Stupid things you used to believe in

[Eddi]

I started this thread so that you can own up to stupid things that you used to believe in...

...but no longer believe in and now consider stupid

I have a few, but for me this is the main one:

Every person has a "god shaped hole" in them which means that they cannot be completed until something God shaped fills their hole. This can be done with many things but ultimately the best way of filling it is to fill it with God.
​

Also, why did you believe what you believed?

Because I heard some sleazy religious dude on a "faith" television station say it and I thought it sounded kinda cool
​

And why did you stop believing it?

Because it is possible to feel whole and authentic as a human being without God

Indeed, it is obvious that many atheists are more whole and authentic human beings than many theists

And, assuming there is a God-shaped hole, surely it is the shape of what fills it that matters, rather than what exactly it is???​

 

[ChristineM]

I always believed that when i grew up that I'd be a lottery winner.

Of course, as an adult i would need to do the lottery but bof... I don't like the odds.

 

[Secret Chief]

I used to believe that I lived in a representative democracy. Yeah stupid huh.

 

[Augustus]

When I was that way inclined, I used to believe Secular Humanists and other Rationalists were actually rational and favoured evidence based arguments over emotionally comforting myths

 

[viole]

I started this thread so that you can own up to stupid things that you used to believe in...

...but no longer believe in and now consider stupid

I have a few, but for me this is the main one:

Every person has a "god shaped hole" in them which means that they cannot be completed until something God shaped fills their hole. This can be done with many things but ultimately the best way of filling it is to fill it with God.
​

Also, why did you believe what you believed?

Because I heard some sleazy religious dude on a "faith" television station say it and I thought it sounded kinda cool
​

And why did you stop believing it?

Because it is possible to feel whole and authentic as a human being without God

Indeed, it is obvious that many atheists are more whole and authentic human beings than many theists

And, assuming there is a God-shaped hole, surely it is the shape of what fills it that matters, rather than what exactly it is???​

I used to be Christian...

Why I believed in it? Simple, I just accepted what they told me without thinking about it.
Why I stopped believing in it? Simple, I started thinking about it.

Ciao

- viole

 

[Twilight Hue]

The stupidest thing I believed in was by joining Amway, I could be a millionaire by following the program.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I used to be Christian...

Why I believed in it? Simple, I just accepted what they told me without thinking about not.
Why I stopped believing in it? Simple, I started thinking about it.
Ciao

- viole

I was going to say something like this, but viole beat me to it.

 

[Secret Chief]

When I was that way inclined, I used to believe Secular Humanists and other Rationalists were actually rational and favoured evidence based arguments over emotionally comforting myths

Boy are you after a fight

 

[Suave]

I used to believe I could be perpetually euphoric by maintaining elevated levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in my blood. Little did I know I would develop such a high tolerance to THC.
A few months ago, I said goodbye Mary, goodbye Jane! Will we ever meet again?

 

[VoidCat]

I believed you'd fall through a sewer grate if you stepped on it. Turns out that's not true.

 

[Debater Slayer]

When I was that way inclined, I used to believe Secular Humanists and other Rationalists were actually rational and favoured evidence based arguments over emotionally comforting myths

I've talked to a lot of secular humanists who I would indeed describe as mostly favoring evidence and reason. I've also talked to others who were extremely biased and intellectually sloppy.

You get the picture. Secular humanists are like almost any other group of people with diverse motives and epistemic approaches. Since I also identify as one, I'm especially not a huge fan of overgeneralizations about secular humanists.

 

[Windwalker]

When I was that way inclined, I used to believe Secular Humanists and other Rationalists were actually rational and favoured evidence based arguments over emotionally comforting myths

I've struggled for years with that myself only to find it's just a religious as what it claims it is beyond.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I've struggled for years with that myself.

With what? An overgeneralization about secular humanists?

 

[Windwalker]

With what? An overgeneralization about secular humanists?

My online experience, as well as IRL experience. I wouldn't call it overgeneralized. I'm speaking of my experience, and that is generally the case, yes. It is more or less just a different form of religious reasoning.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I used to have a lot of problematic beliefs, "stupid" or not. Those included the belief that:

- homosexuality is an illness and homosexual sex is punishable by death.

- women are less rational/logical than men as a rule.

- anyone who isn't a Muslim deserves to be in Hell for eternity.

- evolution is a debunked theory and all organisms originated in their current state.

And then some from my "New Atheist" years:

- religion is the main cause of human suffering.

- the world would necessarily be better off without religion.

- religion is what makes some cultures have harmful beliefs (without regard for their material conditions such as economy, education, etc.).

Among others. I think we all have mistaken beliefs at one point or another; the key is to be open to evidence and correction of one's views when shown to be mistaken.

 

[Debater Slayer]

My online experience, as well as IRL experience. I wouldn't call it overgeneralized. I'm speaking of my experience, and that is generally the case, yes. It is more or less just a different form of religious reasoning.

Fair enough. I don't know what kinds of secular humanists you encountered, but I consider myself one and strive to uphold evidence and reasoned arguments, hence my criticism of the statement.

 

[Windwalker]

Fair enough. I don't know what kinds of secular humanists you encountered, but I consider myself one and strive to uphold evidence and reasoned arguments, hence my criticism of the statement.

Of course, I've encountered those that live up to the ideal, and it is refreshing when I do, but online interactions have proven for the most part to be dealing with those who have just found a new home for their religious thinking, i.e., "Now I really DO have the truth! Religion is lost and deceived". As I like to say, you can take the boy out of the fundi church, but you can't take the fundi church out of the boy. That takes a lot more than just switching what you believe in.

 

[Augustus]

I've talked to a lot of secular humanists who I would indeed describe as mostly favoring evidence and reason. I've also talked to others who were extremely biased and intellectually sloppy.

You get the picture. Secular humanists are like almost any other group of people with diverse motives and epistemic approaches. Since I also identify as one, I'm especially not a huge fan of overgeneralizations about secular humanists.

To believe Secular Humanists are rational and prefer evidence and reason over emotionally comforting myths, you have to believe humans are rational creatures.

Evidence shows they are not.

It's not a generalisation about Humanists, but the reality of human cognition.

Most Humanists seem to imagine they are a special case, immune to the failings of lesser beings (typically religious folk). That's just an emotionally satisfying myth though.

Who would you say is a paradigm case of a "good Secular Humanist"?

 

[Sirona]

Every person has a "god shaped hole" in them which means that they cannot be completed until something God shaped fills their hole. This can be done with many things but ultimately the best way of filling it is to fill it with God.

Found an interesting website about the "God-shaped hole". It's about how to improve proselytizing, but I'm quite surprised how openly they put their cards on the table.

The Problem with the 'God-Shaped Hole' - Trinity College Bristol, UK

 

[Subduction Zone]

I started this thread so that you can own up to stupid things that you used to believe in...

...but no longer believe in and now consider stupid

I have a few, but for me this is the main one:

Every person has a "god shaped hole" in them which means that they cannot be completed until something God shaped fills their hole. This can be done with many things but ultimately the best way of filling it is to fill it with God.
​

Also, why did you believe what you believed?

Because I heard some sleazy religious dude on a "faith" television station say it and I thought it sounded kinda cool
​

And why did you stop believing it?

Because it is possible to feel whole and authentic as a human being without God

Indeed, it is obvious that many atheists are more whole and authentic human beings than many theists

And, assuming there is a God-shaped hole, surely it is the shape of what fills it that matters, rather than what exactly it is???​

The Republican Party

Why did I quit believing? Well I kept see them getting worse and worse. but ironically it was Donald Trump that set me free.