I was on the fence but now I’m a believer

I received this email from a friend today:

I was bicycling along today when a car came at me around a corner, veering into my lane way too fast. As he passed I yelled "Slow the fuck down." The guy stopped and got out of his car, so I turned around and went back to him. Instead of apologizing he said, "You shouldn't speak that way and you need to go to church. God will punish you for that language." Here's what makes me a believer. Obviously God sent me a warning for my foul language, in the form of a car almost hitting me. But this was BEFORE I swore at the guy. Obviously God knew ahead of time that I was going to swear at the guy. Truly amazing. I'm even going to join the Tea Party.

Continue ReadingI was on the fence but now I’m a believer

Less formal education equals less church-going

A new study shows those who have completed the least amount of formal education are increasingly skipping church, as reported by MSNBC:

In the last four decades, monthly (or more) participation in religious services dropped from 50 percent of moderately educated (high school and perhaps some college) whites to 37 percent, according to the study, “No Money, No Honey, No Church: The Deinstitutionalization of Religious Life Among the White Working Class.” Attendance by the least educated (high school dropouts) dropped from 38 percent to 23 percent, by sociologists Wilcox, of the University of Virginia and Andrew Cherlin of Johns Hopkins University found. Church attendance by higher-income whites with at least a bachelor’s degree barely dipped, from 50 percent to 46 percent.

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Read more about the article God is on MY side now

God is on MY side now

I’m tired of justifying my actions based on moral and pragmatic grounds; it’s too often too much work trying to explain that I am motivated to make my tiny corner of the world a better place, or that I’m trying to avoid needless suffering. Justifying my actions based on real-world consequences often requires planning, empathy and evidence-gathering, and I’ve decided that this is too much work. What’s the solution? I have quite recently realized that I am a believer in God, which makes me special and unquestionable. My new outlook germinated about a month ago when I noticed Rick Perry having such an easy time justifying anything he desired, based on things God allegedly told him. Why are you running for President? Because God told me to. Why are going to dismantle social security? Because God told me to. What are you going to do about Wall Street Banks? God will tell me after I allow those nice men to wine and dine me. Such freedom! I was jealous of Rick Perry, so I adopted God too. I like this new power. Because I am now one of God’s special people, when you question me, you question God Himself . . . so you’d better not ever have the arrogance to question me or God. You want to fight me buddy? God’s me Buddy. I like being God, Jr. It’s armor to protect me from all forms of intellectual and moral challenges and evidence. Having God as my Pal lessens my cognitive load, making life much easier, and it’s going to allow me to quickly cut through a lot of moralistic red tape. It’s going to let me invoke my program without having to explain myself. [more . . .]

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Belief engine running amok

In the June 23, 2011 issue of Nature (available online only to subscribers), A. C. Grayling reviews Michael Shermer's new book, The Believing Brain (2011). He notes Shermer's double-barreled explanation for why humans are so ready and willing to believe things that aren't true:

One is the brain's readiness to perceive patterns even in random phenomena. The other is its readiness to nominate agency--intentional action--as the cause of natural events. Both explain belief-formation in general, not just religious or super naturalistic belief.
I've written about Michael Shermer before at this website, mentioning, as does Grayling, that Shermer "gives the names 'patternicity' and 'agenticity' to the brain's pattern-seeking and agency-attributing propensities . . ." Once these beliefs are somewhat established in one's mind, it's difficult to turn back, due to the confirmation bias, which blinds us to evidence contrary to our beliefs and makes evidence supporting our beliefs extra salient. [caption id="attachment_19088" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image by Erich Vieth using Dreamstime Image by FourOaks with permission"][/caption] Shermer suggests that there is an evolution-based explanation for this over-eagerness to find patterns and to attribute agency, and it has to do with whether one should act quickly or not to the rustling in the bushes nearby, which might be a tiger. Grayling also points out that the belief in modern religions could not possibly be a hardwired phenomenon given that these "God-believing religions are very young in historical terms; they seem to have developed after and perhaps because of agriculture and associated settled urban life, and are therefore less than 10,000 years old."   There is thus no evidence for a "God-gene."

Continue ReadingBelief engine running amok