Is religion a mental disorder?

reply to post by ServantOfTheLamb

Kind Regards,

I don't care how we argue modern interpretations of Christians and their going to war. Or, killing in the name of a false God. Nor, do I find my post, erroneous, false, untrue, wrong, incorrect, flawed, inaccurate, mistaken, misinformed, or misguided. They still have committed atrocities, from the creation of Christianity. Which IMO, is a serious Mental Disorder.

I concede, I will attribute those Christian's actions to God. Still, wont make him real. or less, of a serious mental disorder. IMO, of course.

I hope you have a good day. And I do not in anyway, harbor animosity to any of you. Simply discussing a topic.

reply to post by GargIndia

Jesus was a good man, and he did teach humans good things.

Jesus never existed. With multiple authors behind the original gospel story it is no surprise that the figure of "Jesus" is a mess of contradictions. Yet the story is so thinly drawn that being a "good Christian" might mean almost anything.

The 12 disciples are as fictitious as their master, invented to legitimise the claims of the early churches. The original Mary was not a virgin, that idea was borrowed from pagan goddesses. The pagan world knew all about virgins getting pregnant by randy gods .

Most, I suspect, reduce the Christian superstar to a dimly perceived "good man" of some description, who perhaps said some wise words, fell foul of Jewish and Roman authorities and managed to get himself crucified.

The answer from some, however, appears to be, rather more accommodating of the gospel yarn, accepting more or less everything minus the miracles and the claim to be Son of God. Like the rest of us, they erase all the bits that offend their own sense of the rational. But then, from what they think are the residual certainties of a life and death – a mother called Mary, a girlfriend called Mary Magdalen, a brother called James, etc., – they assemble their own secularized Jesus, mining freely from holy literature in an enthusiast's conviction that the "truth" is hidden there and one simply needs the key.

But there is a big difference between a reality embroidered with propaganda (for example, Caesar's Gallic Wars) and a fantasy placed into an authentic-sounding historical setting (such as Doyle's Sherlock Holmes). The Jesus tale is very much in the latter category – a fictional drama in which a stereotypic hero has been intruded into a more or less realistic historical landscape. And as we would expect of a fictional creation, there exists not a single contemporaneous reference to such a character, nor a single genuine artifact to substantiate that he ever walked the earth.

Good day to all.

Belief in God is a natural human instinct.


Belief in God is part of human nature - Oxford study
Humans are naturally predisposed to believe in gods and life after death, according to a major three-year international study.

“We have gathered a body of evidence that suggests that religion is a common fact of human nature across different societies,” he said.

“This suggests that attempts to suppress religion are likely to be short-lived as human thought seems to be rooted to religious concepts, such as the existence of supernatural agents or gods, and the possibility of an afterlife or pre-life.”

Dr Justin Barrett, from the University of Oxford’s Centre for Anthropology and Mind, who directed the project, said faith may persist in diverse cultures across the world because people who share the bonds of religion “might be more likely to cooperate as societies”.

Many of you values and beliefs are based on religious teachings, like it our not.



Certain powers are trying to browbeat god out of the nature of man, it wont last. It is unnatural not to believe.

Evolutionary origin of religions
en.wikipedia.org...



Humans 'evolved' to believe in God
Humans may have evolved to believe in God and superstitions because it helps them co-ordinate group action better, scientists claim.
www.telegraph.co.uk...

Researchers, who have studied the way brains develop from childhood and behave during religious experiences, think over the years religion has become a survival instinct.


They suggest that groups of humans with religious tendencies benefited from their beliefs, perhaps because they co-operated and so stood a greater chance of survival.

They thrived compared to their atheist relatives and, after many years, the instinct became passed on in our genes.

Professor Pascal Boyer, an anthropologist at Washington University and author of Religion Explained, said that atheism was probably the unnatural way to be.

“Religious thinking seems to be the path of least resistance for our cognitive systems,” he said. “By contrast, disbelief is generally the work of deliberate, effortful work against our natural cognitive dispositions — hardly the easiest ideology to propagate.”

You wonder why communist atheist nation fail?

reply to post by Stormdancer777


I think intellect will prevail.

Religious people are likely to be less intelligent than their atheist counterparts, a study claims. The analysis, which looked at almost a century of data, found a negative correlation between high IQs and religiosity.

It is like some archaic thinkers in office. Sooner or later we will have free thinkers of higher intellect to expose the brainwashing. IMO

Professors Miron Zuckerman and Jordan Silberman, from the University of Rochester, looked at 63 studies in the field carried out between 1938 and 2012. In their paper, entitled “The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Meta-Analysis and Some Proposed Explanations,” Zuckerman and Silberman drew the conclusion that the majority of studies found that more intelligent people were less likely to subscribe to organized religion.

As time marches on, Society will eventually see that Nothing in the 'Christian message' was original. There never was just one Christianity. Out of the milieu of religiosity that infected the Roman world, dozens of competing and conflicting Jesus/Sun-god/Mystery cults emerged.

They found that infants with higher intelligence would be more likely to reject religion. Furthermore, older people with above average IQ are less religious, the study suggests.

