Is religion making us all stupid ?

[psychoslice]

Happy holidays to all, and don't take what I say or anyone too serious, life is too short for that.

 

[Desert Snake]

Happy Holidays!

 

[Dawnofhope]

You can do whatever you like on this thread, maybe it will make it more interesting lol.

Thanks for that. I'm certainly enjoying some lively interfaith debate. Brilliant thread by the way. Didn't really appreciate how good it was until now.

 

[psychoslice]

 

[omega2xx]

No of course not, but it happened to me personally and that's the deference.

Glad they missed or at least didn't hit anything vital.

 

[rusra02]

So the true religion is yours, of course it must be.

Well, if I thought my religion was false, I would search for the one that convinces me it is the true religion. Doctrines and teachings are important, but the results a religion produces demonstrates it's origin, IMO. False religions produce rotten fruit, the true religion good. (Matthew 7:15-20)

 

[metis]

Well, if I thought my religion was false, I would search for the one that convinces me it is the true religion. Doctrines and teachings are important, but the results a religion produces demonstrates it's origin, IMO. False religions produce rotten fruit, the true religion good. (Matthew 7:15-20)

Then I guess Jainism must be the "true religion".

 

[Desert Snake]

I don't know. I'm not from New Zealand. As long as they know how to use a calendar they'll be fine.

I don't celebrate New Years.

Pretty sure I'm not going to Hell because of it.

 

[psychoslice]

Glad they missed or at least didn't hit anything vital.

Thanks, I was shot through the ankle which I almost lost, the bones were blown to pieces, I now have no movement in the joint, and suffer pain just about everyday, but it could have been worse.

 

[allfoak]

Pretty sure I'm not going to Hell because of it.

Are you just playing the odds?
I mean...if your wrong?
Shouldn't you try to find out for sure?

 

[psychoslice]

Well, if I thought my religion was false, I would search for the one that convinces me it is the true religion. Doctrines and teachings are important, but the results a religion produces demonstrates it's origin, IMO. False religions produce rotten fruit, the true religion good. (Matthew 7:15-20)

Yes and that is what everyone else says also about their religion, to you your religion is the truth, but that's only to you, truth isn't found in any religion, its only found within each one of us. Most religions sound as if they are the true religion, but that is only because they are built that way, by taking parts of scripture and weaving them together, in other words they cherry pick.

 

[Milton Platt]

Yes there is a lot of evidence that religion is certainly making us stupid, just look at the world today, what the......is happening, we all seem to be going backwards, so yes, what do you think, are we getting more stupid, I believe we are.

some of us don't need the help......

 

[psychoslice]

some of us don't need the help......

The help of religion ?.

 

[icehorse]

Yes there is a lot of evidence that religion is certainly making us stupid, just look at the world today, what the......is happening, we all seem to be going backwards, so yes, what do you think, are we getting more stupid, I believe we are.

Back to the OP:

I want to propose "intellectual inequality" as a metric. (This is a riff off of income inequality.)

I would say that some percentage of the population is better informed and more critically-thinking-equipped than in the past. By contrast, religious thinking *tends* to lag behind science and critical thinking. So it does seem as though intellectual inequality is increasing, but I'd say that the intelligence level of true believers has remained relatively constant.

 

[psychoslice]

Back to the OP:

I want to propose "intellectual inequality" as a metric. (This is a riff off of income inequality.)

I would say that some percentage of the population is better informed and more critically-thinking-equipped than in the past. By contrast, religious thinking *tends* to lag behind science and critical thinking. So it does seem as though intellectual inequality is increasing, but I'd say that the intelligence level of true believers has remained relatively constant.

I see, what do you mean by true believes, do you mean mystics ?.

 

[allfoak]

There is more than one level of Hell. Certainly, this would not be a heinous offense.

Certainly not.

 

[icehorse]

I see, what do you mean by true believes, do you mean mystics ?.

What if I said "literalists"? Those religious folks who take literal guidance from their scripture.

 

[rusra02]

Yes and that is what everyone else says also about their religion, to you your religion is the truth, but that's only to you, truth isn't found in any religion, its only found within each one of us. Most religions sound as if they are the true religion, but that is only because they are built that way, by taking parts of scripture and weaving them together, in other words they cherry pick.

I agree many religions do that, picking buffet style only what is comfortable. But the true religion is not like that, IMO. And their works rather than words identify true religion from false. For example, most religions espouse love of neighbor, but that falls by the wayside in times of war.

 

[psychoslice]

What if I said "literalists"? Those religious folks who take literal guidance from their scripture.

Well I cannot agree, and I really didn't think you would say that ?.

 

[psychoslice]

I agree many religions do that, picking buffet style only what is comfortable. But the true religion is not like that, IMO. And their works rather than words identify true religion from false. For example, most religions espouse love of neighbor, but that falls by the wayside in times of war.

Yes but I don't believe there is such thing as the true religion, well at least no organized religion, I always say, true relgion is only found within each one of us, not outside of us.