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Zonie63 -> RE: Children exposed to religion have difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction (7/20/2014 6:51:35 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: FieryOpal
quote:
ORIGINAL: Zonie63
I actually believe that it's far easier to relate to the universe as a random occurrence without any creator. It allows one to have more peace with one's existence.
If one believes that all this crapping on lives was actually intentionally caused by a supposedly intelligent and sentient being - who micromanages and fucks with people's lives because he loves them and has a plan for them - then that would likely be far more difficult to cope with.
That said, I don't know that I entirely agree with the idea that children exposed to religion have difficulty separating fact from fiction. There may be something to it, but worse than that, my observation is that they generally become blind followers and far too obedient and compliant - even in the face of the most contemptible tyranny ever imagined.
Free Will. We have been given Free Will, as co-creators on a (much) smaller scale.
If anyone is doing the micro-managing and fucking with people's lives, it is us.
If not Plan A, there are Plans B, C and D, etc.--There are grid upon grid of probabilities and potentialities. We need only choose of our own volition when to plug back into one of them, friend.
I was referring to events and happenings often attributed to "god's will" or "acts of god." Like whenever there's a tornado, earthquake, or similar calamity. If one believes that the universe was created and controlled by an intelligent, sentient deity, then one would have to believe that this deity is intentionally causing events like these to happen.
This was in response to a post about the universe throwing curves and life crapping on one, it was suggested that one can cope better with these things if one believes in God versus those who don't. I would suggest that it's much easier to cope if one attributes misfortune to non-sentient nature, physical laws, and/or random chance.
I believe in freedom of choice as a political philosophy. But I also recognize that there's a great deal which the individual can't choose, such as where he's born, who his parents/family are, what language he's first taught, and many other things which are formed before the individual can even exercise his/her will.
Even within our own bodies, most of the processes are automatic and outside of any individual's free will. Picture a guy with insomnia; his free will is telling his body "go to sleep," but something is keeping his body awake - against his own free will. Insomnia can lead to other consequences which would also affect someone's choices and actions. One may resort to taking sleeping pills or other drugs to go to sleep, or the lack of sleep could lead to psychosis or an inability to concentrate (which could also have consequences if one is driving or at a job where concentration is essential).
Overall, our bodies are rather frail and limited, which also would affect our freedom and ability to make choices. In addition to sleep, we need food, air, water, and a certain temperature range to be able to survive (not too cold, not too hot), so our choices are certainly affected by such limitations. We also have no control over the aging process or how environmental factors affect our bodies and thought processes. And according to the belief system, we're supposed to believe that all of this is by design, that "God" created these limitations and frailties intentionally - for reasons that only "God" knows.
It always did seem rather ludicrous to feel compelled to "thank God" for our daily bread when "He" was the one who created our bodies to need food in the first place.
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