As I'm sure most have read and heard about this study.
Atheists smarter than religious believers

Morning,

In a word: "yes".
The medical facts on this don't lie.











When you confront a belief that someone "opposes", the amgydela of the human brain shuts down.
This process destroys higher reasoning by making them "fearful".
The reasoning centres of the human brain shut down and trigger the "fight or flight reflex".
They cease to act on reason and react instead on instinct...evasion, avoidance, disassociation, anger or contempt.
Sound familiar?

This is medical fact.

Core beliefs when challenged produce the identical effects.
This is why we always see the spurious and blatantly ignorant responces from the believers of religion when this core belief is challenged. Ask for facts, you get pointless parables quoted ad-nauseum.
If you remind them of their mortality (i.e. God does not exist) they defend their world view more strongly and reject those who challenge it.
The medical/psychological term for this is called "priming".
This links biology and ideology and obviously also relates to political views as well as spiritual ones.

"Flinch first and ask questions later."

Trauma is inflicted during childhood.
That mental trauma causes brain damage.
That brain damage forms the foundation of an individual's ideology.
And finally...that ideology cripples an individuals ability to objectively process reason and evidence.

Religion functions devoid of morality and as it is declining, the quality of life is improving globally.
It's a result of childhood or adult trauma.
It's control is solely based on fear.
It rewards it supporters much like a drug fix makes a junkie feel a rush. Denile is actually rewarded by the brain.
If you are religious...you are a victem.
Ideology, whether political or religious is a drug and it effects the human brain identically.
Those who hold up religious or political ideologies are simply junkie's looking for their next fix.

Ideology (whether religious or political) is a mental disorder by medical definition.
So once more, the answer to the question is yes.

-Peace-

Theodore Millons masochistic subtypes...

2nd line

Å99

reply to post by Eryiedes


I posted first
I win
lol

Stormdancer777
reply to post by Eryiedes

 

I posted first
I win
lol

Aaaaand we have officially hit rock bottom with the appearance of: "I'm rubber, you're glue...."
Sorry about that folks...I seem to bring that out in him.

-Peace-

windword
reply to post by ServantOfTheLamb

 

You're full of a lot of bluster, spending time and energy justifying your faith. But it's pretty much off topic for this thread, trying to prove that your faith is rooted in reality, logic and truth. But, to me, you're making a strong case for "disorder".

I have faith drawn from reality, logic and truth. Did you enjoy learning the truth behind my statement about the manuscripts?

"But, to me, you're making a strong case for 'disorder'."

Once again vague statement about my information with no references or proof. You have to much pride friend. Afraid to admit that you have been wrong all these years, but down to your core you truly know that God is real for the Creator is seen within the Creation.

“Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

windword
reply to post by ServantOfTheLamb

 

You're full of a lot of bluster, spending time and energy justifying your faith. But it's pretty much off topic for this thread, trying to prove that your faith is rooted in reality, logic and truth. But, to me, you're making a strong case for "disorder".

I have faith drawn from reality, logic and truth. Did you enjoy learning the truth behind my statement about the manuscripts?

"But, to me, you're making a strong case for 'disorder'."

Once again vague statement about my information with no references or proof. You have to much pride friend. Afraid to admit that you have been wrong all these years, but down to your core you truly know that God is real for the Creator is seen within the Creation.

“Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

Depends really on the religion, as it could have involved many factors.

Some religions are just to dogmatic, that they will never learn, and will take a long time to grow out of it. While others are somewhat more explorative with themselves and could be around long enough due to their flexibility of views.

I think the biggest factor is the superstition, when it comes to mental disorders.

Other cases, its just brainwashing to bring up troop morale, which is why some of them are bloodthirsty. Being the medieval Templars to modern day Islamist.

C21H30O2I
reply to post by ServantOfTheLamb

 

Kind Regards,

I don't care how we argue modern interpretations of Christians and their going to war. Or, killing in the name of a false God. Nor, do I find my post, erroneous, false, untrue, wrong, incorrect, flawed, inaccurate, mistaken, misinformed, or misguided. They still have committed atrocities, from the creation of Christianity. Which IMO, is a serious Mental Disorder.

I concede, I will attribute those Christian's actions to God. Still, wont make him real. or less, of a serious mental disorder. IMO, of course.

I hope you have a good day. And I do not in anyway, harbor animosity to any of you. Simply discussing a topic.

I respect your point of view, but let me show you why it is a fallacy. However people go to war not just Christians...

Here is the argument.
Christians are mental, therefore God is not real.

Hypothetically, lets say I agree with your. All Christians, including myself are mental. This argument is an Ad Hominem.

OR lets use a different argument.

Christians go to war therefore God is not real. But this argument is also an Ad Hominem. Why is it a fallacy?

The reason why an Ad Hominem (of any kind) is a fallacy is that the character, circumstances, or actions of a person do not (in most cases) have a bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim being made (or the quality of the argument being made).

You also make it out like because certain people were Christian thats why they chose to go to war which is a fundamental attribution error. You are attributing the war to a personal trait of the person making the decision rather than to the situation with which the person is confronted. None of these arguments are logical. If you are going to make such a definitive statement about God you should have a better argument.

reply to post by beatbox

Is religion a mental disorder?

