Posted: Apr 19, 2010 1:17 pm
The premise that atheists are missing something that most people have is bullshit. I am a theist by nature. Anytime I want to I can feel what I previously interpreted as being the "presense of deity", only I used rational skepticism to conclude that it was nothing of the sort.
Why are most people religious? I go with Dawkin's by-product explanation myself. Simply put, a mind that is capable of visualising a bridge over a river, where there is no crossing, is also capable of visualising other things that do not exist.
If their exestence is desirable or explanatory then the belief that they are real is easy to explain.
Rational skepticism is a form of mind training that helps to counteract this tendency and can be adopted by ANYONE.
Why are most people religious? I go with Dawkin's by-product explanation myself. Simply put, a mind that is capable of visualising a bridge over a river, where there is no crossing, is also capable of visualising other things that do not exist.
If their exestence is desirable or explanatory then the belief that they are real is easy to explain.
Rational skepticism is a form of mind training that helps to counteract this tendency and can be adopted by ANYONE.