It seems we're mentally ill now...

Gregor Samsa

I'm not sure if this is a masterpiece of trolling, or the product of a mentally ill theist, but here's the Telegraph's backlash on the recent reposts suggesting that atheists have higher IQs than believers:

Are atheists mentally ill?
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/seanthomas/100231060/are-atheists-mentally-ill/

Which seems to suggest that not believing in imaginary beings that can speak to you and influence the world in magical ways is a sign of mental illness. Maybe there's a medication I can take to start the voices in my head.

sunshine and showers

I'm not sure whether to laugh or be insulted. I think I'm mostly insulted.

robindch

Given that the English for Sean is John, I wonder if Mr Thomas is just reacting to being called a dick all the time.

Dades

robindch wrote: »

Given that the English for Sean is John, I wonder if Mr Thomas is just reacting to being called a dick all the time.

If he is it's not because of his name.

kylith

Not only mentally ill but having shorter, more miserable lives too. Oh joy.

Akrasia

I wonder what are the chances that this blogger hasn't actually read any of the research that he is referring to and instead just read the summary provided by the (not quite neutral) Heritage foundation on that page he linked to
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/12/why-religion-matters-even-more-the-impact-of-religious-practice-on-social-stability
I can't access this page, it won't load for me (i've tried chrome firefox and explorer)

tommy2bad

Oh dear god! what a way to respond to a tripe study, by adding more tripe to the pile.
Study finds atheists are more intelligent than believers and the best he can come up with is "no your stupid".
If he had read the study it would have been obvious that the data used showed no such thing as it claims but like all offended types he goes on the offensive.
I'm beginning to think their may be some grain of truth to this study. Then again religions have spent the last 1500 years encouraging non critical thought, you reap what you sow.

tommy2bad

Akrasia wrote: »

I wonder what are the chances that this blogger hasn't actually read any of the research that he is referring to and instead just read the summary provided by the (not quite neutral) Heritage foundation on that page he linked to
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/12/why-religion-matters-even-more-the-impact-of-religious-practice-on-social-stability
I can't access this page, it won't load for me (i've tried chrome firefox and explorer)

Loads fine for me. Good find. Another study that proves studies find what I want them to find.
These things need to publish the data and method before we can accept their findings. Findings? I meant the opinion of the publisher.

Beruthiel

That's what passes for journalism these days....?

smacl

Great piece of shít stirring, which is what journalism is increasingly about these days. It falls down at the end though with the definition of atheism;

Therefore, being an atheist – lacking the vital faculty of faith – should be seen as an affliction

As an atheist I've no shortage in faith, but it is established in personal experience rather than religious dogma. For example, if my wife were to declare she was going to run a marathon next year, I fully believe that she would do it and finish. I couldn't offer any evidence as to why, given she's never done any distance running before, but knowing the person that she is, I have faith that she would complete what she undertook.

Blind faith in mystical omnipresent beings? No Ted, I don't think so.

As for whether religious faith can be of benefit to the believer, I'd tend to agree that for many it can. Benson deals with this quite well when talking about faith healing in 'The relaxation response', where faith healing is akin to a placebo. There's nothing to suggest however that a lack of such faith has the reverse effect, and there's plenty of ways of eliciting a similar response without the need of placebos.

robindch

Beruthiel wrote: »

That's what passes for journalism these days....?

Nah, it's the Telegraph, in the blog section.

Crap squared if you ask me.

magicbastarder

to be fair, it's a fun argument - that if the human brain is hardwired for faith, rejecting faith means atheists are working outside normal operating parameters for the brain.
note that 'fun' does not imply agreement.

gaynorvader

magicbastarder wrote: »

to be fair, it's a fun argument - that if the human brain is hardwired for faith, rejecting faith means atheists are working outside normal operating parameters for the brain.
note that 'fun' does not imply agreement.

By that logic we should stop reading and writing

Bannasidhe

kylith wrote: »

Not only mentally ill but having shorter, more miserable lives too. Oh joy.

I'll be sure to tell my atheist 94 year old great-grand uncle about the short miserable life he can expect next time he is showing me his extensive collection of photographs from his time as chief steward on Concorde - free travel across the BA network while based in Manhattan must have been dreadful.

smacl

Of course atheists are shorter lived than theists. Theists get immortality in the afterlife, re-incarnation, or an extended trip to where ever it is L Ron Hubbard ended up.

kylith

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I'll be sure to tell my atheist 94 year old great-grand uncle about the short miserable life he can expect next time he is showing me his extensive collection of photographs from his time as chief steward on Concorde - free travel across the BA network while based in Manhattan must have been dreadful.

Make sure you impress on him how much happier he would have been praying on his knees and weeping for his sins instead of hob-nobbing with the nobby people.

Beruthiel

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I'll be sure to tell my atheist 94 year old great-grand uncle about the short miserable life he can expect next time he is showing me his extensive collection of photographs from his time as chief steward on Concorde - free travel across the BA network while based in Manhattan must have been dreadful.

He was probably secretly very religious.
Only explanation.

Bannasidhe

Beruthiel wrote: »

He was probably secretly very religious.
Only explanation.

