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Marini -> RE: Thousands of classes/types of Christians/Christians are not one size fits all! (6/28/2011 9:25:24 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: DecadentDesire
quote:
ORIGINAL: HannahLynHeather
ok, please explain to me how the definition of a delusion does not apply to religious belief.
Tommorrow, when I wake up, I will be waking up to a host of unknowns. What if I suffered a car accident and was driven into poverty from medical bills? What if my company wasn't able to replenish it's pipeline with new contracts and I am layed off? What if I never meet the love of my life and die alone with a ton of cats?
And when I do wake up, I will deal with these potentials unknowns with optimism. The belief that things will, in fact, work out and if they do not, then I will be able to properly deal and overcome the obstacle.
Of course, there is no logical reason for me to think like this. No logical reason for me to assume that things will work out. Given that I am just a mere human, the scenario of an obstacle that I cannot overcome is all too realistic. Therefore, there is no logical reason to assume I can overcome any obstacle in pursuit of happiness.
So, in light of this, would you consider my optimism to be a delusion?
What about love? I'm not talking about the chemical reaction that drives us to procreate, but the great mystery of the deep emotional bond between two people that we call "love". The emotional bond that can grow so strong that people will kill themselves at the loss of a significant other, because of a belief that they cannot live without them.
There is nothing to logically support such a belief. In all reality, they are physically capable of going on without this person. They managed to do so before they met that person and no reason why they can't after they are gone. After all, this "bond" between then isn't like a roll of duct tape, physically restraining them from living. It's just something in their heads.
In light of that, would you consider people who experience love to this depth to be delusional?
The human experience is chalk full of things that cannot be simply categorized into "real" and "not real", "true" and "false". A lot of these things we won't normally consider to be delusions, because they are a common experience. We accept them as normal and part of life and it's not until they are scrutinized that the lines between reality and delusion are called into question.
Belief in God is kind of like one of those things.
You asked what the difference is between belief in God and belief in a 6 foot tall bunny rabbit. Well, the difference is that the belief in a 6 foot tall bunny rabbit is an anomaly. It's a experience shared by only a tiny, microscopic percentage of the human population. However, man's faith in God and his personal quest for higher truth is an experience shared by the vast majority of the human race. Entire wars have been fought over it, incredible organizations have formed over it, and the number of books written about it could fill libraries.
The overwhelming majority of the human race experience God in some shape or form just like the overwhelming majority experience love or approach life with optimism. To chalk that experience up as some psychological delusion, an anomaly on par with a few people believing in a 6 foot tall giant rabbit, is simply insulting to the intelligence.
And that's all I have to say on this subject. I'm not getting dragged down into this rabbit hole.
Thankyou for the thoughtful post, and not being "scared" to speak your mind, DecadentDesire!!
I think many people are ashamed to admit they are a Christian on here, they are in the closet.
But let something happen to them, they are on their knee's, asking for prayers, accepting prayers, and everything else.
I will never be ashamed to state I am a Christian.
[sm=applause.gif]
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