Religion... as in organized religion, ie: Catholicism, Sunni Muslim, Methodism, scientology, etc. is really no different than party politics. There is a very rigid platform that is outwardly espoused but rarely ever fully practiced. Political parties have candidates/heroes like religion has deity/prophets with these persons or deities commanding blind loyalty.

So... like independent voters who don't have a ring in their nose, Christians and Muslims and Jews and Hindus that follow person belief over organized formation, seek their own path and are often quite unique in those beliefs.

Is religion a disorder? Perhaps, but no more so that soul-dedicated loyal party members in the political arena... worshiping a platform in place of a holy book and politicians instead of deity.

reply to post by ServantOfTheLamb

I have faith drawn from reality, logic and truth. Did you enjoy learning the truth behind my statement about the manuscripts?

Quoting the Bible isn't proof that the Bible is true or truth. I would be happy to debate the so called "truth" of that chart in your link, and the inconsistencies and falsehoods in the New Testament, but this isn't the thread for that.

This thread is about the effects of religion and mental illness. Mental illness isn't prejudice and comes in many flavors (disorders). Religion is one of those flavors, and the mentally ill seem to have "allergies" when it comes to religion, politics, or any other zealot proclivity.

Your instant defensive and hostile reaction, as if Christianity itself was in the hot seat as the cause of all disorder, and your zealous need to prove it correct true and logical, and to convert others, in this context, seems desperate and maybe some form of disorder, in my opinion.

reply to post by windword

Dear windword,

I'm willing to do just about anything you can think of, if the result is a real conversation about any religious belief. I'm beginning to despair of the possibility. Is there something in the minds of ATSers that prevents them from being civil and mature on this subject?

Quoting the Bible isn't proof that the Bible is true or truth.

I agree, and I like to think of my self as a Christian. It has other value, and is supported by some evidence, but it can only be shown to be what the writers originally wrote, not whether they wrote the truth.

Comments from some posters claiming that political or religious orientation is proof of mental illness, not only flies in the face of psychiatric thought, but serves to cut off the branch that Atheists are sitting on.

From what I've seen here, Atheism is just as much a "zealot proclivity" as religion is. As you point out some Christians display defensive and hostile reactions, but it seems fairly prevalent on the other side of the argument as well. I would argue that

and your zealous need to prove it correct true and logical

applies equally well (perhaps more so) to the Atheist camp.

I wonder if the solution is to say we all have problems, and we all need to help and be helped?

Anyway, let me know when you start a religious thread for normal people, and if you think I'd qualify, I'd be delighted to join in.

With respect,
Charles1952

charles1952
reply to post by windword

 

Dear windword,

I'm willing to do just about anything you can think of, if the result is a real conversation about any religious belief. I'm beginning to despair of the possibility. Is there something in the minds of ATSers that prevents them from being civil and mature on this subject?
-- snip --
With respect,
Charles1952

Dear Charles,

I hope that frustration never prevents you sharing your thoughts. While I tend to sit in the back of the room, I DO pay attention. Any man needs to have a reasonable grasp on his limitations and I know that it's usually best if I stay in the shallow end of the pool.

Just a thought, but there might have been good reason that sculptors of old chose granite for their medium.

Granted it is dense and hard to work with, but when the desired result is completed it is SO much more satisfying....

Sincerely,
Cornshucker

AutOmatIc
.

If you are an adult and believe in, and talk to invisible friends, and call them "god" or "angels" or "Jesus"...then you are considered religious and are respected in the community.

Yep that sums it all up, so there you go, and no it makes no sense at all.

actually that is perfectly normal... it shows one has a conscious, trust me psychiatrist agree.

now what is abnormal is when someone hears a voice telling them do do something that harmful to others... God usually work in "signs" and emotions for people to do good, that's why you hear "God showed e the way" or "somehow I knew this is what God meant for me" from the ones who work for the betterment and good of mankind... The ones who have done damage and said they heard god's voice is actually the opposite... they heard satan voice.

people really should be more educated on these subjects and matters imo...

charles1952
reply to post by windword

 

Dear windword,

I'm willing to do just about anything you can think of, if the result is a real conversation about any religious belief. I'm beginning to despair of the possibility. Is there something in the minds of ATSers that prevents them from being civil and mature on this subject?

you are exactly right... it is an age thing. Just take a look around... this is where you come if you want to spot an up and coming evildoer. It is likely places such as this an atheist will leave clues or their manifesto before walking into a crowded mall and... well you know...

I have found that you will have much more interesting and mature discussion from atheists who visit christian forums, they are some of the places I have been in the last few years.

atheists who visit religious forms are either much more well mannered and educated or it is just their environment when they join a christian forum?

Eryiedes

I would love to see this unman walk thru the city of Detroit at any time of the day...

it is 85% African American population and has 10 fold the crime rate of any other city in the United States.

reply to post by SisyphusRide


Since he lives in Toronto it's a safe assumption he already has.
Not many people in Toronto haven't been to Detroit...it's the closest largest American city.

-Peace-