey, the Bible is more right then ever for these times. Where the rational thought is irrational an the irrational is rational.

It's scary to coal inside the chests of man these days and the brainwashed pride driven secular mentality.

It's pretty scary, but hey, the more the devil has an influence the more and more people will be easily dismissive of God, religion, etc

Just wow at the brainwashed mentalities.

And this will just to in one in, make a uturn and go out the same ear.

Thats what it has become, you fill yourselfs with nothing but about how irrational any belief is how God is a delusion and evil, etc well that is what you become.

Man, really no point of posting, u all find out in less then 80 years anyways..... Thank God we die and the ignorances cant go on forever.

[carlo]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey, the Bible is more right then ever for these times. Where the rational thought is irrational an the irrational is rational.

It's scary to coal inside the chests of man these days and the brainwashed pride driven secular mentality.

It's pretty scary, but hey, the more the devil has an influence the more and more people will be easily dismissive of God, religion, etc

Just wow at the brainwashed mentalities.

And this will just to in one in, make a uturn and go out the same ear.

Thats what it has become, you fill yourselfs with nothing but about how irrational any belief is how God is a delusion and evil, etc well that is what you become.

Man, really no point of posting, u all find out in less then 80 years anyways..... Thank God we die and the ignorances cant go on forever.


[/ QUOTE ]

What He Said . [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[m_the0ry]

Absolutely. The problem is not the current generation of believers, but the fervor with which they teach their children to believe in God. The religious think it is their duty to imprint set beliefs into the susceptible minds of their children, while critical thinking has not yet set on. Until this detestable process is stopped, religion will persist.

[ApeAttack]

Maybe a better question would be... will the majority of Americans in the U.S. believe in God(s) in 50 years?

50 years is waayyy too short. Perhaps 100?

[flipdeadshot22]

nah

[John21]

[ QUOTE ]
and everything, we have so much information about where we come from, how was the Universe, the Sun, the planets life and all these beautiful things were created.

[/ QUOTE ]

Creation is probably the operative and relative word. We've had no problem describing how one thing developed from another, but it's yet to be described why there is anything at all.

In other words, anyone can describe the PE when a rock is lifted off the table: start describing why that energy is there in the first place and people might listen. Otherwise, it's just the non-affirmative argument the reductionalists have been spewing about for millennia.

Explanations are not answers.

-John

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
it's yet to be described why there is anything at all.


[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed, but even more incredibly why would there be a god? At least I have the experience of the world to say that it is, but have zilch experience of god!

[John21]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
it's yet to be described why there is anything at all.


[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed, but even more incredibly why would there be a god? At least I have the experience of the world to say that it is, but have zilch experience of god!

[/ QUOTE ]

Fair enough. For me it would depend on how or if you differentiated the two. You describe the world as, "it is," whereas someone from the theological mindset would describe God as, "I Am".

Other than the possessive/tense they're expressed in, is there really any difference between:

It is; and
I am?


I'm just thinking if you were translating Moses:

It am that It am; or
I is that I is; or
I am that I am…

They might mean or refer to the same thing, metaphorically speaking, but the first two probably wouldn't have made it across the editor's desk.

-John

[MidGe]

I have no issue with your argument John, as long as you are consistent. Regardless of the beauty in the world, to which I have no objection, there is, undeniably, an incredible amount of suffering in the world, far from most of it, due to human beings. If you see your God as he is ( "I am" [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ) an evil agent, responsible for his own design, we are pretty much in agreement!

I would never worship, or even side with, such an entity!