His belief in the benefits of eating Cake does seem a tad religious now that you mention it....he does have absolute faith that eating cake will always make him feel happier....:eek:

Corkfeen

We can't hobble as far as religious people after hip replacement? :eek: I walked for more than a day on a broken ankle, so ha! We're selfish and won't have children(because of condom overuse I suppose). Do you think we have a competitor for John Waters? I'd say he'd agree whole heartedly with this man's sentiments.

ShooterSF

smacl wrote: »

Of course atheists are shorter lived than theists. Theists get immortality in the afterlife, re-incarnation, or an extended trip to where ever it is L Ron Hubbard ended up.

Pedant hat on but aren't scientologists atheist?

smacl

ShooterSF wrote: »

Pedant hat on but aren't scientologists atheist?

Could be, but according to Wikipedia;

Hubbard characterized Scientology as a religion, and in 1953 incorporated the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey

Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature.

Scientology beliefs revolve around the thetan, the individualized expression of the cosmic source, or life force, named after the Greek letter theta (θ).[107][108][109] The thetan is the true identity of a person – an intrinsically good, omniscient, non-material core capable of unlimited creativity

A religion with an established church, offering immortality, and belief in omniscient life forces wouldn't really mesh with my notion of atheism

Pherekydes

If he really believes that (I think he's just trolling), then he should make an application to have some atheists committed.

Start with Dawkins, that selfish, stunted, childless, despairing, unhealthy, miserable, mean atheist.

The Black Oil

I suppose next we'll be accused of offering biscuits in elevators.

Bannasidhe

The Black Oil wrote: »

I suppose next we'll be accused of offering biscuits in elevators.

Would there be tea or coffee offered with those biscuits and what kind of biscuits are we talking about here?

robindch

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Would there be tea or coffee offered with those biscuits and what kind of biscuits are we talking about here?

Coffee I gather, though I can't vouch for the reliability of the source on that.

The_Valeyard

Bannasidhe wrote: »

His belief in the benefits of eating Cake does seem a tad religious now that you mention it....he does have absolute faith that eating cake will always make him feel happier....:eek:

The cake is a lie.

Bannasidhe

robindch wrote: »

Coffee I gather, though I can't vouch for the reliability of the source on that.

Hmmmmm...if it's made from those little sachets they can feck off, I'll take the stairs thanks all the same.

robindch

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I'll take the stairs thanks all the same.

If only Ms Watson had done that, a large number of people could have saved a very great amount of bile.

joseph brand

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Would there be tea or coffee offered with those biscuits and what kind of biscuits are we talking about here?

Twinings English Breakfast Tea of course and Jaffa cakes. /opens can of worms

Bannasidhe

joseph brand wrote: »

Twinings English Breakfast Tea of course and Jaffa cakes. /opens can of worms

Zillah

What utter drivel. I've never wanted a glowing, ten-foot high "CITATION NEEDED" sign so much in my life. Some crappy blog by some crappy hack writer. Shouldn't even give them the traffic.

shruikan2553

I have a feeling he may be slightly biased.

Interesting that how nice you are is dependent on how much you give to charity. Unemployed atheist spending 20 hours a week volunteering? Sadly you arent as nice as the well paid mormon that gives 10% of his wages to the church.

Galaxie

Eh?

I don't have an imaginary friend, and I'm the mentally ill one?

old hippy

Galaxie wrote: »

Eh?

I don't have an imaginary friend, and I'm the mentally ill one?

He's screwing with our minds, dammit :mad:

Frito

His blog is a series of examples where ignorance is bliss.

The article he linked to doesn't overwhelmingly prove we're hard-wired to believe but that we're hard-wired to come up with an explanation. There was a point made about faith evolving as a mechanism to deal with overwhelming events and I'd be interested in the evolutionary psychology investigating atheism following trauma, the escalation of cognitive dissonance of an omnipotent god vs. free will.

smacl

Frito wrote: »

His blog is a series of examples where ignorance is bliss.

The article he linked to doesn't overwhelmingly prove we're hard-wired to believe but that we're hard-wired to come up with an explanation. There was a point made about faith evolving as a mechanism to deal with overwhelming events and I'd be interested in the evolutionary psychology investigating atheism following trauma, the escalation of cognitive dissonance of an omnipotent god vs. free will.

Faith in an omnipotent god doubtless evolves to atheism and self reliance for many. I suspect that for many religious people, the biggest problem with atheism is having to accept ones own mortality and the mortality of loved ones. Most religions help the faithful deal with this and other traumas by promising better things in the future, see The Power and Biology of Belief for some material on the subject.

Personally, I find mortality to be one of the major motivating factors in my life, and know that a belief in a life everlasting would lead me towards apathy. While devaluing mortal life can help deal with trauma, it can also be seen as mechanism for keeping control over a massive population of under privileged people subject to various atrocities. The philosophies underpinning some Eastern religions are somewhat different to Abrahamism in this regard, e.g. Taoism very much promoting the idea of not giving up today for whatever tomorrow may or may not bring.

markfla

what annoys me about the article straight away is the immediate assumption that all atheists are "lefties"