Emotionally Engaged People Do Not Think Clearly At All
Christians really believe they have a personal relationship with their God. They feel certain of it. They really believe their God listens to them and in turn is communicating to them, answering their prayers. They really believe their God agrees with what they believe too, which I find to be a dangerous thing. They are emotionally engaged just like most every believer in other religions with their own gods. So consider for a moment someone who was in love. Could you say anything of a critical nature of that lover and get a rational discussion? Have you ever listened to someone who was angry? Could you say anything of a positive nature of the person that anger was directed against and get a rational discussion? Not usually in most cases. Outside of religion in mundane examples we see this with crystal clear clarity. An outsider who is not emotionally engaged can have a better view of such things because emotionally engaged people do not think clearly at all. We already know this about human beings because the brain was built haphazardly by the process of evolution. How much more so when it's emotionally engaged. But wait, there's more!
The facts supporting this are utterly overwhelming, irrefutable and non-contestable. We human beings do not think very clearly, ESPECIALLY when emotionally engaged through times of love, happiness, hatred, anger, guilt, joy, and so forth. People go to counselors to help solve their personal problems, to set life goals, financial goals, to solve any addictions, and so forth. Marriage and family counseling is a booming business right now because people need an outsider's perspective on them.
So I ask believers why is this not intensified a hundredfold when it comes to believing in an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, all-present God, who helps you face the demons that roam the earth seeking to do you harm, who sent his son Jesus to die for you, and who will save you from the pits of hell when you die to be forever with your loved ones in heaven (they'll all be there, right?)? Talk about being emotionally engaged!!
The difference that makes all the difference is that I recognize this about myself given the mountains of solid undeniable empirical evidence. I know I live in a proverbial cave who sees only the shadows on the wall. The ONLY conclusion I can come to from these rock-solid findings is that I need evidence to believe, evidence that would convince an outsider, a non-believer. I must adopt that perspective. It's the adult attitude, the only one that can help us know the truth. And I've proposed it as the Outsider Test for Faith, which can be expressed as follows: "Do unto your own faith what you do to all of the others you reject."
Believers will sneer at this and use the all-too familiar "you too" fallacy, "Hey," they'll opine, "you are emotionally engaged too." This is what I call the Delusional Side Step (DSS). Ignoring tons of evidence they sidestep what that evidence says about how they evaluate their faith. It is not being intellectually honest with that data, that's fer sure. It's delusional. They will, no doubt, have to do this same dance against anyone who does not adhere to their own particular religious sect. "Hey," they'll have to say to Mormons, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, spiritualists, Scientologists, animists, and pantheists, "you are emotionally engaged too." In fact, they'll have to say, that of all the people on the planet, they are the only ones who are not emotionally engaged. Such chutzpah, such arrogance, such a bigger delusion I have never ever seen in my entire life.
And there is just one other tiny little problem. Which god am I angry at, since supposedly I'm an angry atheist. Muslims would say I'm angry with Allah. Nope. Orthodox Jews would say I'm angry with their version of Yahweh, you know, the one who did not raised Jesus up from the dead. Nope. And so on. Geez, how is it possible to be angry with all these gods when I don't think any of them exist at all except in the minds of believers? That is logically impossible.
The facts supporting this are utterly overwhelming, irrefutable and non-contestable. We human beings do not think very clearly, ESPECIALLY when emotionally engaged through times of love, happiness, hatred, anger, guilt, joy, and so forth. People go to counselors to help solve their personal problems, to set life goals, financial goals, to solve any addictions, and so forth. Marriage and family counseling is a booming business right now because people need an outsider's perspective on them.
So I ask believers why is this not intensified a hundredfold when it comes to believing in an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, all-present God, who helps you face the demons that roam the earth seeking to do you harm, who sent his son Jesus to die for you, and who will save you from the pits of hell when you die to be forever with your loved ones in heaven (they'll all be there, right?)? Talk about being emotionally engaged!!
The difference that makes all the difference is that I recognize this about myself given the mountains of solid undeniable empirical evidence. I know I live in a proverbial cave who sees only the shadows on the wall. The ONLY conclusion I can come to from these rock-solid findings is that I need evidence to believe, evidence that would convince an outsider, a non-believer. I must adopt that perspective. It's the adult attitude, the only one that can help us know the truth. And I've proposed it as the Outsider Test for Faith, which can be expressed as follows: "Do unto your own faith what you do to all of the others you reject."
Believers will sneer at this and use the all-too familiar "you too" fallacy, "Hey," they'll opine, "you are emotionally engaged too." This is what I call the Delusional Side Step (DSS). Ignoring tons of evidence they sidestep what that evidence says about how they evaluate their faith. It is not being intellectually honest with that data, that's fer sure. It's delusional. They will, no doubt, have to do this same dance against anyone who does not adhere to their own particular religious sect. "Hey," they'll have to say to Mormons, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, spiritualists, Scientologists, animists, and pantheists, "you are emotionally engaged too." In fact, they'll have to say, that of all the people on the planet, they are the only ones who are not emotionally engaged. Such chutzpah, such arrogance, such a bigger delusion I have never ever seen in my entire life.
And there is just one other tiny little problem. Which god am I angry at, since supposedly I'm an angry atheist. Muslims would say I'm angry with Allah. Nope. Orthodox Jews would say I'm angry with their version of Yahweh, you know, the one who did not raised Jesus up from the dead. Nope. And so on. Geez, how is it possible to be angry with all these gods when I don't think any of them exist at all except in the minds of believers? That is logically impossible.
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