Everyone always calls me edgy when I bring this up but it's because believing in an obvious fairy tale shows a massive issue with critical thinking and cognitive capability.
These people essentially still believe in Santa Claus and will die for that belief.
I'm not religious but I dunno. Could you say that about, say the archbishop of Canterbury? The guy's got ten times the brains and university degrees than you and I put together tbh
If the smartest man alive told you he would kill for Santa Claus would that not terrify you?
You could be an alien with such a complex knowledge and understanding of physics that you can manipulate matter on a molecular scale but the minute you bring up the almighty Kloothorp as your lord and savior I'm out.
You say that belief in an "obvious fairy tale shows a massive issue with critical thinking and cognitive ability" , but you can't back that up because people who are smart and religious exist.
I agree that believing in something phantasmagorical is a cognitive blind spot. But that's so common criticizing others for it lacks self awareness. It's normal to take some obviously symbolic, illusory, or non-existent things seriously: the law, borders, sovereignty, human rights, authority, hierarchy, language, logic, or math. Are you terrified of those willing to die for human rights?
We're talking a lot of different types of smart, though.
For example said archbishop is obviously smart. And religious. And the two are the same, he'd be an idiot not to uphold the structure that gives him power, at least to the outside. That's what religion is, a power structure, and you'd be a fool to think those in power believe in the fairy tale instead of the structure.
Precisely. And if they can't accept that, and just downvote anyone that disagrees with them, they just proved the existence of ignorant, non-religious people
Depends on how you define smart. Knows many facts? Sure. Able to look at a puzzle and figure it out? Sure. But believing in an invisible Sky Daddy who may or may not talk directly or indirectly to people and getting your morals from books riddled with contradictions and things that are considered immoral and illegal isn't smart.
Because of absolutely moronic literal scripture interpretations. These imbeciles take the Bible as some kind of all-purpose knowledge encyclopedia, instead of a moral guide.
Depends on the subject really, if you remove the bronze age barbarism it actually does have some decent life advice for living in a harmonious way with others, you obviously shouldn't take anything it says as the final word though, it's still a book from 3000 years ago with outdated values.
The Bible is not a moral guide. It has some moral rules in it but the vast majority of it is just stories, things like the descriptions of the temple, and hundreds of ways of saying that God is great.
The people who wrote it took the earlier parts of it to be literal truth.
Because religion is used to control and keep people stupid.
“I don’t have to think since god is taking care of things. Just make sure to donate more than I can afford to church so that god knows I’m an extra special little worshipper.”